The smell of the coffee from the coffee shop I’ve encountered every time I go to work smelled the same fresh odor. It warmed my heart in this cold winter day. Lonely Day by System Of A Down was playing. It was the song I listened last night for over and over again hoping the next day wouldn’t be lonely as the day before. I looked at the grocery list that I held in my hand. It could wait for ten minutes, I thought. I’ve finally decided to enter after many years. The coffee shop was filled with books and beautiful fairy lights. It even had a photo booth for those who want to make a memory of a day they spent here. “Ice americano with an extra shot. David.” The same order I have every day in the office. Is it because I liked it? I wish. I ordered and drink it ‘till the last sip hoping I’ll like it or even get used to it. I can’t though. The only reason I have this order in the first place was to wake up, have energy, and do my job once I was so passionate about. But I never got used to this bitter taste. “David.” I heard my name and I reached into my pocket to grab my wallet, I realized it wasn’t there. I panicked. “Sorry sir, I forgat to bring my wallet. So sorry to cause-“
“No problem. I can pay.” I heard a woman’s voice. She was smiling. I felt a weird feeling I haven’t felt before, as I knew her for a long time. “Oh no, please don’t bother ma’am.”
“No please I don’t want anyone to ever enter this café and not taste its coffee. Especially in this beautiful winter day.”
“I’ve been coming to this café for 10 years now and this is the first time I’ve seen you enter here.”
She gave the money to the cashier and she gave the ice americano to me. “I’m Debra.”
I felt my heart flutter. “So how did you liked the place?” she asked.
“It might be the most beautiful coffee shop I have ever seen.”
“You should’ve visited here when it was Christmas. The lights, the tree and the gifts that we bring, it was just magical.” I took a sip from my coffee, it was nothing I had before. It tasted and smelled so much better.
“I saw it, I think I saw you that night with your friends. You seem so familiar.”
“Probably because I spent most of my time here, writing my book.” She reached for her bag on the table that was right next to us. She pulled out a notebook.
I took another sip. She quickly showed me the pages, she had a really good handwriting. But there was something I noticed other than the pages that were filled with words, there were drawings. So many drawings between the pages. Even though from outside it seemed all tangled it was beautiful and those drawings felt so familiar I couldn’t help myself but ask. “What do you write?”
“Everything. Everyone. Whatever inspires me. I…like to observe people. People who seem to have normal lives. They all have same but also different struggles, they all deal with it in so many different and some people never deal with it. Like you.” Me?
She opened a page and gave it to me. I felt a weird feeling in my stomach. What did she meant by ‘You’. And I looked at the page showed me.
“For ten years now you follow the same routine. You walk past here every morning, giving a glance but never a try to this coffee shop. Most of the days you run because you are late and it is all because every night when you come back from work you get distracted by the street musicians. For the first time ever you didn’t choose to go to grocery store and walk into this store. Why, David?”
Maybe if it was someone else in my position they would’ve been creeped out but I was enchanted. “The song.”
“So it took you ten years to enter this café and all it take was the song?” She giggled.
“I wish I knew.” I let out a small laugh too. “Who knows maybe today was supposed be that day.”
“Hmm okay then let me ask you a question. Since you made a difference today, changed your schedule a little bit. What would you like to do?” I looked at the photo booth. She turned her head to where I was looking. “Let’s go, then.” Without a word I followed her. We get into that booth and made silly poses. After that she made me try other coffees that I wanted to try for a time now. She showed me the drawings of me. But they were a little different. In one drawing I was playing a guitar with that street musician. In one of them I was petting a cat in this café.
“Is there anything else you want to do?”
“No, this is fine. Shall we order another drink?” She looked at me with a bittersweet smile.
“I don’t think we have time though.”
And if you go I wanna go with you
I remembered what I should’ve remember. I remembered a beautiful woman with the warmest smile smiling at me every day when I come back from work. I remember losing my courage every time I want to enter the café.
And if you die I wanna die with you
I heard my favorite songs for the last time. I heard my mom crying begging me to wake up. I saw Debra’s face smiling at me. “You can rest now.”
