It was another bright day in Orchidia, the sun rays gently touched Aurelion’s face as he woke up. “THE SUN RAYS?!” he yelled. That meant it was already past early morning and he had taken a request to take care of an old lady for a day. Aurelion quickly got dressed, put some of his favourite sweets -that he baked the night before- in his bag and headed outside in a hurry slamming the door of his apartment close behind him. He made a run for it, he didn't have time to enjoy the beauty of Orchidia that day, not to mention he had no idea where the apartment area -where the client lived- was. After spending some time asking the people that were passing by for directions he was finally able to make it to the client's apartment.

Aurelion knocked on the door out of breath, as the door opened a man around his thirties, kind of hungover -judging from his red eyes-, stood in front of him. Good day, I'm Aurelion, the mage that accepted the request to look after your mother for the day, sorry for being late!” he said with a cheerful smile. The man however didn’t seem particularly interested in knowing any further info other than that the person at his door was the one who accepted the quest. “I'm Mitya, come on in I’ll introduce you to my mother, Rynah, before I leave.” Aurelion nodded in agreement and stepped inside the apartment closing the door behind him as Mitya proceeded further inside. “Mother this is Aurelion he will be taking care of you for today.” Mitya said, seeming to be in a hurry “I have to go now so I’ll leave you two to introduce yourselves further.” Mitya said as he wore his sunglasses, grabbed his jacket and walked towards the corridor leaving the apartment.

Aurelion smiled at the woman sitting on the rocking chair and approached her. “Good day Rynah, it's nice to meet you, sorry for being late.” he said in a calm voice and continued while grabbing the sweets from his bag “I brought some home-backed sweets with me if you'd like some, I made them last night.”. Rynah looked at him with a calm and gentle expression on her face, she smiled at him and gestured him to sit down, Aurelion -following her gesture- took a sit on the couch. “Well dearie, it is my pleasure as well, but there is no need to rush now, is there? We'll have time to enjoy your sweets, I'm sure they will taste great!” the woman exclaimed. Aurelion nodded and looked at the old lady as she continued knitting. “Would you mind if I take a look around the house?” he asked. “Of course you can, and while you're at it, be a sweetheart and prepare us some tea, I would love some right now.”. Aurelion smiled and nodded as he headed for the hallway. He took a quick look around the house, it seemed pretty warm and cozy inside, unlike the building's interior which was cold and had a weird smell. All of the rooms smelled -and were in fact- clean, the walls were painted in a pastel color, not much to Aurelion's liking but it didn't seem out of place for an old woman. Aurelion finally caught a sweet scent and by following it he found himself in the kitchen, strangely there wasn't anything in particular that could exert a sweet smell, lots of home-baking probably takes place here for the kitchen to have this smell, he thought and chuckled.

Aurelion took the teapot that was placed on the stove and put some water in it to boil for the tea. As he lit up the stove he searched for the tea and a pair of teacups finding them on the shelf just above and to the right of the stove. “Rynah which flavor would you prefer?” Aurelion had to raise his voice for the old lady to hear him. “A rosehip tea would sound great right now dearie!” she exclaimed. Aurelion took the jar labeled as rosehip tea and placed some of its content in the teapot, reaching afterwards for a plate and taking out the sweets from his bag he placed them on it. He admired the view from the apartment for some minutes while keeping an eye on the old lady. The teapot whistled, just in time, he thought. He poured the tea in the cups, placing them on a tray together with the plate and headed for the living room where Rynah was still knitting.

“I hope I'm not late!” Aurelion exclaimed with a smile as he looked at Rynah and proceeded to leave the tray on the table. “What a lovely young man you are.” Rynah smiled right back at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She reached for the plate first as Aurelion asked her to hold back on the tea –it being extremely hot- and tasted some of Aurelion’s home-made cheesecake. Her expression changed, her smile was now replaced by sadness and a tear run down her cheek, in a matter of seconds though her previous expression returned. “The taste is exactly the same as I remember it from my mother, who taught you to make sweets like that?” she asked. “I’m glad you like it!” he exclaimed “I am self-taught, I always had a sweet tooth and as such I wouldn't be able to afford constantly buying sweets.” the boy explained, both of them laughed wholeheartedly. Rynah started talking about her past and how she loved her mother’s cooking among other stories, the two had a long talk.

Time passed and now Rynah and Aurelion were solving a crossword puzzle together, when Rynah's face suddenly sparkled up, “Why don't I make you my special cookies, I assure you they are going be delicious!” she exclaimed. “Of course, I'd love to, let me help you!” Aurelion exclaimed with a cheerful smile. The two of them headed for the kitchen where Rynah quickly whipped up the dough, it's the first time I see someone whipping up dough this fast I better take some notes, he thought. After Aurelion was done giving the cookies their shape and placing them in the baking tray, Rynah sprinkled them with what appeared to be blue crystals and put them in the oven, that was weird, Aurelion thought but didn't pay much attention to it. The two headed for the living room to continue their crossword puzzle. Almost an hour later Aurelion went to check the cookies, as Rynah seemed to have forgotten about them entirely. Their slightly brown edges and rich aroma made it certain that they were ready, Aurelion carefully took them out of the oven, placed them on a plate and went to the living room. Rynah prompted him to try one, which Aurelion did and with the very first bite he felt magic surging into him, surprised, he looked at Rynah. “Crushed mana crystals, clever!” he exclaimed and chuckled, Rynah nodded smiling, the two of them continued talking.

A couple of hours later a sound came from the hallway and the door opened. Mitya came into the living room shortly after, greeting Aurelion and his mother. It was time to leave. Aurelion stood up, briefly hugged Rynah telling her he had a great time, took the reward from Mitya and with a heartfelt goodnight he left the apartment and headed home.