The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List: Chapter 3
*From Ynntranslations
The next day, when they had finished cleaning up after lunch, Isabella and Leslie met in the music room. “Is this the song you were talking about, Leslie?”
Isabella reached into the bookshelf and took out one of the old books of sheet music lined up there.
“Yeah.”
Leslie took the sheet music from her. He brought a music stand over, and set the score on top of it.
“It’s actually arranged for piano, so I’m not sure how playing it on a violin will work out…”
He carried one of the cases containing musical instruments over to the table, set it on top, and opened the lid. Inside, it held an old but well-maintained violin.
Leslie removed the violin, the glossy brown surface reflecting the light, and set it against his shoulder, resting his chin against it.
Positioning the bow, he tried playing the first note.
A gentle sound echoed inside the music room.
Leslie gave a small sigh and glanced over at Isabella. He then took a deep breath, trying to dispel his anxiety, and began to play.
A calm melody filled the music room.
Isabella sat in a nearby chair and listened to his performance, clearly enjoying herself.
Dropping his gaze to the strings that he was sliding the bow over, Leslie followed the notes. The gentle music strangely reminded Isabella of Leslie’s singing voice, even though the song and sounds were so different.
When Leslie was finished, Isabella applauded.
“What a beautiful song!”
“Yeah, I love this one… But it’s so difficult. I’ve been practicing it for so long, but I still can’t play it perfectly.”
“Really? It sounded fine to me, though?”
She had thought that his performance just now had fulfilled the first item on his list. Isabella tilted her head quizzically.
“No, that wasn’t good enough. See where it gets complicated, right here? I always mess that up.”
Bow still in his hand, Leslie pointed at the score, making a face. Beside him, Isabella peered at the score, but she couldn’t understand anything other than that there was a string of notes that were connected to each other.
“Hmm.” Isabella thought for a bit, then raised her head away from the sheet music.
“I’ve got it. Why don’t you write down a copy of the part that’s giving you trouble, and then practice that by itself?”
Leslie’s eyes widened when he heard Isabella’s advice, and she smiled back at him.
“I don’t know much about music, but I can help you try to figure out what you can do to stop making mistakes.”
Leslie had honestly wondered if he was boring Isabella by making her come with him to practice, but Isabella had turned around and tried to help him in her own way. Leslie smiled.
“Thank you…”
Leslie played the part that he wasn’t good at over and over, then at the end, he played the entire song from the start one more time.
“Aww, you almost had it!”
By that point, Isabella had also figured out the part Leslie was having trouble with. Inwardly, Leslie marveled at how quickly Isabella could figure out literally anything.
Leslie put down the violin, and muttered, “To be honest, I do even worse when there’s someone watching, because I get nervous…”
“Oh? I didn’t know.”
Isabella pointed to the door and asked if he wanted her to go outside, but Leslie hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
“No! That’s not it… I meant, even though that’s usually true, I can play better if you’re here when I’m practicing,” Leslie said, averting his eyes.
Isabella looked puzzled for a moment, then said, “I’m glad,” with a smile of relief.
“Hey, can you play this one, too?”
“Huh?
When he heard the song that Isabella hummed, he couldn’t help laughing. It was the one he had composed, and Isabella was humming as a substitute for a title.
“Okay…”
Leslie picked the violin back up and positioned it, then began playing the melody while Isabella sang along. Partway through, Leslie decided to go with a different arrangement and increased the tempo a bit. Isabella laughed aloud at how cheerful it suddenly sounded.
“Okay, I need to get back to practicing, now.”
Leslie reviewed the section of the music that he hadn’t been able to play. Isabella glanced at the clock hung in the music room. Their free time only lasted until 5 pm.
“Hey, Leslie, why don’t you save the violin for tomorrow, and go ahead and move on to the next thing on your list?”
Before Leslie himself could remember which one that was, Isabella provided the answer. “‘Get a full score on my tests!’”
Isabella and Leslie sat side-by-side at a large table in the library.
“So when they ask for the surface area in this kind of problem, first you have to use , and that will give you object A’s…”
“Could… could you repeat that?”
