Inspiration Words: Fortnight and Contemplate
I have been made for a high and noble purpose. I am one of the special foods in China, and I have the wonderful task of bringing joy to many people during the Mid-Autumn Festival as they enjoy eating me and admiring the beauty of the moon on this special holiday. I have been told that the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival is full of joy as the family gathers to look at the moon and spend time together.
This year, the holiday is on September 21st, but it’s still near the beginning of September now. I have a fortnight before the holiday, and I can hardly hold back my excitement. At the factory, I was carefully prepared in two parts. On the inside, I am full of mung bean paste with a salted egg yolk in the middle. I’ve heard that this is the choice flavor for many Chinese people. Some of my friends contain nuts or dried fruit. Red bean and sesame are also common fillings, and sometimes I hear about taro or sweet potato. On the outside, I have a dense, breadish covering with my name stamped into the cake-like outer layer: Mung bean and egg (lv dou dan huang, loo-we doh dahn hwoo-ahng).
After I had finished baking, I was placed into a package; then put into an ornately decorated box. It’s quite comfortable inside, although it’s a little dark. There are four of us in here; two egg yolk flavors, and two lotus paste flavors. Since we can’t see outside anymore, we aren’t sure exactly what’s going on, but we are waiting quietly for us to be delivered to the happy family who will eat us.
After several days, we are finally on our way! I think we are going to a company, and from there, we will find our way into the hands of a family. Once we arrive at the company, I hear someone talking, and I realize I have been given to an employee! He walks with me for just a short while before everything goes still again. I think we are still in the building, but it’s hard to be sure.
The employee goes home (I can hear him turning off his computer and putting some things in a bag), but he doesn’t take us with him. The next morning, he comes in and opens the box, and I finally get a look at his face. He’s young and looks like he just woke up. His hair is carefully gelled, but his eyes are barely open as he studies us. Sadly, he then closes the box without moving any of us. I really thought he was going to eat us for breakfast, but I’m kind of glad he changed his mind. I want to wait and celebrate the festival with the rest of the family!
For the rest of the week, no one moves us, and I begin to wonder if the man is ever going to take us home. Perhaps he forgot about us. This time alone gives me lots of time to contemplate my purpose. Just as the family gathers to look at the moon, they also gather around mooncakes—a perfect representation of the moon’s shape. As they marvel at the beauty of the moon, they also marvel at the delicious taste of mooncakes.
One day, as everyone is packing up, I realize the holiday has arrived! Please pick up the bag and take us home to your family, young man!
When the man picks us up and begins to carry us out, I’m so excited! Where exactly will we go? We leave the building and start walking outside. For the first time, I realize how wonderful that office was. It’s so hot in this box, I feel like I am going to start melting—and I didn’t even know I could melt. I’m pretty sure the sun is pointing directly at me.
Finally, we start moving down, and the air becomes more bearable. I realize we are in the subway station. There are lots of noises. I can hear the beeping as the doors open and close; several people nearby are talking and laughing, and someone is playing phone games—sounds like guns shooting, but it’s hard to tell for sure. After one of the beeps of the door opening, I suddenly feel pushed. The box is sturdy, and I’m thankful because I can feel the sides starting to close in on me. This subway must be very crowded. I hope it’s over soon, before the beautiful stamp is destroyed!
We are finally off the subway, and the man is swinging us back and forth. He’s also whistling, and I think he’s excited for the holiday. I am too. Soon we will meet his family.
When we arrive at the young man’s house, we are placed in a corner and we can hear the happy chatter of the family, but we can’t see anything yet. Finally, after waiting for such a long time, they open the box and take me out. I’m so happy they chose me first!
A woman, who looks like the young man, but older, takes me out of the plastic bag and puts me on a plate.
“This looks delicious! I hope everyone has enough room for a mooncake!” She calls to the other people in the living room.
The other people look too full to be able to eat any mooncakes, but I do hope they try. The woman cuts me into several pieces for everyone to share, and finally I am living my dream.