Never Gets Old

I took a seat at the counter, leaning forward, resting my arms on the cool surface. The cold sensation clawing its way through my sleeves.

The cafe had a dark interior, mostly black. There were several lights in the ceiling, casting an even glow along the entire room. Multi-coloured lights bled in through closed curtains, as if filtered through ever shifting stained glass. Soft music hummed from somewhere, varying from 60’s tunes, to century old rhythms lost to time and even many that barely sounded like music at all.

“Uh, give me the signature blend, I suppose” I said to the barista opposite me. An old man, tall, wrinkled, grey hair slicked back, standing straighter than ruler.

“Of course” he had a very peculiar accent, he picked it up from years of service. There was a soft thud behind me; I peered over my shoulder, a customer had taken their seat. They were leaning back against a near mint condition sofa. One arm, if you could call it that, it was more a mass of tentacles, set on the table, dripping slick onto the marble. Their face was smooth and glistening, nose flattened and head bare. They were staring out the window, a flurry of lights passing by, swirling and blending together like some sort of drug-induced fever dream.

“Here you are” the man said, pushing a cup of coffee across the counter, “One signature blend”

“Thank you” I said, bringing the steaming cup to my mouth and taking a sip, feeling the warm bitterness travel through my body. A perfect cup, always was; “Mmm, how do you do it?”

“Pour over” answered the man, a grin tugging at his lips. I scoffed, he’d never spill his secrets, not even his own name. I’ve been trying for a millennium to get it out of him.

I took a deep breath, looking around this cafe, old beyond imagination yet still as pristine as ever. “Never gets old, huh?”, I heaved a heavy sigh.

The soft music was replaced with a small dinging sound. Ah, the next stop. Suddenly, the mosaic blur of colours was replaced with a bustling street alley. Neon lights plastered on the sides of buildings, some jut out on little posts. Steaming and sizzling as the rain drops touched it. Large figures wandered around, but the windows had been fogged up and I couldn’t make anything out.

The door opened, the little bell jingling overhead as a few faces walked into the cafe, I mean that literally. Two floating heads, hovering by whatever law of physics governed them. They took their seat at another booth at the far end of the cafe. There was a flurry of blue light, from within emerged a waitress, right beside the heads who just took their place.

The old man smiled, “never gets old”