A Story A Day. Story 64 of 365: Chocolate.

The first time I had chocolate my mind was blown away. I was in my twenties, and a boyfriend gave me a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. It was the first time I had chocolate for myself, also. My family was poor, and we couldn't afford those luxuries, we had cake only on really special occasions, and, compared to the cakes other people had, was more sweet bread than cake, however we all knew that we needed to save as much money as possible to afford having studies. My parents, both came from really poor families, and they barely knew how to write, but they had been educated long enough, and they had had a hard enough life, to know that studies would be important for their children. This meant no holidays and no expendable things, like chocolate. We had a spartan lifestyle.

So, there I was, in my twenties and having a box of chocolates all for myself. I remember crying because of it. My boyfriend couldn't understand it, he had never been poor, he had taken chocolate and nice things for granted, he couldn't quite grasp what it meant to me. I thanked him a thousand times, and he insisted it was nothing, but it was. It was much more than he could ever imagine.

I opened the box with trembling hands. The smell hit me. It was sweet and creamy and sharp, if you've smelled chocolate you know what I am talking about, it's a smell you can almost eat. It's just a hint of the explosion of taste you're about to live. I closed my eyes and rejoiced on the smell. I thought there wasn't an aroma as good as it in the world. I thought that if heaven had a scent that had to be it. I started feeling the subtle notes of coffee, of fruits. I finally opened my eyes and looked down at the chocolates wrapped in colored paper. They had different shapes and colors, they were only chocolates, but to me they were like precious stones. I took one, my hand shaking from the emotion.

The paper made a crisp sound as I unwrapped it. The chocolate shone on my hand, dark brown. I touched it, it was silky and a bit cold. I raised it to my nose and smelt it. It was rich, exuberant. I took a first shy bite and the flavor went rushing through my mouth. I can't really describe it, but it tasted even better than it had smelled. I closed my eyes, once again and got lost in the ocean of flavor. Tart, sweet, exquisite. I think it took me ten minutes to eat the whole chocolate. I was overwhelmed with the experience. That box lasted me three months, I was keeping it for special moments, because I knew I would need time to enjoy the experience.