With the notebook containing his homework open in front of him, Leslie was clutching his head trying to follow Isabella’s fast-moving explanation. She was kind enough to teach him how to do the parts he didn’t understand, but her explanations were so complicated that he could barely understand anything she was saying.
With a sigh, Leslie did a faceplant into his open notebook.
“There’s no way I can get a perfect score on the test tomorrow…”
“That’s not true! Once you’ve learned how to solve a problem, you just have to apply that,” Isabella told him—which was easy for her to say, as the one teaching him. Leslie wanted to say that it might be easy for her to do, but he resisted the urge.
“Hey, Isabella, Leslie, come play with us!”
“Soon we won’t get to play with Leslie anymore!”
A group of the younger children had come into the library, and were now standing on their toes and peering over the edge of the table. After noticing that the two had disappeared during their free time, the group had searched for them the whole time. Isabella and Leslie glanced at one another.
He hadn’t made any progress in his studies, but they couldn’t just say no to their little brothers and sisters. Leslie nodded, forcing a slight smile, and Isabella announced in a loud voice, “In that case, let’s try the next one, ‘be the last one left when we play tag’!”
Their little brothers and sisters cheered as Isabella stood up.
“W-wait for me, Isabella!”
Isabella and the others had immediately dashed out of the library, leaving Leslie to hurriedly gather his notebooks and papers and run after them with his arms full.
The child chosen to be “it” began counting, the sound of his voice echoing through the woods.
“This way, Leslie!”
Leslie was already breathing heavily. “Isabella, wait.”
Nimbly leaping over obstacles like rocks and bushes, Isabella made swift progress running into the depths of the forest. Leslie tried to follow her, but even a little bit of running left him out of breath. It took everything he had just to keep her in sight, and since he was looking straight ahead, he kept stumbling over rocks and tree roots.
Isabella glanced behind her, and when Leslie caught up to her, she pointed up and said, “Hurry and climb it before he gets here.”
“What?!”
Isabella was pointing to an enormous tree, thick with branches. Leslie was gasping for breath, doubled over, and he looked up at the tree and shook his head.
“I can’t climb a tree that tall!”
As Leslie tried to tell her that it was impossible, a look of sudden inspiration lit Isabella’s face.
“Then this is your chance to do number 5 on the list! ‘Learn to climb trees’!”
“What?”
“This way, we can take care of number 3, ‘be the last one left when we play tag,’ and number 5, ‘tree climbing,’ at the same time! Ooh, and I bet we can do number 8, too, if we keep going through the woods! That’s three at once!”
Isabella’s face shone as she spoke, certain that she had the perfect idea, and Leslie was struck speechless.
Isabella thought about things the same way that she played chess, always thinking about how to accomplish as many things as possible with a single move. Listening to her, she made it sound like it might really be possible for him to do everything on the list before leaving the House.
Unfortunately, whether her plans were good was an entirely different question from whether Leslie would realistically have any chance of carrying them out.
“I can’t reach.”
“It’s okay, just let go with one hand and try reaching over here.”
Isabella, atop a branch, extended her hand to him. Leslie was hanging onto a branch for dear life, kicking his feet uselessly in the air, unable to find a foothold.
“I don’t… think I can… AAHH!”
Leslie fell from the tree with a thud. Fortunately (or unfortunately), he hadn’t made it very far up the tree, so he wasn’t in danger of being hurt.
“Oww…”
“Leslie, what are you doing?”
Their little brother who was “it” emerged from a nearby thicket, having heard the noise, and he looked with astonishment at Leslie lying on the ground.
“Got you!”
“Ugh…”
Leslie slumped his shoulders at having been caught so easily by his little brother.
In the branches above, Isabella folded her arms and began considering her next move in this “chess game.”
“Number 4, ‘read all the books in the library’.”
“No, Isabella, there’s no way I can do that!” Leslie cried, looking at the mountain of books that Isabella had just dumped in front of him with a heavy thunk.
Leslie had been doing homework and studying on his bed before lights-out, when Isabella came in with as many books as she could possibly hold. Leslie’s eyes widened. After Isabella set the books down, she seated herself on the edge of his bed.
“Don’t worry! I’ll read them, too.”
“I’m… not sure that counts…”
Leslie took one of the books and opened it, but he wasn’t sure that he could finish reading even the one. It was a thick, difficult book titled “Mechanical Engineering and Human History.” Who would read a book like that in the first place?
