¨Thirty, thirty one, thirty two, thirty three…..¨ counted Kasun's mother. When she was done counting she looked at Kasun's father in disbelief. She was quite sure there had been more.
¨I am sure I made around 50 kokis¨ she told him. But despite counting the lot several times, they unfortunately arrived at the same tally. As they stood in the kitchen looking perplexed Kasun's father emphatically declared that this was a great mystery indeed.
¨Perhaps you counted incorrectly¨ he said, unable to come up with a better explanation to this conundrum. But the mother insisted that she had in fact made 50 kokis.
Despite clearly having a kokis thief around what worried Kasun's mother most now was as to how she could deliver 50 kokis as promised to Mrs. Hatharasinghe who lived down the lane, in time for the Sinhala and Hindu New Year.
Kasun's family was not very rich but his mom was a good cook and so during the Avurudu she would make delectable sweet meats and sell them to friends and neighbours, to make some extra money.
In the past, people would make their own sweet meats at home for the new year but sadly because those days are long gone. Leading busy lives many today prefer to buy them. So, this was a good opportunity for Kasun's mother to help her family out. Her sweet meats were well known in the area they lived in, and as Mr. Perera once told his wife they were simply ´heavenly´.
From crispy and sweet Kavum to triangular pieces of Aluva, Kasun's mother could make a variety of sweets. Ten-year-old Kasun and his four year old sister Kusum would sit and watch while their mother poured the sweet Kavum batter into the sizzling oil. Kusum´s favourite part was when mother would form the little cap like top on the Kavum. Kusum would get so excited that she would clap when the top would form.
Kasun on the other hand liked dipping the kokis mould in the batter and frying them in hot oil. Kokis was undoubtedly his favourite Avurudu sweet.
As Kasun's father walked out of the kitchen wondering what in the world could have happened to the Kokis he heard a strange crunching sound coming from the store room. "The rats are back", he thought and grabbed a broom, wanting to scare them away.
He slowly opened the door and peered into the darkness. Kasun's father roared in laughter. In a corner of the store room sat Kasun and Kusum munching away on the stolen haul of kokis. The kokis thieves were finally discovered. You will be glad to hear that Kasun's parents saw the lighter side of this funny incident and immediately forgave their children. But the story of the kokis thief was repeated every Avurudu for years to come.