Pumpkin-spiced lattes? Deep-fried Thanksgiving turducken? Tamales? Matzahballs? Hot pot? Dumplings? Black-eyed peas? Shabushabu? Jamaican rum-soaked Christmas pudding? Overeating on the holidays? As long as its food-related, it’s okay!
Nightmare by Steven Luke
The Princess awoke in a dim light. This is not my bedroom, she thought sleepily, while all around her a lullaby echoed, begging her eyelids to close again.
“Juicy sweet are rats and bats…”
But waist deep water urged for alertness. No, she panicked. This is not my bedroom. The Princess patted about the walls of her chamber and found them warm and oily.
“…Dainty are their friends the cats…”
On all sides, she was nudged and prodded by…Carrots? Celery? Potatoes?
It’s just a nightmare, she reassured herself.
The Princess closed her eyes and repeated:
I’m in bed.
I’m in bed.
I’m in bed.
“…Dogs and horses taste good too…”
Taste good? Above her, an eclipse of light insulted the Princess like the end of the tunnel. This was no nightmare. This was real.
“Taste good!?” screamed the Princess from inside the cauldron.
“…But nothing beats a princess stew!”
Gift by Sanghyun Gottlieb
Amy had lost everything. She had left her Head Chef job to move to Seattle with her fiancé, Alex. She was in a new city, new apartment, and had a new roommate, June—her new best friend. It hadn’t been easy to take an Assistant Chef job, but she thought it was worthwhile…until Alex and June confessed they are deeply in love. WTH. Amy completely lost it. When she finally stopped crying, nobody was in the apartment—only June’s dog, Caleb, staring at her.
When Alex and June returned, Amy was gone. On their dining table was a sandwich and memo on a plate. “This is the only thing I can do for you. Goodbye. – Amy” Strong feelings of guilt and relief simultaneously came over them. They sat down and bit into the sandwich. “My god. It’s delicious, like heaven!”
As they ate, Caleb’s bloodied collar lay in the sink.
Sweet Dream by Arisleidy Chavez
Clara was looking at the rain through the window. It was a rainy day in Seattle like every day, and she felt nostalgic. Very soon will be Christmas, and like every year, she revived her amazing Christmas in Spain. Some images crossed her mind.
The protagonist was the food. She saw the roast lamb and the ""mazapanes, turrones, and frutas confitadas"" on the family tables to celebrate ""Noche Buena"". She saw the laughter and toasts with grapes and cava of ""Noche Vieja"". She could feel the children's contagious emotions of ""Dia de Reyes"" enjoying the ""Roscon de Reyes"" and the Spanish style chocolate, and she thought that's the best she had ever tasted.
She felt the roasted chestnuts' smell was so real. She was thinking every place has a characteristic smell, and that's the Madrid winter's smell when the rain's sound on the sign right next to the window interrupted her daydream. She woke up, and was starving.
If Only by Natalie
“Open your eyes now!” yelled mom in excitement.
As I opened my eyes I gaped and stood in shock. I was standing in a room filled with all my favorite foods. My mouth curved up into a huge smile. It was strange at first because I couldn’t smell anything. But the first thing that caught my eyes was at the center of the table. There was an enormous turkey just waiting to be eaten. With a watery mouth I walked up to the table to grab a piece of a turkey leg but it dispersed in the air and away from my hands. Panicking, I start to grab everything I could but only realizing I couldn’t. I looked up for my mom but she was gone. I woke up with tears in my eyes and arose to stomach pains. The realization struck me hard. It was all a dream…