He had only put that item on his list because he thought that if he could increase his base of knowledge, he might be able to become as smart as Isabella. As his eyes followed the words on the page, he scratched his cheek. He liked reading well enough, but when reading difficult books, it took him a long time to figure out each part.
“Isabella, it’s time for lights out.”
“Okay.”
Isabella was sitting on the edge of the bed, absorbed in reading the book on her lap. Even when replying to him, she never ceased turning the pages. Her speed left him wondering how she could possibly read that much in an instant, but she just kept turning the pages one after another.
One by one, their other siblings in the room fell asleep. Leslie could hear the sound of them breathing in their sleep.
Since they had to turn out the light in the room, he fetched a lamp, and the two of them furtively read by its light. Even so, they wouldn’t be able to keep doing this until Mama came to check on them.
“Hey, Isabella, you need to go back to your room.” Leslie said, worried, but Isabella, concentrating on her reading, never lifted her face.
The faint sound of footsteps emanated from the hallway.
“Isabella? Are you listening to me?”
“Leslie, pretend you’re asleep.”
“Huh?”
Isabella suddenly got up from the bed, where she had been sitting, and lay face-down on the floor, clutching her book. Leslie tried to ask her what she was doing, but in that instant, the door to the room opened.
Mama, who had come to make sure that they had the lights off, frowned at Leslie, who was obviously still awake.
“What are you doing, Leslie? Hurry up and go to sleep.”
“Y-yes, Mama.”
Leslie hurriedly shut his book and dived under the covers.
Geez, Isabella… If you knew Mama was coming, you could have told me.
His face half-hidden by the covers, Leslie watched Mama turn around to leave. Number 7 on his list popped into his head. “Get Mama to praise me for something other than music”—forget getting praise, he’d gotten a scolding instead.
After the door to the room closed and the sound of footsteps grew distant, Isabella stood up.
“Is Mama gone?”
“She is, but… you really need to go back now, Isabella.”
Isabella gave a small sigh, and set down the book she had just begun reading. Pushing her braid back behind her, she grumbled to herself, “I only got through ten books…” Leslie realized that beside her was an entire stack of books that she had finished.
Leslie glanced down at his first book, sitting on his lap, and sighed.
“Isabella… I don’t think I’m going to be able to do any of them,” Leslie said in a quiet voice, so as not to awaken the other children. Putting down the book, he opened up the notebook, which he had beside him.
“I just can’t do it.”
He had worked so hard for so long, by himself, in secret.
He had thought that maybe, if he could do all the things on his list, he would be able to change, to become someone different, but before he knew it, lost in his dreams, the day when he would leave the House had been set.
When he had been sorting through his things the day before, Leslie had already given up on trying to fulfill the items on his list. He was out of time, and it was over now, he thought.
But in a way he had never imagined happening, Isabella decided to help him out.
I never thought I’d end up working on the list with Isabella.
He had wanted to quit, thinking of it as an impossible challenge, but every time he did, he remembered Isabella smiling and saying “Why not? This is the last time you’ll be here.” That was the reason he had decided to work as hard as he could at in in the two days left until his departure.
He thought that maybe it could be possible, if he could tackle it with Isabella.
But the result was a disaster.
“Come on, you knew it would be that way from the start,” Leslie thought, slumping. Even if Isabella helped, that wouldn’t suddenly make him more capable.
Even after spending an entire day working at it, he hadn’t accomplished a single one.
“… And it’s not like I could do anything about a shooting star, either.”
Even aside from that one, he had very little hope for any of them. Doing all of them would be utterly impossible. Isabella leaned over toward Leslie, who had his face lowered.
“There’s still time, right? It’s too soon to give up.”
Isabella had wasted no time trying to cheer him up, and he smiled back at her—a smile full of self-loathing and loneliness.
“You’re incredible, Isabella… You can keep going and never give up, no matter what happens.”
Shadows from the lamp, turned down low, fell on Leslie’s face.
Leslie looked down at the list he had written.
“I wonder if my new father and mother will be disappointed when a useless guy like me shows up to be their foster child,” he whispered.
It had been weighing on his mind the whole time.
