Her grandmother had a sweet tooth. She loved to hum a song, and sweeten her tastebuds. And it showed every time she spoke to someone. Love was the only feeling she generated. And let’s face it—the demand of love is higher than its supply. Her sugar-coated words struck a chord with everyone who heard her speak. She was her elder sister’s role model. And her brother’s biggest cheerleader. But she had nothing to offer her grandma, or the family. The slot for the first child had been taken by her sister while her brother basked in the glory of the only boy child. But she was the third—and a mistake, which also made her invisible. She grew up waiting to be noticed, but it was like hoping to be the only cause of shimmer and shine in a diamond mine. So she decided to play on her grandma’s weakness. After a lot of coaxing she got her to the best place in bombay which was known to serve the sweetest delicacy of all time—the seven layered cookie with a scoop of rich butterscotch ice cream. She imagined how their little date would pan out, playing it in her head a million different ways. And every time, it ended just the way she wanted it to—she would finally receive the love that was generously dished out to one and all. Unable to contain her excitement, she grinned from ear to ear. As the cookie arrived on the table, she saw her grandma’s eyes light up. How lovely, she thought. It was all going as per the plan. They both dug into the warm and soft cookie. A thick layer of molten chocolate oozed out as they savoured the sinful dessert. The butterscotch ice cream cut the sweetness a little bit, cleaning the palate. But just a few bites into it, she saw her grandma put down her spoon. Wait, what? Why did she do that? Her questioning eyes, gave it away. Her grandma just looked at her as if she’s had enough and said, “it’s too sweet for me. I need some water.” Crestfallen, she looked down at the dessert and thought—on the brighter side, you didn’t always need people to feel better. So she dug into the folds of the chocolate to keep the smile on her face intact.