Hanna’s Baking Contest (pt 1)

Hanna was slouching on the wooden bench in front of her house, the morning sun shining on her face. She was fiddling with some marbles she had found on the ground, her face looking unusually bored.

“Hanna! You’ve been like this all morning, don’t you have to go to your job?” her Mom yelled, putting her head through the open window.

The girl tilted her head, looking in her mother’s direction.

“I have no work today, Miss Miho is out of town today,” she said, after which she yawned.

“Maybe I should take a little nap,” Hanna added.

“You’ve just come out of bed. How can you be tired already? Please come and help hang the laundry.”

Her mother pushed the laundry basket through the window, landing it on Hanna’s lap.

Reluctantly, she started hanging the wet pieces of clothing with wooden clothespins. She kept an eye on the street, especially her neighbor's home.

When will Miho come back from the guild? she wondered. Her employer had gone on a mission to look for some guard to protect her on her next job. A job Hanna wouldn’t be allowed to go on. Sure, going into a dark grimy cave wasn’t the kind of thing she fancied, but she still felt a bit saddened being left out like this. The past months she and Miho had been spending loads of time together, so much that Hanna forgot how to spend her time alone.

She reminisced about the festival and the various cleaning jobs they took on together. Miho uses Clarice to clean all kinds of matters. Its transforming abilities had become almost legendary around town, the wielder a bit of an illustrious celebrity. A girl with a clear mission, going beyond just being an ordinary cleaner.

Hanna sighed, as she feared the early days of cleaning houses would end soon as Miho was becoming more ambitious, taking on a job involving her going into a dangerous dungeon.

It should have been clear from the start… she thought when leaning her arm on the washing line. Her weight was a bit too much for the thin rope that held the just-hung laundry and it snapped in two.

“Help help!” Hanna yelled while holding both ends of the snapped line, making sure the freshly washed clothing didn’t hit the dirty ground. Hanna’s Mom rushed toward her and helped. She fixed the line by tying a knot, connecting both ends.

“I had great hopes for you, practicing your skills and getting less clumsy over time,” her mother said with a disappointed voice.

“How am I ever going to get you married to some tall and handsome gentleman,” she added while letting out a deep sigh.

“Mom!” Hanna yelled at her mother, having absolutely no interest in getting married.

Her mother chuckled.

“You don’t have to marry just yet, going out into town for a while would also be fine…. you know what, why don’t you go run some errands?”

She grabbed a piece of paper and started scribbling a list of ingredients.

The disgruntled Hanna looked at the list getting longer and longer and decided to accept her faith.

“Fine,” she said while pulling the finished list out of her mother’s hand.

Hanna grabbed a shopping bag and her coat and started walking down the gravel road, toward the town’s central square.

Maybe I could take a little peek into the guild, to look for Miss Miho?

She walked up to the guild building, one of the most beautifully decorated ones in the town. The guild became increasingly wealthy, taking a fee for every quest that started or finished there. Even though it was most prominently located in the center of the town, Hanna had never been inside there. In fact, her Mom had always explicitly forbidden her from entering.

Those muscular heavily equipped adventures hanging outside waiting around to regroup for their next mission sure looked intimidating…

With little steps, Hanna moved closer to the entrance. Just as she was about to enter, the door swung open.

“Hanna? What are you doing here?” Miho asked while standing in the doorframe.

“I… I was doing some errands… and… and… I walked by,” she stuttered.

She imagined getting scolded for going near this danger, but Miho didn’t seem to mind.

“How is your mission going?”

Miho told Hanna about Karen and Lorian, who she had just recruited.

“I am taking the rest of the afternoon off, we will be inside the dungeon all day tomorrow,” she said confidently.

For an entire day…, Hanna worried about Miho getting lost in the cave.

“You don’t have to be scared, since I am not either,” Miho said while laying her hand on Hanna’s shoulder.

“I have to get going,” Miho said before leaving Hanna alone, standing in front of the guild.

X

Hanna traveled from shop to shop, her bag slowly filling up with all the errands her mother requested. Exhausted, Hanna looked at her mother’s list and found one remaining item she needed to buy.

“Baking yeast…” she read out loud.

Turning the corner, Hanna found herself back on the main square. There she noticed people setting up stalls in front of the bakery. Two muscular men were lifting wooden slabs, blocking the entrance to the shop.

“Excuse me!” Hanna said with a sweet voice, and the men moved the slab, letting her through to the baker’s door.

I wonder what will happen here, she thought just before entering the shop.

“Good afternoon, Miss Crumbleton, how has little Ben been?” Hanna asked the baker.

The woman laughed.

“Great, great, just the other day he mumbled his first words. My husband and I are still debating on whether he said ‘mama’ or ‘dada’ first, however”

She moved her head closer to Hanna’s and whispered.

“I am certain he said ‘dada’, but I can’t give my husband the win, can’t I? We women need a win once in a while right?”

Hanna chuckled.

“I am glad he is doing well. He will be able to take orders here at the counter in no time!” she joked.

“That would be awesome, I could finally get some extra rest…” the baker said while yawning.

“Excuse me, what did you want to order?”

“I’d like some baking yeast… and half a loaf of bread,” Hanna requested.

“Give me a second,” the baker said while going in the back.

Hanna heard a loud noise outside, she turned around to see the workers had dropped a bench on the ground.

“You’re excited already?” the baker asked, startling Hanna.

“Haa… ehh? Can I ask you what’s going on outside? I was so busy with work that I am a bit out of the loop,” Hanna said.

“The Friedenshain Fair Baking Contest?” the woman said while tilting her head.

“You haven’t heard of it?”

Hanna shook her head.

“We’ve been busy organizing this for months, I am so excited for tomorrow!” the woman said while pointing at a list hanging next to the door.

“There is one contestant slot still open, are you interested in participating, Hanna? Your mother told me that you have quite a knack for it”

“Well,” Hanna tapped the side of her head.

“I have the day off tomorrow since Miss Miho will be out of town,” she mumbled, remembering her mother telling her to find something to do.

This might be my chance to prove I can do something on my own.

“I’d love to participate!” Hanna said with a smile.

The woman handed her a pen.

“Please add your name to the list.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Hanna said after writing down her name. She turned around and started walking toward the door.

“Wait! Don’t forget your yeast and bread,” the woman stopped her.

“Haha, my bad!” Hanna responded, while she walked up to the counter and started putting the goods she bought in her bag.

X

With her bag filled to the brim with heavy groceries, Hanna returned home.

“I… am… so ... exhausted,” she said while plopping down on a chair.

“Thank you for helping me with the groceries Hanna, did you find a new job, perhaps?”

Hanna shook her head and explained she would be participating in the contest.

“Glad you found something to do, I am curious what you will come up with,” her mother responded while smiling.

“Please take a rest, tomorrow will be a long day. I will prepare dinner myself,” she added while inspecting the groceries.

Hanna got up and walked up to the kitchen counter.

“I need to do one more thing,” grabbing the freshly bought bread and slicing it with practiced ease. With some freshly made mayo and homegrown vegetables, she made a couple of nutritious sandwiches. She packed them up and knocked on Miho’s door.

“Please take these with you,” she said to her sleepy-looking neighbor while holding the wrapped sandwiches.

“Thank you very much,” Miho said with a smile.

“Please, promise me to be careful tomorrow!” Hanna added with a bit of an anxious voice.

Miho reached out her hand and laid it on the girl’s head, softly petting it.

“I told you not to worry, didn’t I?”

I will prove I can do something on my own.

I will win the baking contest!