Leslie closed the notebook, and listlessly placed his hand on the cover.
“I’m think going to ask Mama tomorrow… if I can decline to go to that foster family.”
This was how Leslie had felt ever since hearing that they had found a foster family for him.
Even though there were other children who deserved it more than him.
Leslie looked at Isabella sitting right in front of him.
He wondered what he would do if, when he met his “parents” for the first time, they said “I don’t want a kid like this.” Maybe, even if they didn’t say anything, they would be disappointed and think “I wish we’d gotten a different kid.” His anxieties had done nothing but grow since the moment he was told about the foster family.
That was why fear had won out over hope regarding his new life that would begin soon.
Everyone would eventually leave the House. He had always known that his time would come, too, but once everything had been decided, he found himself frightened of going to live with a new family.
He wanted to stay in the House, now and forever.
He wanted to live here always, with Isabella, and Mama, and his siblings.
Which wasn’t to say that Leslie didn’t also long to see the outside world. It must be overflowing with so much music that they didn’t have in the House. He wanted to listen to an orchestra. He wanted to try playing music he didn’t already know.
He wanted as many people as possible to hear the music he had composed.
He had sometimes dreamed of the outside world like that, but Leslie continued to feel that, as long as he could be with Isabella in the House, he didn’t really want to go be with a new family.
If he left for the outside and a new family, they would be split up, and they would no longer be able to spend time together like this.
Laughing and talking about nothing in particular, struggling to keep up with her wild and unpredictable behavior, being encouraged by her kind words.
Singing together.
Just thinking about it made him feel so lonely he couldn’t stand it.
Leslie sighed. Isabella had silently listened to him, and he was about to tell her to go back to her room, for real this time. At that moment, Isabella, her head hung, opened her mouth and spoke.
“How can you say that, Leslie?”
“What…?”
Leslie started in surprise at the look Isabella was shooting him.
She was furious. The face that was always smiling so happily at him was now, in the lamplight, harsher than he’d ever seen. Shocked, Leslie found himself unable to say anything.
Isabella fixed her intense gaze on Leslie.
“They said they wanted you for a foster child. They chose you. Not me, or any other child in the House. So how can you say that?!” Isabella said, and pursed her lips.
“I-I’m sorry, Isabella… I didn’t mean—”
Flustered, Leslie voiced an apology and tried to reach out to her, but Isabella avoided it, too fast for him.
“… Forget it, Leslie. I don’t care anymore.”
Isabella spit out the words and ran from the room. The door shut, cutting Leslie off as he tried to call out to her.
Mama, who was there to inspect the rooms, was standing in front of the door to her room, but Isabella walked toward the room anyway.
On seeing Isabella appear from behind her, Mama slid her pocket watch back into her pocket.
“Isabella, where were you? It’s time for lights out.”
“I’m sorry, Mama.”
Walking around her, Isabella crawled into her own bed. For a little while, Mama watched her, but finally she said, “Good night, Isabella” and closed the door.
Now that the lights in the room were off, the faint blue light of the stars shone in through the window.
All around her, Isabella could hear the quiet breathing of her siblings who had already fallen asleep.
Her face buried in her pillow, the words she had spoken only a short time ago came back to her, and she felt a pain deep in her chest.
“…”
Why did I say that?
This was the first time she’d ever had a fight with Leslie.
She wrapped herself in the cool sheets, and her mind slowly calmed down from its overemotional state. The things she had said suddenly seemed so thoughtless and embarrassing.
It’s not Leslie’s fault…
“It’s mine.”
Isabella bit her lip.
When she had heard Leslie say that he wanted to turn down his foster family, her darker emotions had come surging out, and she hadn’t been able to hold them back.
Every time Isabella saw off another sibling, older or younger, she would always think to herself, deep down, “They didn’t pick me this time, either.”
Of course, she kept it to herself, and even within her own mind, she tried to extinguish those thoughts. They were all her precious, irreplaceable siblings. How could she not be happy for them when they could have a new life with a new family on the outside? She knew she should be happy for them.
But as other children kept being chosen, Isabella began to experience the first twinges of unease and a sense of inferiority.
She thought that there must be some reason she wasn’t being chosen, something lacking in her.
