Prologue
I stared at the clock expectantly. It feels like it's been 7:26 A.M forever.
To keep myself from boredom,
I open the blinds, unlock the door and patio, and flip the 'Closed' sign to 'Open'.
My hand lingers on the sign. Mental preparation I suppose.
There's still a little sentiment left in my actions, from the way I glance around to the dusting method I inherited from my older brother.
Often, I wonder if he noticed the slight bump on the floor that I tripped over every day or the way I held my breath when making drinks, the little things that were unique to me.
As I start up the soft music, the nostalgia of what our little shop used to be, hits a little harder.
With Quinn gone and the family miles away, this shop I'd nothing but ruins my body routinely wanders.
At 7:35, the only familiarity that remained was Fayen. Walking in, he barely looked at me.
"Same thing?" I asked softly, glancing up at him to meet distracted eyes and messy, curly hair.
"Same thing." Fayen grabbed a seat at the counter and watched me work.
Fayen's order was simplistically repetitive, a Caramel Macchiato with extra Caramel Drizzle. The same thing, every time, I guess he's no different than me.
"Here you go." I handed Fayen his drink. He put a lid on it and took exactly 2 sips and turned to leave.
"Fayen," I called Fayen out of his trance. He stopped but for a moment. He glanced back at me, halfway out the door.
"Don't you want to stay?" I asked.
For the first time, I had seen something different. Fayen always seemed like a machine programmed to do things, but now, he seemed human.
We were both human.
For the first time, we actually talked about life, great things, bad things, what scared us and ultimately we steered to the topic of my family.
These feelings that had always been submerged as Fayen looked at me so sincerely finally resurfaced.
Part of me really wants to tell him everything, like how my family was shattered, divided by borders, selfishness, and unfair circumstances,
I wanted him to notice that I notice that sometimes, I'd catch him discreetly reading my name tag with the intention of remembering my name that'd been continuously buried by his routines.
Yet, I didn't say these things, I just stared, aloof, silenced.
"I admit. This is the first time in a while that I've truly tasted your coffee. It's wonderful." Fayen remarked, glancing at my eyes, taking everything about me in.
"My..Have you always been this gorgeous?" Fayen set his cup down and folded his arms on the table, leaning in.
His life is funny. How could he be discovering things that had always been right under his nose?
How funny,
How sad.
