Mr.Witherpan - The Cook by Nisha Pillai - HTML preview

Once upon a time, there stayed an old man named George Witherpan. Mr. Witherpan was one of the richest in the city.

After retirement, he spent most of his time in the garden growing flowers and vegetables. When he wasn’t in the garden, he spent time cooking which was one of his favourite hobbies. He would cook new dishes and make his housemaids taste them.

“This is delicious sir.” They would say to which Mr. Witherpan smiled proudly.

Mr. Witherpan enjoyed inviting people to his villa and made them food himself.

People would be happy to get invited to the luxurious house and would get fascinated when they get to know that the old guy had prepared the entire meal all on his own.

One day Mr. Witherpan met two guys at the store.

“You look new to this place.” Mr. Witherpan asked them.

“Yes we are, sir. We just moved in a week ago.” One of them replied.

“Lovely. I would be happy to get to know you guys better. Would you like to join me tomorrow for lunch at my home?” Mr. Witherpan asked.

The men looked at each other and happily agreed.

The next day when both guys arrived, they were surprised to see the majestic view of the house.

“You have a beautiful house Mr. Witherpan. Do you stay alone?”

They asked.

“Yes. My children moved away for work. I stay all by myself.” Mr. Witherpan informed. “Are you boys hungry?”

“Yes we are.” One of the men replied.

The men followed Mr. Witherpan to the dining room and were surprised to see the variety of dishes on the table.

“Wow! You made all these food all by yourself?” One of the men asked.

“Yes I did. I love cooking. Also you would be happy to know that all that vegetable you see on the table are from my garden.”

“That is amazing!” One of the men said fascinated.

“Let’s not keep the food waiting.” Mr. Witherpan said and signalled the men to sit.

The food was served by the maid. It was all silence till the meal was over.

“So how was the meal boys?” Mr. Witherpan asked.

“It was delicious, sir.” One of the men said.

The other one said,” The food was great. I guess we should leave now.”

“It was fun to have you here. What are you doing tomorrow evening? We can plan dinner together!” Mr. Witherpan asked excited.

“Oh! Tomorrow… it’s a busy day. May be some other day, sir. ”

One of the men said and both of them left.

It was usual for people to join Mr. Witherpan for a meal and then, never come back.

Mr. Witherpan never gave it a thought.

One day, Mr. Witherpan’s son called him to inform that one of his friend’s family were visiting the town.

Mr. Witherpan decided to get them for a meal. They were a couple with two children.

When the family arrived, Mr. Witherpan merrily welcomed them.

“You have a beautiful house Mr. Witherpan.” The lady said.

“Thank you… “Mr. Witherpan replied smiling.

“Sir, the dinner table has been set. “ One of the maids informed.

“Please join us on the table. “Mr. Witherpan said and guided the family along.

“I hear that you make food yourself!” The man asked intent.

“Yes. In fact, the vegetables that we use in the food is from our garden as well.” Mr. Witherpan informed smiling.

“Wow!”

As all of them settled on the dining table, the food was served on the plates.

As they began their meal, one of the kid said,” Mom, I don’t like this.”

“This thing tastes so weird.” The other one said.

The lady promptly said, “You shouldn’t say that Kevin. That is rude. “

She turned towards Mr. Witherpan and said, “I’m so sorry Mr.

Witherpan. The food is lovely.”

Mr. Witherpan looked at the kids who were making faces and playing with their plates now.

“Dear, it the food so bad?” He asked the kids.

The Kid’s father interrupted, “Mr. Witherpan…”

“No…No…No... Let the kids speak up. I want to know.” Mr.

Witherpan insisted.

One of the children replied,” I don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it either.” The other kid replied.

The couple looked at each other unsure on how to react.

Mr. Witherpan stood up from the dining table and walked away. The couple followed him.

“Mr. Witherpan, please don’t listen to the kids.” The lady said.

Mr. Witherpan was disappointed. He looked at the couple and said, “I have invited so many people and no one had the courage to tell me the truth. I finally know that I can’t cook.”

“It’s only because they all don’t want to hurt you after watching all the efforts you have put into preparing the food.” The man said.

Mr. Witherpan was sad.

“Till sometime back, this house was full of people talking, and children running around. It’s hard to have your meal all alone,  you know? I tried cooking and realized that I enjoyed it. And to get company, I started inviting people over for meals.”

There was silence in the room for some time and then the lady said,

“If you love cooking so much, then why don’t you join a cooking class?”

“Yeah! That’s a great idea.” The man responded.

Mr. Witherpan thought for a while and then smilingly said, “I can do that!”

The next day the old man enrolled for a cooking class.

For around three months or so, Mr. Witherpan focused on his culinary skills and later once sure, he started inviting people over for meals.

Once again, the house was busy during meals but there was a new change this time.

They all wanted to return back.

“When are you inviting us again, Mr. Witherpan?” They would ask.

When not about food, people would meet Mr. Witherpan to get tips on gardening. Soon he was a busy man.

Around a year later, Mr. Witherpan started a restaurant. The first people to have meal at the restaurant were the children who said the truth. And they loved it this time.

The eatery was always full from then on and Mr. Witherpan happily realized that he was never alone anymore.