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Set your story in a café, garden, or restaurant.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 24, 2025

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✍️ 70 stories

Affectionate Aroma

Submitted to Contest #287

As Areum stepped into the café, a cheerful brass bell jingled above the door, catching the attention of the café owner and a few patrons who looked up with curiosity. They were greeted by a stunningly beautiful Asian woman in her early thirties, dressed in casual yet thoughtfully chosen attire. The patrons lingered in their gaze longer than usual, admiring her beauty with quiet appreciation. It is a striking coincidence that her name, 'Areum,' translates to 'beauty' in Korean. As she entered, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingled with t...

36 likes 19 comments 19
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Tea for a Falling Empire

Submitted to Contest #287

His number one concern was convincing his daughter to quit her job and move back home. His second concern was keeping his dog from passing out, but Scottie was resilient. The terrier insisted on sitting outside even in the winter, but luckily for Mark, there was an unexpected heatwave in the middle of January. It was nearly sixty degrees, and he could comfortably sit at one of the metal tables outside Empire Tea and Coffee in his spring jacket. Scottie was almost sixteen, which meant he was a geriatric canine, and he had a habit of fainting....

33 likes 16 comments 16
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Too Good.

Submitted to Contest #287

With steam billowing in my face, I asked myself, what kind of psychopath orders hot tea on a thirty-five degree summer day? How off your head do you need to be to also request seating in the garden!? Some people just defy all reason. I took a deep breath to try and calm my unsolicited rage, but it continued to brew as steadily as the tea upon my silver tray. I impatiently watched the leaves swirl and spread amber within the glass pot, until it was finally, just the right golden shade to serve.“That one’s for table nine, Luce. Might as well t...

30 likes 11 comments 11
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The Last Week of August

Submitted to Contest #287

The summer everyone left, I stayed.Julie—also known as juliebearxo416@aol.com—sent emails from a cramped internet café in Rome.“Italian boys are sooo hot. And gelato is better than any ice cream at home. Wish you were here. Hugs and kisses.”I was so not there.And Danny was off the grid in Asia, riding elephants and hiking ancient temples. Achieving full spiritual enlightenment before high school even started. Promising postcards that never came.And I was at Alonzo’s Cafe, proving my work ethic to my dad, also known as The Grand Dictator of T...

27 likes 14 comments 14
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The demise of Camellia Sinensis

Submitted to Contest #287

He was daydreaming, gazing out the window looking down at the old habour area of Colombo. With imagination one could easily visualize in a bygone day, the busy habour in the 19th century full of ocean-going wooden vessels loading and unloading their precious cargo – loading of the heavy wooden tea chests – full of cuttings from the bushy shrub named camellia sinensis. Destined for a teapot and the additional pouring of steaming hot water to make the delicious and refreshing golden nectar - tea. Destined for the white linen tables and fine ch...

22 likes 7 comments 7
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Salvation among the Chicken Pot Pies

Submitted to Contest #287

Holly waited for Mr. Haslett’s response. She wasn’t nervous because she didn’t expect it to work out, just like the previous six times she asked for a job and was turned down.“You’re too young,” he said gruffly, dismissing her.Maybe it was frustration, the grimness of the office walls, or the attitude of a man who could do without a few meals, but Holly stiffened her spine.“I’m not too young. I’m strong and hard-working and – and – and hard-working and strong. Besides, you need someone to clean tables on Friday and Saturday nights.”Haslett l...

19 likes 13 comments 13
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Café Athena

Submitted to Contest #287

Every morning at precisely 6:45, Dimitris adjusts his grip on his maple cane and pushes open the heavy glass door of Café Athena. The bell chimes softly – they never did fix that tinny note – and Maria looks up from behind the counter with the same warm smile she's worn for the past decade."Your usual, Mr. Dimitris?"He nods, easing himself into his chair by the window. Third table from the door, always the same spot. He had chosen precisely this table, not far from the door, but sheltered from the breeze, far from the commotion of the counte...

