After Story: Donuts, Donuts
EVER since my oatie and I began cohabitation, I more frequently detoured to Ayako’s garden on my walks with Koro, worried that the ayaksahi might feel lonely separated from its kin.
Our visit that day was…different. As soon as we arrived, the oaties clustered around us. Usually, they started to frolic and play without delay, but they stood silent, glaring accusingly at us. Something was off.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked in an attempt to break the tension. In response, they inched closer, tightening their circle. Intimidated, my oatie scrambled off my shoulder and sought refuge in my clothes. “Hey, that tickles!”
Before I could react, Towada grabbed its exposed tail and pulled the creature out of my top. “What do you think you’re doing?” he growled.
I quickly thanked him before returning my attention to the oatie, which, hanging upside down, had curled into itself and was flailing about with all its might. Meanwhile, the others crowded around us, seemingly conveying something urgent to Towada, sparkles flying from their mouths in agitation.
One scampered up my leg and tugged at my hand with eyes pleading. My oatie, presently clinging to Towada’s back, appeared terrified of the impending mob. “Okay, what is going on?” I finally demanded.
It looked at me with glistening eyes; it was so precious that a pang of guilt constricted my heart, almost making me tear up.
Towada peeled the creature off his back and held it out in front of him. “So you’re the culprit.”
“Culprit?” I echoed.
“Kitazawa, did you feed this guy something new recently? Something the color of tree bark, warm, round, and…ring-shaped?” he relayed, his interpretation replete with hand gestures.
“Something round and ring-shaped?” I murmured. Then it hit me: “Oh, donuts! I made donuts at home the other day.”
“Well, this little guy bragged about it, so now they all want a taste.”
I mentally kicked myself. The oaties loved snacks, and while I usually prepared enough to share, I’d made the donuts on a whim and it had somehow slipped my mind.
“Should’ve known it’d be food when they— Hey, stop that.” Before Towada could finish his sentence, the oaties began to barrage his legs with gentle taps. The prodding didn’t look like it hurt, and the sound of their paws’ contact was…squishy? And oddly adorable.
Picking up a disgruntled oatie, I lifted it to my face. “You wanted donuts, huh?” I cooed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”
It stared back, eyes brimming with tears, sadness, and betrayal. Its little mouth quivered before it collapsed against my chest and hugged me with its tiny arms. Oh my god, it’s so adorable I’m gonna cry.
“Okay, here’s the thing. I have all the ingredients for more donuts at home, but the dough needs to be rested. I can bring some over tomorrow. How does that sound?”
Joy instantly returned to the oatie’s face. Satisfied, it gave me one last hug before scampering off. Instantly, the oaties dispersed, engrossed in their usual antics, leaving behind a smitten me and an exasperated Towada. Koro soon joined the merry fray, which added another layer of warmth to my heart.
“You really don’t have to go out of your way for them,” Towada said.
“It’s not every day my creations are in such high demand. Plus, I make cake donuts, not the yeast kind. And I deep-fry them, so they’re much simpler to whip up.”
“I have no idea what cake or yeast donuts are, but if you say so…”
“I do say so! I enjoy it, don’t worry.” Baking and ballet were some of the few interests I had.
As we chatted in the garden, Ayako returned from work. “Haruka! It’s awfully lively today; what happened?”
After a brief recap of the afternoon’s drama, Ayako proposed that we make the treats at her place. And just like that, the donut party was set in motion.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE following day, I headed to Ayako’s house once more, well-rested dough in tow. As I began to fry the donuts, a crowd of oaties—the swarm even larger than normal—huddled around me in eager anticipation. I’d mixed an extra portion of dough just in case…but would even that be enough?
“They sure can’t get enough of Haruka’s snacks, can they?” Ayako observed. Waving away an oatie inching dangerously close, she warned, “Careful there, or you’ll get a splash of hot oil.”
“Unabashed in their gluttony is what they are,” quipped Towada.
I carefully submerged the rings of dough in the sizzling oil as he and Ayako passed them to me. I had a soft spot for old-fashioned donuts. I’d experimented with yeast-leavened varieties before, but nothing could beat a cake donut; they were easier to make and had more of a homemade feel to them.
Drawn irresistibly by the aroma, the oaties pressed in. “Look, I’m surrounded by an oatie donut,” I joked.
Ayako chuckled. “You really are. Even the color’s the same.”
“So you’re the hole?” Towada asked dryly.
The soft, pale dough hissed and bubbled in the hot oil. They turned a delightful shade of golden brown in seconds, releasing a mouth-watering scent. When they started to split beautifully on their surface, I knew they were done.
Before long, a towering stack of donuts sat before us. Miraculously, with one donut allocated per oatie, the count was just right. Their pleased faces said it all, which I was glad to see, but…
“Sorry, looks like we’re down to just these,” I said to the humans present, presenting a plate piled with donut holes. For some reason, the oaties insisted on eating the actual donuts—the shape was part of the appeal, after all.
“I’m fine with these. They taste the same anyway,” Towada said. He picked one up and placed it in his mouth.
“They’re like little cake pops, right?” I added.
Just then, Ayako emerged with mugs of steaming tea. “Tea for you—and you.”
That wouldn’t be the last time I fried up donuts for the little fellas at Ayako’s house, but that afternoon did mark the end of any chance to taste a ring donut proper in all its toroidal glory.