Chapter Five - A Conversation Over Cookies

Moonlight Crumbs was empty again.

Elias leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching the clock tick toward midnight. The tray of fresh cookies on display sat untouched, their golden edges catching the dim glow of the overhead light.

It wasn't that no one ever came—Mira had already been in earlier, as usual, making some offhand comment about how his cookies "tasted too much like nostalgia" before stuffing her face and leaving. But she was the only one tonight.

For the third time in the last hour, Elias checked his phone. No notifications. Not that he expected any. The bakery didn't even have a website, let alone social media.

He exhaled slowly.

The bell above the door jingled suddenly, breaking the silence.

Elias looked up just as Mira walked back in, shoving her hands into the oversized pockets of her jacket.

"You again?" Elias raised an eyebrow.

Mira grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I already left once. But listen." She leaned on the counter. "I was halfway home, eating that last cookie, and it hit me—how are you this good at baking and still this unknown?"

Elias blinked. "Uh… because I don't really advertise?"

Mira clicked her tongue. "See, that's your problem. This place has some kind of secret charm, but if no one knows about it, what's the point?"

Elias sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't really care about being known."

"You say that now, but let me guess." Mira straightened, pointing at the full display case. "Sales are bad, huh?"

Elias hesitated.

Mira grinned like she had already won the argument.

"Listen," she said, hopping onto one of the stools at the counter. "I don't have a job right now—long story, office scandal, accidental diary email, you don't wanna know—but I do know how to get attention."

Elias gave her a skeptical look. "What, like marketing?"

"Exactly." Mira reached for a cookie, completely ignoring the fact that she hadn't paid for it. "You don't even have a sign that stands out. And don't get me started on social media."

Elias crossed his arms. "I don't do social media."

Mira gasped dramatically. "Scandalous. A millennial without any social media? No wonder you're struggling."

Elias frowned. "I'm not struggling."

Mira took a slow bite of her stolen cookie. "Mmm-hmm."

Elias sighed. "Okay, fine. Maybe sales could be better. But it's not like I can just magically make people show up."

Mira sat up straighter. "That's where I come in. Here's my offer—I'll help you get noticed. Social media, marketing, all that. In return…" She tapped her chin. "Free cookies."

Elias blinked. "You want to be paid in cookies?"

"Look, I'm between jobs. My rent is horrifying. And your cookies? Weirdly addictive." Mira grinned. "So yeah, this is a very fair trade."

Elias stared at her, debating. On one hand, letting Mira anywhere near his bakery's reputation sounded like a terrible idea. On the other hand… he really had no idea what he was doing.

And she wasn't wrong—if things kept going like this, Moonlight Crumbs wouldn't last much longer.

Finally, he exhaled. "Fine. But keep it simple."

Mira's eyes sparkled. "Oh, Elias, my sweet naive baker, we're gonna make this place famous."

-

The next afternoon, Elias stood awkwardly outside a café two blocks from his bakery, wondering for the tenth time if this was a mistake.

The place was small, tucked under an old office building, with uneven tables and mismatched chairs scattered across the sidewalk. A chalkboard menu leaned crookedly near the door, the kind of place where the handwriting changed every day depending on which barista opened.

Elias glanced at his phone. The text thread from Mira was short—just her sending him the address and telling him to come in right away.

Elias hadn't touched social media in years.

It wasn't that he didn't know how to use it—he just never saw the point. The last time he posted anything was back when he still worked his old corporate job, a half-hearted "Happy New Year" message with exactly one like. After quitting, he deleted most of his accounts, not because of any dramatic reason, but because he didn't think he had anything worth sharing.

And now here he was, standing outside a cafe he never even think he would visit just to seek help for marketing. Elias clutch his phone like it might explode.

He exhaled slowly. relaxed, everything is fine. nothing wrong doing this. this might be better than to do it yourself. He froze, thinking if his choice right or wrong. he could still turn back.

Except the bakery was empty again today. No customers. No sales.

With a reluctant knock, Elias braced himself.

The door swung open before he could turn back, and there she was, waving dramatically from a corner table near the window. A half-eaten slice of strawberry shortcake sat next to her phone, and her usual chaotic energy was already filling the air.

"Took you long enough," Mira said as Elias slid into the seat across from her.

"I had prep work," Elias muttered. "You know, for my actual job."

Mira snorted. "Your actual job needs customers, genius. That's why you're here."

Elias rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around the café. Most of the other customers were typing away on laptops or scrolling through their phones. Elias felt wildly out of place, like the only person who didn't belong in this generation.

Mira noticed. "Relax. It's not like we're launching a global campaign."

"That doesn't help," Elias admitted. "I don't even have a personal account."

"C'mon in, Cookie Wizard. Let's get you an online presence before your bakery dies a lonely, un-Googled death."

She shoved a chair for him to sit. "Sit."

Elias hesitated. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Too late." Mira cracked her knuckles and grabbed her laptop. "First things first—you have a name for this bakery of yours, right?"

Elias shot her a deadpan look.

She cackled. "Relax, just making sure. Alright, so Moonlight Crumbs—good name, mysterious, got that late-night secret vibe. But right now, no one can find it unless they literally trip over it. That's where I come in."

She tapped furiously on her keyboard, her green eyes flicking between screens at an alarming speed. "Okay, so Instagram, TikTok, and—oof, your shop's not even on Google Maps properly? Damn, Elias, do you even want people to find you?"

He crossed his arms. "I like being small and unknown."

"Well, that's cute and all, but rent exists," Mira shot back. "If you don't wanna be a social media guy, fine. But at least let me help you get found."

Elias exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Just… make it simple."

"Simple?" Mira grinned like he'd just issued a challenge. "Nah. Let's make you interesting."

Thirty minutes later, Elias regretted everything.

Mira had taken a completely chaotic approach to his bakery's first post on instagram. Instead of some peaceful, aesthetic picture of cookies under warm lighting, she'd taken a shaky, up-close video of him mid-knead, flour dust flying as he worked. The caption?

"Midnight cookie wizardry. Secret flavors. Maybe haunted?? Come see for yourself."

Elias groaned. "Why does it sound like I run a cursed shop?"

Mira leaned back, admiring her work. "Because that's exactly the kind of post that gets people curious. You think some generic 'Come try our cookies :)' post would get noticed? Please. You gotta have a hook."

Elias stared at his phone, the bakery's brand-new Instagram account glowing back at him. One single post. Mira's chaotic nonsense. "Perfect," Mira putting her phone down.

"It makes me sound like a lunatic."

"Lunatic baker sells cookies that taste like ghost and heartbreak? People eat that up." Mira grinned. "Trust me, tragic sells."

Elias want to protest, with this being done his bakery has now officially online for the first time. It felt strangely vulnerable, like inviting the whole world into a space that used to belong just to him.

he checked his phone, and there were already three likes.

And a comment:

"Where is this?? I need ghost cookies."

it didn't stop there, random strangers start liking the post.

People tagging their friends. Commenting. Asking where the bakery was.

He swallowed. "...That fast?"

Mira grinned. "Welcome to the internet, Elias."

Elias slumped into the chair, rubbing his forehead. He

sighed, unsure if this was the best or worst decision of his life.