The Skateboarder, the Cupcake, and the Telescope
Once upon a time, there was a skateboarder who also happened to be an astronomer. After discovering something wildly important with his personal telescope, he retired early and spent his days skating through his small beach town.
At the end of the boardwalk was a cupcake shop. He made it his mission to try every flavor on the set menu.
The ride became familiar. Waving to the same dog walkers and morning runners. Everyone knew each other; that was the beauty of small towns made him admire the decision to move far way from the bustling city that was wince home.
A full cycle of seasons went by & he was invited to guest speak at a conference out of town- one of the last ones of his retirement guest appearances.
As he caught the last flight home landed, texts flooded in asking if he was alright. Not someone keen on socials and living up in a retirement cloud, he had missed that there had been a hurricane in his quaint little new hometown.
Returning home, everything seemed okay, but the air felt different.
The next morning he managed to get the nerve to take that same boardwalk skateboard ride, and got to his cupcake shop hoping it had gone unscathed in the recent hurricane.
With its windows boarded up, he noticed a letter from the owners stating they weren’t sure when they’d reopen but they hoped to be back soon.
Morning rides weren’t the same, but he continued. The shop all boarded up stayed as a part of his route. It was a relic of the community- of of what was.
This was the morning he stopped at his PO Box.
He noticed a letter, with a cupcake stamp.
He smiled as he knew exactly who it was from… his dear friend from the shop.
Elle worked at the shop from the time she was 13 and loved how simple her mornings were. Though her passions were filled with wild intelligence and wanted to get a masters in astronomy, she couldn’t find the nerve to give it up. Since the hurricane, she finally decided it was time she found different work.
While researching she came across Henry Harris’ last conference. She had spend years looking through the telescope that was once her grandfathers trying to find that silly star that made him so famous. Harris was famous for retiring at the ripe age of 40.
As she watched in awe she couldn’t help but think he looked familiar. Then every cosmic lightbulb in her mind shot off.
“H… omg. that’s H! H is Henry Harris?!”
Henry went as H. In a surf town of many, it was common to have nicknames. She couldn’t believe her eyes and slammed her laptop shut and called her mom’s dear friend.
“I want to help reopen the shop.”
Henry opened the letter and saw two index cards fall out of the envelope first- they were recipes for the last two flavors he had never tried—along with the address to her new cupcake shop… but he recognized it to be the same.
Elle used her inheritance to help the owners rebuild and reopen but they in fact sold it to her under the condition she kept it the same and the menu of flavors,
She did decide it was time for a new signature cupcake. Mr. Americana, classic buttercream Funfetti.
“I named that one after you,” she wrote.
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