Anna Kate Miller was just an ordinary nine-year-old girl who lived in the quiet town of Whispering Meadows. But the thing was that she wasn’t really. You see, both of her parents were top-notch bakers who owned one of the best bakeries in the whole town, Whisked Away Bakery. They made delicious pastries, the best. Their bakery had been given awards by the town for three years in a row! But the best thing about the bakery was that it was also a house. Yes, Anna Kate lived in the bakery! She would wake up to the scent of freshly baked bread and cookies and of sweet icing glaze. Of course, Anna Kate wasn’t allowed to eat the pastries or even look at them. She had tried to sneak some donuts into her school bag one too many times, so she wasn’t really trusted in the factory anymore. But sometimes Anna Kate would take little peaks. It was breathtaking, seeing all of these cupcakes and donuts being made. But this was no ordinary bakery. Things happened in the night when all of the bakers had gone and resorted to their beds and went to sleep. Something that nobody knew about, not even the Millers. The pastries would come alive at night to play. Donuts would jump around, cakes would make sprinkle art, and the cupcakes would eat a little too much icing. Their goal was to never be caught by anyone, so by 5:00 AM, that’s when the bakers start their shifts, they had to go back into hiding.
One stormy night in December, Anna Kate woke up at 11:20 PM to the roaring thunder. She also heard strange noises coming from downstairs. She thought that it was just the rats coming out of the sewers on the streets of Whispering Meadows, but the noise got progressively louder. Because Anna Kate couldn’t fall back asleep and she wanted a little thrill before the next day, she quietly tiptoed down the staircase, fearing that she may wake her parents. Luckily she made it down quietly. Anna Kate looked around to see where the noise could be coming from. That’s when she realized that it was coming from the bakery!
“I can’t go in there, I’m not allowed! If I’m caught, I’ll be dead before the next day even starts!” Anna Kate said quietly to herself. But Anna Kate took a deep breath and opened the door quietly. “WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT RANSOM DO YOU WANT?” Anna whisper-yelled, thinking a robber was in her house.
The alive pastries turned around, shocked. “AHHHHH! A HUMAN!” a donut yelled.
“What is going on?!” Anna Kate said. A cupcake replied, “I’m sorry but humans can’t know about us…Forget that you saw anything, little girl!”
Anna stood with her mouth wide open. “I promise I won’t hurt you guys. You’re actually all so adorable. I’m just in shock!”
That’s when more pastries came out. There were hundreds of them!
“Do you wanna play with us?” a little cupcake asked. “Of course!” Anna Kate replied. “We just have to be very quiet. If my parents hear us, y’all and me will be dead meat…”
Anna Kate enjoyed playing with these guys; they were very energetic. They may have had too many sprinkles. The donuts told Anna all about their adventures around the bakery. Every night they would get into the supplies and create a new pastry friend, but sadly, they would end up getting eaten by a customer! And to think that Anna Kate never knew about this… “Please do not tell your parents about us,” the cupcakes asked. “Or the donuts, cupcakes, or anybody!”
Anna Kate replied, “I promise, I will never tell.”
This went on for weeks. Anna Kate would sneak into the bakery at exactly 11:25 PM and play with her pastry friends and then go back to her bedroom at 4:30 AM and pretend that she slept all night. But one night the pastries had terrible news to tell. The Millers were getting a new recipe for all of their pastries, meaning that all of the old donuts, cakes, and cupcakes would be shipped off to other bakeries. Anna Kate couldn’t lose these little guys! They were too precious and sweet! But how could Anna Kate convince her parents to not get rid of the little pastries without revealing their existences? Anna Kate begged and begged for days for her parents to keep the old recipe. She would say things like “The current recipe is so good!” And “But that dough is top rated in town!” But nothing worked. They had made up their minds. The next time she visited the pastries, Anna Kate brought a box with her.
“What’s that?” a loaf of bread asked.
Anna Kate replied, “This is a box. And I’m gonna need you to get in it.” The pastries were hesitant, but they hopped in. “You guys aren’t going anywhere on my watch,” Anna Kate said proudly. She kept the pastries in her closet for days, hoping that her parents wouldn’t notice them. “You guys must stay extra quiet!” Anna Kate requested. “We can’t risk it.”
The Millers were so excited on the day that their new ingredients arrived. “Oh, John, I am so glad that we have a fresh start on ingredients here!” said Mrs. Miller. Maybe her parents were right about getting a new recipe and new ingredients for the pastries, because Anna Kate thought that they were better than ever. But Anna was just glad that her pastry friends were safe. And with the help of Anna Kate, they were able to make new friends out of the brand new ingredients. The Millers’ bakery really was magical, and only Anna Kate knew and she would be the only one to ever know. Anna Kate, now thirty years old with children of her own and taken over the family bakery, still keeps quiet after years. But hey, life of the bakery is pretty sweet after all.