Cabbage Soup

At exactly five past twelve, on a rainy autumn night, an old woman was humming a sweet melody, putting on a pot of soup as she had done for her kids and grandkids in years past. You could hear faint strikes of thunder and bike bells as they zoomed by every once in a while. She takes the pot off the stove and gently ladles some into a bowl. You can hear the quiet clanking of the cutlery as the old woman takes out a soup spoon and a small glass from a cabinet. The tap turns on with a loud "fsssssssh" and the old woman puts the half-filled glass beside her bowl of soup.

Now this soup was no ordinary soup. The whole neighbourhood knew of the famous granny down the road. She and her soup were beloved by all the neighbours, even the naughty little boy down the street who ran away every time his mom made carrot stew could not resist her cabbage soup. Her own grandkids were unable to visit, unfortunately, so she loved to spend time with the little boy.

It was raining even harder now, as you could hear the pitter-patter on the tin roof. The soup's aroma was starting to waft throughout the whole house overtaking the smell of the wet earth outside. She blew away the hot air and picked up her spoon to take a sip when –

*DING DONG*

The doorbell rang repeatedly. The old woman smiled ear to ear. The boy from down the street had come to visit knowing that the old woman only made soup on days with rainy weather. The woman opened the door to find a grinning 7-year-old who was wet from head to toe from running in the rain. The boy quickly ran to sit down at the table and poured himself an overflowing bowl of soup. The old woman started making conversation with the boy as she sat down, and they began to eat. 

On the wall behind the little boy's seat, there were two pictures framed on the wall. Her grandsons, who looked the same age as the boy (in the picture), who enjoyed the same soup as the boy. They would come over on rainy days just like the boy but one day the rain caused their car to skid and took them to the heavens. The woman's heart became heavy at the thought. They were no less adorable than him, the same toothy grin and the simple joy they brought to her. 

"Hey!" the boy said happily, "Your soup's getting cold!" He gave a smile so big you could see all the gaps where his teeth had fallen. Her heart soared and she gave a nod. There were seconds all around.

The writer is a middle school student at Jesse Ketchum Public School, Toronto, Canada.