The Chocolate Cake

This was a narrative essay title: 'Write a story which includes the sentence:'He could never resist temptation.' I had this idea for a long time for a story, but I only got around to writing it the day before yesterday. I had to give it a title, so I named it 'The Chocolate Cake', because it was the one which caused all the trouble!

Everyone was out. Only Ahmed was home, lying on the couch, watching television. In the middle of the football match, he realized he was feeling extremely hungry-despite the bag of potato chips he had just golfed down.  His stomach grumbled angrily. Ahmed took to its warnings and went into the kitchen. The cupboards only contained his wife Saira’s dinner set, big canisters of flour and sugar, spices, and other cooking materials.

Desperately, Ahmed opened the fridge. A big chocolate cake attracted his attention. It was a huge cake covered evenly on the top and down the sides with creamy dark chocolate. The top was neatly bordered with rich cream white as snow. The center was frosted delicately with icing sugar, crushed coconut, and brightly colored sprinkles.  His wife was an excellent cook, and the cake looked simply delicious. Ahmed was tempted. He could never resist temptation.

He reached out into the fridge and gingerly took out the cake. He carefully carried it to the lounge where the TV was still blaring, madly, to an invisible audience. He put the cake deftly on the centre table and slouched down onto the couch once again. Every now and then, he would roughly grab the knife, cut a thick slice of cake and cram it into his mouth. A smeary chocolate moustache was forming above his upper lip. His eyes were glued intently to the TV screen.

When Ahmed’s wife, Saira, returned from her shopping spree, exhausted and laden with about half a dozen shopping bags, she was astonished to discover that her freshly baked cake, which now stood suspiciously on the lounge’s  table, was half gone.

“Ahmed!” she yelled angrily at her husband. “You finished most of the cake, now what will I serve for dessert at the dinner party tonight???” she asked desperately.

Ahmed had nothing to say. It wasn’t that he had forgotten the party, he just hadn’t realized that it was meant for dinner. He bowed his head, ashamed, while his wife gave him a fierce glare as she wearily went off to bake another cake.

***

Ahmed had no idea how his eating habits were having an adverse effect on him. Ten years later, on his death bed with Coronary heart disease and suffering from severe angina and chest pains, he wistfully wished that he hadn’t piled up on so much food. Had he paid attention to those sincerely advising him to exercise, to control his diet and to eat desserts only in moderation, he  would not have to face the deadly disease he was suffering with today.