The Death of Dreams (Frankiana)

Chapter 27

Mae's POV

[ In conclusion; the phenomenon of Reincarnation is now a proven fact, scholars scientists named here are not the only ones, this research extends to just some universities in the United States and Europe.

The New Age is already underway, consciences are awakening from the ancient slumber, and no one is surprised when we hear the question “what have I done in another life to deserve this?” This is already a common phrase, gradually the idea of ​​reincarnation is taking shape in our consciousness.

Science is responsible for giving the stamp of authenticity to this reincarnation facts, and the modern man, after centuries of darkness, can come out as the clear winner of death and understand that everything that happens to us is the result of our own responsibility.]

Gulong gulo na ako sa mga bagay. Hindi ko na alam kung sino at ano ang paniniwalaan ko.

..

Diana's POV

In 3, 2 and 1!

"Your time is up!."

Gosh, I think this is really it. Hingang malalim Diana, kaya mo yan.

"Let's call now our chefs."

Lumabas na kami dala ang dish na niluto namin. Isa isa nang tinanong ang ibang chefs. Then the master tasters started to taste it and wrote down their prediction on what the secret ingredient is in their notebooks.

"Diana Mackey."

Lumapit nako sa dish ko.

"So, what do you call this?." Tanong ng nag-iisang babaeng judge. She's probably in her early 30s.

"It's MACKEY'S TASTE's General Chicken Cubes."

"Tell us what's in this dish without mentioning the secret ingredient." Request ng isang judge. He's a man around his 30s.

"A quick marinade in a mixture of Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little sugar."
"Hmm interesting. Thank you Diana." Sabi ng isang lalaking judge, siguro halos kaedad ko lang.

Tinawag na ang mga nakasunod sa akin. Nang matapos nila kaming lahat matanong nagsimula narin sila sa pagtawag at predict ng secret ingredient. Binigyan kami ng maliit na white board kung saan isusulat namin dun kung tama ang judges.

"Diana, you used seasalt. You didn't mention that in the ingredients." Sabi ng 20+ year old judge.

"Please step forward if the judges predicted your secret ingredient wrong." Sabi ng host.

Tatlo lamang kaming nag step forward. At talagang nagulat ang judges nang malaman that they got mine wrong.

"Wow, we got our top three. Let us call each one of them to explain what really is their secret ingredient blablabla."

May isang sumagot at nagpaliwanag na melted butter lang ginamit niya. She explained it beautifully na parang gusto ko nalang umuwi. Tapos sumunod na yung isang lalaki, sabi niya naman love and people adored him for that. I guess love is one of the most wonderful ingredient that a dish could have. And then talked about their family legacy in cooking which is really inpiring.

"And now, last but not the least. Diana Mackey." Sabi ng host.

"What is your own version of secret ingredient? Is it also abstract like love or concrete like a butter melting?." Dagdag pa niya.

"Uhm probably both."

"What do you mean? Is that even possible?."

"Would you believe that the secret ingredient is LYING?."

Nagtawanan silang lahat but I didn't care.

"Just a couple of minutes ago, everything made sense. But that's the truth, the secret ingredient is lying."

"Which part did you lie about? The Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, or sugar? I mean that has to be somewhere in the sauce right?."

"Good guess sir, but it's wrong. The lie lies behind the name of the dish. What the judges ate wasn't a chicken. It's actually tofu."

"Wait what?."

"You heard it right sir, it's not chicken. I've tricked the judges by giving them the initial mindset of what's the main ingredient, which is with using the wrong name. It's as simple as that. I've spent most of my life thinking why daddy's dishes are way more different when somebody else cooks it. And it's because he was lying. I realized that when I remembered dad asking me what I know about little white lies. It just means tofu all along haha. We commonly use tofu as a meat substitute. Tofu is made from soybeans. We all know how kids and even some adults don't like vegetables. He used that technique in most of our dishes to keep our customers healthy without realizing they're eating veggies with the illusion of eating a tasty junk food. Sometimes, to keep everything healthy and well-balanced, you have to tell white lies once in a while because at the end of the day, what matters more is you take in something that wouldn't kill you. Thank you. Keep surviving."

Nabigla ako kasi nagpalakpakan silang lahat kahit pinagtawanan nila ako kanina.

"Wow. What a wonderful speech. So, Mommies at home take note of Diana Mackey's tips on feeding your picky children. Just the right combination and review of the recent rounds. Guys, you don't have any idea how glad I am to be in this show." The host said a bit emotional.

"But this is it, I'm going to read the final two qualifiers for the final round." Napapapikit nalang ako.

The guy and I are called and this time is really pressuring me.

"Congratulations to our two survivors in this competition. Now your next challenge will be the hardest challenge of all. I'm warning you, this takes a lot of brain power, like critical thinking skills and creativity. And your challenge goes this way: you will cook any dish with a lot of ingredients in it. But here's the catch, it has to be neutral or has no taste at all, and make sure that you preserve its nutrients. And we'll be back in a short break."

Are they serious right now? That's plainly impossible! How could you cook something with more ingredients without any taste at all? That's just bullsht. There's no way I could win this competition. I only practiced and memorized the things I've tasted before the accident. I don't know how cooking with no taste is actually like. Like there's no flavor or anything, because even water has taste.