A MOMENT OF CHANGE

FULL STORY

Under the spring rain in Miami, Florida, the good-looking man was sitting against the window designed by the skillful hands of Latino immigrants inside his apartment. Out there still a dark, gray sky for many months.

Being known as a professional chef, Jim Ankeris was able to make five dishes within one hour to the best of his ability. On these days, he had no opportunities to work for a dine-in restaurants. Hopelessly, a fast food chain like McDonald was his easy option now. Which, from his point of view, wasn't worth working for. As a result, he was brought into conflict with his boss all the time. He was seen as a zombie when going back home, regular as clockwork. Work pressure? Low wage? Or no inspiration?

But in the dead of night, he fell into a deep sleep. An enigmatic place but not really. An old memory was brought back. That was the conference room of his primary school. People usually say let bygones be bygones but why he never forgot it? And what made it shadowy? Loneliness. Coldness. He was scrambling for time, seemingly looking for something. He couldn't escape from it. True. An explorer who forgot the flashlight while searching passages inside a cave.

Suddenly, here came the uncanny brightness, green and orange, from the slits of the windows - automatically had been opened a few seconds ago. Which was shining the whole room. Jim was embarrassingly wandering around his place of the distant past. Flopping down on the nearby couch, his eyes was on somewhere far away.

On next day, he received an invitation letter from Jane Strott, about a cooking contest. Who was able to make her change her current emotion, would get several benefits and welfare.

A little bit about this woman. Mysterious. Calm. Strong. Those had made her a powerful CEO of Totinac II - a cruise ship agency in Miami. After encountering a great deal of hardship in business world, her life turned into the same one as a queen. No body could make her weak at the knees. Which was due to the fact that she was never among those who couldn't think outside of the box. Many well-known magazines addressed her as "The Female Version of King Midas".

Something to be changed.

She had acted like an angel during a former period of wealth when the increase in profits was reported from time to time. Now, she seemed not to know how to spell the word "smile" in Oxford Dictionary. It wasn't unusual that the recent matters gave her nightmares many times, not to mention her violent dolphin scream. She felt dizzy whenever waking up all of the sudden.

But when Jim arrived in her villa, he caught the face of Jane's loyal butler - Ted not being on cloud nine. Which sharply contrasted her expression. There were many other chefs there as well.

"Welcome to our cooking contest. I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting. As far as you know about me, I'm a gourmet, a lover of luxury so I did have a taste of every dishes of the world. To me, a meal must cost an arm and an leg, unusual ingredients, sophisticated making and so forth. Very few food may make myself satisfied. Those are the reasons for this competition. If one of your dish delights me, you're winner."

"How many participants will join your party?" asked Jim in an unemotional voice.

"My best friends, my family members, relatives and business partners."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

Jim signed a bit, nodding his head as if he was certain of something.

When the time of contest came, Ted was responsible for supervising the process of food making. Many well-known dishes like Kobe beef, Alaska King Crab, Peking Roasted Duck...But Jane tasted only one or two bites, exposing a feeling of dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, her facial expression reminded Jim of not only those who habitually judge a book by its cover but also a bad habit of American food consumer - throwing away leftovers. Jim couldn't bear that. People like her always cause food waste - which could have saved millions of African or Middle Eastern children.

The final part of the party - Jim Ankeris's pea soup for the poor was served for Jane. Which had been calm before the storm. The Behemoth was possessing her soul at that moment. She angrily messed up everything, shattering dishes into pieces just because Jim dared to make her such a common food. None of anyone tried to keep her from adding insult to injury.

"Even you mock me, Jim, like anyone here. No one understand my mood. All you here just make me upset and shit. I hate you fucking people. Get the hell out of here, all of you. Out now!"

Needless to say, nobody was brave enough to stay. They were running away as if Hannibal at the gates, during which Jim winked at Ted before following suit.

At the crack of dawn, Jane tiredly crawled to the battlefield-like dining table caused by her wrath last night. Only one thing remained perfectly presented. The bowl of pea soup. Why was it polished off? As far as she remembered, she did not touch it before falling asleep. But the moment she licked her lips proved it wrong, a scent of soup and pea. She was being on a full stomach. Inside her pocket was a picture of young Jane who suffered from starvation a lot during childhood. That led to the empty bowl and her eyes filled with tears. That was Ted who directly showed it to Jane after her cooling off yesterday.

Much to her surprise, a photograph behind the bowl was seen then. Probably 20 years. She blew the dust. A charming girl, with a beautiful smile across her face, posed in front of Giza Pyramid in Egypt. What drew her attention very much was the shining sun on the top of the one of seven wonders of the ancient world.

"Jim deliberately put your old photo right there. He wanted to send you a message", spoke Ted in a soft voice.

Even though the color of the sky remained dull which easily causes a depression, something eerie in the shape of the window to the soul cropped up. As a devotee of ancient Egyptian civilization, Ted thought that was the reminder of Ra's eye - the god of sun.

"You know Amun-Ra, right? According to ancient Egyptian culture, he is the greatest creator of the universe. Also, the symbol of rebirth." Ted said comforting Jane, caressing her back.

No sound from Jane but Ted caught her mouth turning to the form of crescent moon. Unlike many months beforehand, she was keeping it real now.

Shortly after, Ted jogged around the botanical garden. He was extremely happy because 30 bottles of sleeping pills, belonged to Jane, were thrown into the garbage can. From the window, the strong winds blew the pieces of paper off. Those were the letters handwritten by Jane, feminine but illegible. All could have been sent to her best friends, relatives and business partners. After the private conversation with Jim last night, Ted got the picture.

Home sweet home. Jim expressed the more natural smile than ever all the way back his beloved apartment. He did not regret any anxiety or concern which he had done to Jane.

Because he created a memorable minute in the right place, at the right time.

Because once again here came the dream two days ago in his mind. He was unable to forget it. Never.

He also figured one thing out.

Tomorrow the sun would rise again.

Today The Emphistado - where Jim was working for welcomed their chef again as usual but all smiles.