18 likes 9 comments 9
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The Teahouse on Khan Tengri

Submitted to Contest #287

"The big mountains are high. Understand, they don’t bury the dead, they climb past them,” said the old man. He spit in a white china cup. “There’s a code, and it’s hard to explain to a flatlander.”The young reporter’s back flexed in condemnation and judgement. He was taking notes and didn’t look up. "How do you justify ignoring a frozen body, someone’s loved one?”The old man lifted his gold tipped cane off the arm of his leather office chair. He limped to the window with the cane tapping and stared out with a voice so low the reporter set do...

16 likes 14 comments 14
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An Odd Day To Get Married

Submitted to Contest #287

My phone chimed about six times, each in quicker succession than the last. I put down the coffee in my left hand, feeling the skin cool as it left my grip, pulling the phone towards my face to open it and receive the messages. u there yet, Henry? which table are we reserved for? hey ill be there in 20 i love you I scrolled down the chats from Sara, halting the device at my sides to focus on what I sent back. table 12, cant wait :) love u too I shut it off, leaning back into the lush cushioning. The intricate patterns, as fancy as they came...

16 likes 8 comments 8
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Bottle Half Full

Submitted to Contest #287

Restaurant. Cozy.A table near a window.Broken snow flurries outside.Candlelight flickering.Humming conversation, clinking silverware, gentle music.“Daniel! Hello!”“Hey.”“I’m late, I’m so sorry! Thank you for waiting!”“It’s been a while.”“It has, you’re right.”“You look—different.”“Oh, so do you.”“Older, you mean.”“Wiser, maybe.”“Is that what we’re calling gray hair? Wise looking?”“Some of us just age gracefully.”“And some of us are too gracious. Please—sit.”“Thank you.”Pause. A breath.“I didn’t think you’d come.”“I almost didn’t.”“But y...

16 likes 8 comments 8
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Tea & Scones

Submitted to Contest #287

It was almost the end of the month and Alison hadn't even started her Writing Group short story assignment.Maybe a change of scene might help?Wrapping up warmly against the biting Winter wind,she began to walk to the local shopping complex.It was a brisk ten minutes' walk away.She strode along,trying to warm up.Her thick woollen coat flapped around her knees and the cosy knitted scarf swallowed her neck and jaw in a soft,warm embrace.Turning into the main entrance,she made her way to "Yummies" - a slightly more upmarket cafe near the front d...

16 likes 3 comments 3
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A Letter on the Table

Submitted to Contest #287

The frigid breeze instantly subsided as I stepped into the café, the blasting heat hitting me like a slap in the face. The buzz of the outside world, fresh on a Monday morning was replaced by the soft hum of conversations, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the barista yelling names while holding a small cup or brown paper bag with a pastry in it. ‘Morning, Arial. Can I get you your usual?’ Jane was my usual barista, with her sleek, dark hair swept into a messy bun behind her head, a red apron with dark, coffee-coloured stains tied over ...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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Just a Gentleman Passing Through

Submitted to Contest #287

Françoise Fabliaux was behind the counter at Gustavus Salon de The, when a distinguished-looking gentleman sat himself at one of the tables on the sidewalk. It was too early to open early for customers to be served on the patio and since Francois was the only server on duty, he decided to inform the gentleman that he needed to come inside. “Excuse me, monsieur.” He walked up to where the gentleman was seated. “We do not serve customers until ten o’clock this morning. Come inside and I will serve you.” “Ah, but this morning air is ...

15 likes 13 comments 13
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The Stopover

Submitted to Contest #287

As my flight to Honolulu was delayed at SFO, United Airlines offered a voucher for a 24-hour stopover. I collected my bag and joined thirty other stranded passengers at the departure curb where we boarded a charter bus. Our driver navigated through the airport maze and headed toward San Francisco on Highway 101. Late afternoon commuter’s car lights wove wispy red and yellow ribbons on the fog-shrouded freeway. The other passengers chatted about how they would spend the evening in the city, making the best of a disappointing situation with a ...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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Lunchtime At The Justice Cafe

Submitted to Contest #287

Roger McAllister glanced at the name tag of the waitress behind the counter, and after taking another look at the patrons seated in the diner he knew he had to ask. His two minutes inside the roadside grease-pit had shown him there was something mighty strange about this place. “So how’d this town ever get a name like ‘Justice,’ Maureen?” he began, knowing that any salesman worth his spit always started with the familiarities and small talk, then built from there. The waitress set his coffee and chili before him without the customary ...

12 likes 1 comment 1
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