So she poured all her effort into improving at her studies and everything else. She was always a top scorer, volunteered to do chores, and even looked after the younger children. Isabella knew that Mama held her in high regard.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, other kids were always chosen.
If anything, it seemed like her siblings with lower scores were more likely to be chosen for foster families.
Isabella sighed, tossing and turning in her bed. She realized that her hair was still braided, and used her fingers to undo it. She laid her head back on the pillow, but she didn’t feel like she could sleep.
Leslie was so kind and gentle, and she had hurt him.
His face, struck speechless when he heard what she had said, appeared in her mind. It was the first time Leslie had made that kind of face because of her.
What do I do if Leslie hates me…?
Tears began to well up in her eyes, but Isabella held them back. She castigated herself, asking why, of all times, she had done this when they only had one day left—tomorrow—together.
Leslie’s song began to play in her mind, as she lay unable to sleep.
“…”
Isabella tried singing it, in a small voice, and gradually, a feeling of warmth filled her heart. Isabella kept on singing, in a voice so soft that only she could hear.
This song sounds like a lullaby.
Just listening to it made her feel at peace, and the worry and sadness she had felt until them vanished like smoke.
Leslie would leave the House tomorrow night.
Tomorrow would be the last day she could spend with Leslie.
I need to apologize him, and get him to forgive me…
As she thought about that, Isabella slipped into a deep sleep.
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Holiday Cookbooks: The Gift That Keeps On Cooking........
I know that I’m not alone when it comes to reading cookbooks similarly to the way one would read a novel. The cookbooks that interest me tell a story about the recipes and the author, or have a unique theme. Who else is a fan of single-subject cookbooks? Those that feature a certain ingredient in each of its recipes.
There are those who follow comedian Rita Rudner’s quote, “I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and say to myself, ‘well, that’s not going to happen.” However, they still enjoy a cookbook as a “prop”, or appreciate a beautiful coffee table book, where not one recipe is used, but the glossy cover has mouth-watering visuals.
This is the time of year when so many cookbooks are released; just in time for gift-giving season. Going through my ever-increasing collection, I picked some for you to consider as a gift for the cooks on your list. I am sure you will find one to buy for the cook-in-you too.
With kids spending more time at home these days, it is important to keep them occupied with fun activities. And, what child doesn’t enjoy spending time in the kitchen, and then enjoying the results of their efforts? Written for 8 to 13 year olds, “The Complete DIY Cookbook for Young Chefs,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2020, $19.99) teaches them to prepare common store-bought items from scratch. From peanut butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, and apple sauce to bagel chips, cheddar cheese fish crackers, and strawberry Pop Tarts, to vanilla no-churn ice cream, hot fudge, pancake mix, hot cocoa mix, they probably won’t go back to store bought! The symbols for each recipe denote if the recipe is for a beginner, intermediate or advance recipe, and if the recipe requires the use of a knife, microwave, stove, oven or no knife or heat required. I found the pages dedicated to secrets for “Success in the Kitchen,” “Decoding Kitchenspeak,” “What’s Up With Ingredients?,” “How to Measure and Weigh,” and ”Essential Prep Steps,” provide the perfect introduction to cooking. The “DIY Mixes” chapter details ways for kids to make homemade holiday gifts.
A companion book to the above title, is “Kitchen Explorers: 60+ Recipes, Experiments, and Games for Young Chefs,“ also by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2020, $12.99. The workbook format structures at-home learning, making it easy for parents to use the kitchen as a classroom. Experiments using food, interactive games and kid-centered recipes, allow youngsters to practice skills in a fun way. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on science experiments and activities, as I learned a few things along the way. Experiments include “What Makes Fizzy Drinks Fizzy?,” “The Gooey Science of Melting Cheese,” Amazing Emulsions.” After the experiments are completed, the “Understanding Your Results” helps the learning process. The “For Grown-Ups” chapter, created by educational experts, helps guide learning and connect lessons in the workbook to school curriculum. With “STEAM,” kids will learn how cooking involves Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
Bakers and dessert lovers will appreciate “Holy Sweet!: 60 Indulgent Recipes for Bigger, Better Desserts,” by Peabody Johanson (2020, Page Street Publishing, $21.99). Like the author, I have a sweet tooth too, so it has been added to my collection. This book was inspired by the author’s childhood favorites. Her introduction, mouth-watering photos, fun-to-read headnotes to each recipe, and the creative creations drew me to the book. Johanson takes pies, cakes, cookies, and cupcakes and infuses them with flavors of cereal, ice cream, candy and booze. Think, Milky Way Pie, Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Bread Pudding, Cap’n Crunch Boston Cream Pie Layer Cake. And perfect for the holidays, Peppermint Bark Red Velvet Layer Cake. Now don’t you feel like a kid in a candy store?
