I was a young girl when I first tasted the wonder that is spellvok candy. It was a warmer spring day, and it had just finished raining, when my mother decided to take us out to get some snacks and treats. She took us to the marketplace, and it was the first time I had ever been. I stared in wonder at the stalls, offerring so many cool things. I wanted to get everything there, from the cool little gadgets to the giant toys to
every single food item I could see and smell. And boy, did everything look so good. I begged my mom to stay there for hours, just to visit all of the stalls and talk to all of the vendors. I remember she gave a light, melodic laugh, as she said, "Sweetie, you have school in an hour. Pick something quickly, we can come back later".
And that's when I saw them. Sparking in the dewy sunlight, laid out on a tray in a stall in the corner. They didn't particularly smell of anything, like all the other treats in the market did, but they caught the light and my eye. I ran over to that stall immediately, grabbing one before my mother could react. I asked the vendor about the treat, and the Kuuyik responded with a soft smile as they told me their story.
They learned how to make these candies when they were young, they told me. They and their friends would swim through the submerged caverns, keeping an eye out for glints on the walls. They would collect as many of these spellvok crystals as they could, and then return home to help their parents make the candies.
But he told me that if I wanted to know the recipe, I had to come back later. So that day, I went to school, and the whole day I was thinking about the candy that was waiting for me at home. It struck a perfect balance between sweet and salty, with a sort of tang to it that made it stick out. Eating the candy had a fizzling taste, dancing on my tongue. It quickly became my absolute favourite candy, and I just
had to learn how to make it.
And so it became a family tradition, me and my mom going to the market to find the spellvok candy vendor, me eating the delectable candy while listening to more of their story, and us running out of time before I had to head to school. But the day before I was able to learn the end of the story with the recipe, my family and I moved away. I was unconsolable.
I spent the entire day crying and begging my mom to stay just one more day. Be she wasn't convinced that the vendor was ever going to tell me the recipe, and she did not relent. We moved halfway across the continent, and no matter who I asked, I could not find a single person who knew how to make the candy. I was devastated. I grew up the rest of my childhood with a notable lack of any more spellvok candy, until I was an adult and could leave home.
As soon as I could, I packed my bags and a travelled to the city I had spent the first half of my childhood. I was so excited. I would get to meet the Kuuyik again, they would be able to finish their story, and I would live happy knowing the recipe. I'd bring it back to my mom, share it with all of my friends, and I would be happy. I spent the entire week looking forward to the market, my elation only increasing with each passing day. I knew the day was close at hand that I would learn the recipe. So when the market finally opened that rainy morning, I braved the day despite the weather and marched my way to where the kuuyik's stand had been.
But it was gone. It was gone. They were no longer there, and the candies were gone. This couldn't be. No, it couldn't. I had to rationalise it, I told myself that the vendor just didn't like the rain. The fact that they were a kuuyik and semi-aquatic didn't even cross my mind, I had to tell myself that he would be there the next week. So I spent the rest of the next week anxiously waiting for the days to pass. And I became hopeful. Each new day I would tell myself that they would be there, and each day I was more convinced. I wanted them to be there, I needed them to be there. They
had to be there. And so the morning of the market I was up bright and early, ready to almost sprint right to the market.
But unfortuantely, life does not always mirror one's expectations. Despite the now sunny day, the kuuyik was still not there. I asked around, now desparate, to determine where they went, but no one could tell me the answer. I was devastated, thrown back to that fateful day when I was just a kid. But it only became worse when I found the one person who could tell me what had happened. It was that day I learned that the vendor had moved on to a different market the week before I had gotten there, and I had just missed them. No one knew where they had went. I was cursing myself about this. If I had just gotten there a week earlier, I would have gotten the recipe. I could have gotten the recipe. I should have gotten the recipe.
Dejected, I returned home. My spirits were crushed. I wasn't able to speak to my family or my friends. I spent the days indoors, mourning what could have been. And that's when my parents introduced me to They-Who-Walk. They-Who-Walk was a kuuyik person who had just come from the submerged caverns. Careful to not raise my hopes up, I asked them if they knew how to make spellvok candy. They did, and I was immediately lifted from my woes. We made spellvok candy together, and I was finally satisfied.
As life went on, They-Who-Walk and I became close friends, and then lovers. It was not too long ago that we tied the knot. We practiced their culture's traditional matrimony ceremony, with our loved ones each offering a flower for our bouquet. My parents gave us an artificial replica of the spellvok candy, however - a sign of how me and my now-spouse had met, and the start of a new tradition between us.
Now, beside the bouquet we keep on the kitchen counter, we also take part in our weekly tradition of making delicious spellvok candies. It's become a family-wide event, and we make tens of candies every time we meet. In fact, They-Who-Walk and I have become vendors at our local market, so that other can experience the joys of our childhoods.
Ingredients
In order to make spellvok candy, you will need the following ingredients:
- 3-4 Spellvok Crystals
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water (traditionally salt water, but fresh water will do)
Directions
Step 1: Crush up the spellvok crystals into a fine crumb.
Step 2: Boil your water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Step 3: Mix the crushed-up spellvok pieces into the water/sugar mixture. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
Step 4: Put the liquid into molds or shapes of your choosing. Chill for 24 hours.
Step 5: Serve.
I hope you enjoy this recipe just as much as me and my family have.
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