Candy; The Phantom Treats
The glittering palaces of theater along Victoria Street bustled with well-to-do Londoners yearning for dramatic spectacles and comedic respites from their refinement. While the changing variety plays entertained and enthralled audiences inside, outside the velvet ropes long queues eagerly awaited opening doors.
There one would find Candy Hawsworth, a spritely young woman who charmed each theater patron as she took tickets and sold delectable treats to enjoy during the shows. Candy took pride helping attendees indulge in chocolates, toffees, licorice strips, and other confections as the plays transported their spirits.
Though mere theater staff, effervescent Candy became renowned by regular patrons for selecting perfect candy pairings to complement each production's themes. Whether shows skewered society's mishaps, explored affairs of the heart, or conjured mystic intrigue on stage, Candy had a unique tasty recommendation to heighten the experience.
Her encyclopedic knowledge of regional sweets and artisanal chocolateers was unparalleled. Requests even came in from surrounding county aristocracy to have Candy procure coveted sweets from across Europe to have on hand in their private stalls. Though she never saw the lush interiors, Candy felt delighted knowing many a baron or lady exclaimed over her curated confections inside.
But while fetching rare delights for others, Candy secretly dreamed of one day owning her own chocolate shop. She fantasized dipping fruits in fudge, drizzling caramel over marzipan, and crafting candy jewels almost too beautiful to eat...if only funds allowed. With stellar reputation but meager salary, that creative vision lingered out of reach.
Then the theater received an exciting shipment - a Siamese cocoa plantation had bestowed limited golden truffles only British royalty had previously tasted! Candy was entrusted to inventory and sell the exotic sweets at an exclusive soirée to attract wealthy investors for future plays.
The night sparkled with diamonds and chatter until disaster struck - a guest was found dead by poison! Candy had handled the golden truffles...could she be responsible? Panicked, Candy fled into the rainy night with a small box of the sweets to exonerate herself later when things cooled down.
But that redemption never came - days later Candy's drowned body washed ashore miles downriver weighed down by waterlogged skirts. The police ruled it an accidental fall while distraught. The investigation ended swiftly, the golden truffles untested and lost to the currents with her.
In the many decades since Candy's watery demise, theater patrons and staff have reported odd encounters during productions near her old ticket booth. Some smell phantom sugary scents like molten chocolate and spun taffy from thin air. Others glimpse a young redheaded beauty in period dress hovering nearby, smiling silently with a look of playful intent before vanishing.
A few have even described accepting curious candy or candied apples from the specter's outstretched palms. Though not hungry, they oblige...only for the treat to inexplicably disappear upon reaching their lips! Those lucky few who manage to hastily nibble the phantom sweets describe crystallized cherry cordials and Turkish delights more heavenly than anything they could purchase today.
It seems even the grave cannot contain Candy's playful spirit and love of bringing joy through theatre confections. For how could one so sweetly devoted to pleasing others rest with her talents stilled forever? So now she returns to continue her passion phantasmally...a benevolent specter still delighting theater patrons with tantalizing tastes and scents of forgotten indulgences.
Next time you think you catch a wisp of rich chocolate or sugar's perfume during a show, it may be Candy's ghost wishing to revive your senses. Do not shy from her phantom treats - partake and let nostalgic flavour once more work its charm!