Brunch seems to have reemerged as a new craze. During the winter months, I prefer eating brunch, especially on Sundays. “Let’s Brunch: 100 Recipes for the Best Meal of the Week,” by Belinda Smith-Sullivan (2020, Gibbs Smith, $24.99) celebrates the meal that isn’t going away. The author writes in her introduction, “brunch just might become the new dinner party.” When life gets back to normal, this book will be a welcome addition to those who like to entertain. In the meantime, they have many recipes to explore. The chapter “Breads & Toppings,” has a recipe for one my favorites, Sweet Potato Buttermilk Biscuits. Pannettone Grand Marnier French Toast, Brisket –Stuffed Herb Cornbread, with recipes for jams, syrup and flavored butters to round out the chapter. Starters include Smoked Salmon Blinis, plus Jumbo Shrimp and Lump Crab with Vodka Cocktail Sauce. Of course, Smith-Sullivan includes many egg dishes and sides. Desserts run the gamut with Lemon Curd and Gingersnap Trifle, Savory Spice Olive Oil Loaf Cake among others. And what brunch is complete without a cocktail? Pomegranate Mimosa, and Chef Belinda’s Creole Mary should fit the bill.
Cheese aficionados on your list will welcome I Heart Cheese: A Cookbook, 60 Ooey, Gooey, Delicious Meals for Serious Cheese Lovers, by Mihaela Metaxa-Albu (2020, Page Street Publishing, $19.99). The vivid photography of the dishes coupled with the elegant plating will make the reader want to get right to work, preparing the mouth-watering dishes using a variety of cheeses. I found the breakdown of the chapters by type of cheese helpful. Before each chapter’s recipes, there are details and nuances about the cheeses in the chapter with suggestions on how to draw out the best flavors of each cheese. Both sweet and savory dishes are included, such as Ricotta Coconut Almond Cake, Savory Chili and Grana Padano Cookies, Deconstructed Cheese Board Salad, Savory Pancakes with Crumbled Feta and Chives. The recipient will enjoy their journey to cheese heaven with these recipes.
One doesn’t have to be vegetarian or vegan to enjoy plant based cooking. This style of cooking is popular because of the growing interest in healthier eating and sustainability. “The Complete Plant Based Cookbook: 500 Inspired, Flexible Recipes for Eating Well Without Meat,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2020, $34.99), is the book to help its recipients prepare meals that are not only healthy where vegetables take the center of the plate, but in a tasty and creative way. I found the makeovers of comfort foods quite interesting. For example, PB & J transforms into Sautéed Grape and almond Butter Toast, featuring fresh grapes sautéed with lemon and thyme, topping crusty bread slathered with almond butter. The book gives the reader inspiration to create plant-forward meals that don’t use processed ingredients. And, those beautiful photos are inspiring, as are their renown signature headnotes; “Why this Recipe Works.”
What cookbook roundup list would be complete without one for chocoholics? I am sure you or someone on your list is one. From everyday recipes to more extravagant treats, Sabine Venier, author of “The Chocolate Addict’s Baking Book,” (2020, Page Street Publishing), shares tips and tricks on how to make it easy to incorporate chocolate into a plethora of dessert recipes. Now, who wouldn’t savor S’Mores Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, Zucchini Chocolate Olive Oil Bars, White Chocolate Carrot Cake Blondies, or Sweet Potato Chocolate Cinnamon Roll Pie, or Apple Cider Chocolate Macadamia Toffee? Venier’s flavor combinations are creative and meld well. For those that prefer standards, there are recipes for Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting, Brooklyn Blackout Chocolate Cupcakes and Flourless Chocolate Cake.
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