Oh My God!!!
I just couldn’t believe it.
Couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
They were back, like a blast from the past.
They were right there, in front of me, on the table
and I was flabbergasted.
Then one of the twins quipped; don’t know which one as
I was too busy staring in front of me, ‘Ma it’s just chocolates, why are you
drooling over them?’ The chocolates being referred to had just been served
along with the bill for dinner we had had at a small local diner.
My head snapped up and I glared at the twins. Instead
of being intimidated or even unsettled by the unwarranted and rather hostile
response from their mother they were puzzled by the fact that their non-chocolate
mom was drooling over some simple small chocolates. And when they, being the
chocolate lovers they are, extended their hands to pick them up I snarled at
them and swooped in to scoop up all the chocolates just like an eagle swoops in
to grab its prey off the ground. I profusely thanked the owners of the diner and
they perhaps understanding the significance of the chocolates for me offered a
few more and I readily took them; promptly forgetting that my kids were
watching me and I had been haranguing them that it was BAD manners to take more
than one chocolate when offered.
Once I had them safely in my possession I looked over
at the twins and saw that they were truly intrigued by the humble looking
chocolate and their mother’s total volte-face. With a smile on my face (now
that the chocolates were safe and secure in my hand) and reverence in my voice
I told them that these were no ordinary chocolates and strictly speaking they
are not chocolates at all, they are toffee. These toffees were an integral part
of my childhood. They were the only toffees/chocolates I loved, of course
helped along by the fact that they were affordable and I could have them every
day. Even after so many years my taste buds and my brain cells remembered their
distinct flavour.
But as the years had gone by I had forgotten about
them and they too had disappeared apparently pushed out by other new swankier
and bigger chocolates. I hadn’t seen these toffees for over two decades and
just like an old forgotten toy is stuffed in a suitcase and tucked away in an
attic, the memories of these toffees too had been tucked away in some corner of
my memory-attic. But seeing them now had brought it all back. I knew exactly
how they would taste the moment I would pop them in my mouth and I hoped they
would not disappoint me. You know how sometimes ‘improved and better’ spoils
the original.
I shared one each with my twins and one with my
husband. Finally it was my turn. I slowly unwrapped the toffee, gazed at the
tawny coloured rectangle with the same admiration and awe as I would a
beautifully cut diamond I had just unwrapped from its velvet cover, slowly but
surely building up the anticipation of putting in my mouth until at last I did
just that. I put it in my mouth closed my lips then closed my eyes and slowly
chewed on it. I was thoroughly gratified
by the same familiar taste and a sigh of great pleasure escaped my lips.
To make the twins understand how precious they were to
me (the toffee not the twins), I told them that they are to me what Ferrero Rocher
and Toblerone are to them. And once they had their ‘Ahh..’ moment and nodded
their understanding I was able to elicit a promise that they would leave these
toffees alone, for me to enjoy, till I could find a store where I could buy
them.
And now that I have found them again I happily share
them with my kids and my friends and you will always find them in my purse. Every
time I share them with someone and see a spark of recognition in their eyes and
a smile on their face I know the toffee have been a special part of their
childhood too.
Which toffee is this, you may ask?
Well it’s none other than our………
Very own
Very humble
Kismi toffee.
