Alluring Masquerade

Chapter 17 - If I Was Thinking About Myself...

          Hira was busy in the kitchen while her mother and sister chatted with Alec in the other room. She narrowed her dark eyes and peeked past the beads hanging in the doorframe. She watched them tell jokes and laugh out loud with each other. Turning back into the kitchen, she stirred the pot. Her mother had told her to make curry, a favourite of everyone's in this house.

          I wonder what they're talking about? She thought to herself, sighing. She heard bubbly laughter again and decided to turn back around.

          "Hi!" Alec greeted happily, walking through the beaded strings. "What'cha doing?"

          "Cooking," she replied, bored.

          He just smiled and nodded at her, leaning against the other side of the counter, so he would be facing her back as she was busy. "Are you sure you should be working right now? You have come from the hospital."

          "I'm fine," she assured. She was feeling better than before, so it wasn't a complete lie.

          "Can I help?" he asked after a pause.

          "There's nothing to help," she said, moving him aside. There was a plastic colander left in the sink to drain out the now unfrozen pieces lamb. She turned the tap water to cold and made sure they were washed clean and added them in the large, cauldron look-a-like of a pot.

          "So what are we conjuring up?" he asked jokingly. He quickly washed his hands and grabbed a clean tea-towel and wiped his hands dry.

          She turned around for a moment to, and said, "Curry. You like curry?"

          "I love spicy food," he said. "So can I help?" He was very insistent.

          "...Fine." She smiled and nodded this time. "Get stirring, Alec the cook!" she grinned, and passed him the utensil from her hands.

          He nodded and accepted, stirring the pot carefully with one hand while the other held the handle. "Did you add the coriander?" he asked suddenly, looking into the round pan.

          "No," she blinked. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bowl of fresh coriander, bringing it over to where he was standing. "I knew I was forgetting something," she shook her head.

          "No problem," he said, taking the plastic, see-through container from her and took out some green leaves. He took a bunch out from the box and laid a cutting board all in one motion. "Where do you keep the knives?" he asked.

          "We just have these three," she said and pointed at the counter.

          He chose the one with the medium sized blade and began chopping up the bunch of greenery like a professional. In what felt like a few seconds, he scooped up the tiny pieces of coriander and dropped them into the boiling pan. He washed and cleaned his hands again and went back to stirring.

          She stared at him and imagined him in a chef's uniform. "Were you a chef or something?" she asked. "You look so professional around food."

          "I thought I wanted to work in the food industry from the age of eleven, but at the age of sixteen ... something happened." He tasted the curry with a silver spoon. "More chilly..." he murmured to himself.

          "What happened...?" she asked worryingly.

          "I discovered the way to become a professional Psychologist," he smiled, looking at her and lifted another spoon in front of her face.