The coffee Shop

By the time i stepped outside the leaves were on fire. Its was october so there wasnt many left hanging from the trees as it was, although this tree in which my eyes locked onto had a unuseual amount left which only acted as more fuel.

I just moved here 2 weeks ago and finally built up enough will power to walk into town. As i was scanning my surroundings, including the people walking down the side walk both in the same direction as well as oncoming. thats when i saw it, a tiny little coffee shop practicly 2 blocks down from where i stood, the very reason for forcing myself to finaly leave my new apartment and brave the cold oct. Air.

The shops sign hung over the sidewalk, a warm brownish sign with 2 cups of coffee and what i precived to be steam rising from both cups. The old and moss covered building seemed to be around the same age as the town its self...pehaps even older.

I reached the door of the old coffee shop finally, but as i reached for the door i noticed somthing that seemed odd to me and i suddenly relized how annoying and ofton ilrelivant my attention to detail could be at times.

I found myself standing alone outside the entrence of the coffee shop and i dont mean in the sense that there wasnt a line to get in but rather an absence of people around the building it's self.

Every direction i looked there were towns people moving around, but- and again i draw your attention to my 'attention to detail' and its mostly illrelivant meanings, on either side of the entry-way the outside of the shop was inactive, almost as if it had some sort of invisiable force field causing those who pass by to make like a half-circle around it.

I went inside and turned around to face the sidewalk, looking from the inside out now, just to put my naging suspeicous nature at ease, sadly it did nothing to assist in that, instead it was just the oppisite.

i grew more uncomfortable and weary as i watched person after person come down the sidewalk and right before they reached the building were i now stand inside of, they would step into the street and walk the distence of the building in there half circles and then return to the sidewalk once just slightly past the end of the forward facing shop.

After staring through the glass of the wooden and oddly oversized door of the coffee shop, watching the towns people repeat the same motions over and over for a few moments, i was starteld by a voice coming from behind me.

'Is everything ok sir'? The voice asked with a calm and yet slightly concerned tone. I wasnt startled by the volume of the voice as it was a well practiced "indoor voice", but instead it was the almost annoynly calm-ness of it...well that and the fact that i may have zoned out a little while observing the almost instinctivly repeative behavior going on just out front.

I stood in the entry way still but now my back was facing the road and i was facing the coffee bar where the barista patiently awaited my approch, followed shortly after by my order.

My eyes wandered the coffee shop as i walked towards the coffee bar, taking in every detail of the outdated yet somehow comfortable interior.

The walls were a faded brownish color with random paintings which seeminly held no connection to eachother, some of them i believe wernt even from the same time period or area even for that matter, there was no structure or any type of logical theme, just... random-ness on full display.

I finally reached the coffee bar and sat on a stool that faced the barista rather then the sitting area or the direction of the entrence, i just wasnt ready to have to analize all that random-ness anymore then i have already.

'What can i get you today sir'? She asked. I began to feel like perhaps i may have taken a little longer getting from front entrance to order station then most probally do. 'Ill have a medium coffee, 4 sugers,4 cream please miss' i replied. 'Comming right up' she said as she confirmed my order.

I took the time as she made my coffe to give another quick scan of my surroundings. I was 1 of only 4 other people inside the shop. There was a women who looked to be in her mid 30's, i got the impression she was on a lunch break due to her above casual attire, her cellphone sitting at the edge of her table just within line of sight making it easier for her to watch the time, and lastly the size of her coffee, big enough to sip away at while she attempted to relax but small enough to quickly slam in the event she suddenly gets called back to work before her alloweded break time.

Down at the very end of the bar on the farthest from the front entrance was a middled aged man, dark skin, dark hair, wearing a navy blue sweat shirt with what appeard to be a business logo of some sorts, although i cant say for sure as he was leaning inward pressed just enough aginst the bar to make it difficult to make out the sympol clearly.

His cup was an extra large and it seemed by the way he was drinking it without fear of spilling, it was about half empty if not less, which tells me he's most likly done working for the day and has already been there for awhile.

Sitting in a booth behind me was a man and woman id say early to mid 20's, she had a medium cup and his was whatever that weird (and in my opion) made-up size between medium and large.

He drank his like if he didnt hurry and finish it someone would steal it kind of way, never more then 6-7 seconds between sips. His lady friend sitting across from him was the complete oppisite, in fact i dont recall seeing her take even one tiny sip the whole time, which i found strange being that her hand never once let go of the cup, she just sat there griping it, pehaps they had an argument just before comming to the coffee shop as nither one spoke a single word to eachother.

I finally snaped back to reality when i heard the barista's voice again. 'You sure your alright sir? Your coffees gonna get cold if you dont drink it soon' she said with a slight smile and a soft chukle. I glanced down at my cup and reached for it, just as the tips of my fingers touched the cup i heard a scream followed almost instantly by a voice yell out ' holy shit'!

By the time i relized it was the middle aged man at the end of the bar who let out the loud profanity, i saw that everyone was staring in the direction of the front entrance. The bariata's eye were wide with a mix of fear and shock had taken form on her face, the couple behind me were now standing side by side moving almost slugishly backwards away from the front-end of the coffee shop.

I'm not sure if it was my inner self somehow warning me not to look, as to why it took so long for me to actually think to see what the comotion was, it honestly just didnt dawn on me right away.

I finally turned to face the direction of the entrance, a part of me still wishes i never did. Just outside the door was a un-naturally bright glow of flickering light.

i got up to walk towards the front entrance, the woman who i'd earlier guessed was on her lunch break was laying face down on the table, her forehead resting on top of her cellphone. The closer i got to her the more i felt inside that i shouldnt, but training myself to not always listen to my "feelings" due to the percentage of over thinking things had back fired on me.

i reached the woman in her office attire, and called out to her. 'Are you ok ma'm'? I asked, knowing it the back of my mind the words had come out shaky and hesitent. 'Ma'm' i repeated. I didnt relize at first, but now the other 3 people in the coffee shop were standing next to me or slightly behind me.

'Is-is she ok'? The younger woman who had been sitting with the guy behind me in the booth earlier asked. I finally reached out and taped the business woman on her shoulder, still to no outcome. The middle aged man reached past me and lifted the woman up from her shoulders tryimg to get her leaned back in her chair so we could check on her easier.

My mind was blank, i had somehow drifted off for a second, everything was dark and that was confusing but in a way... relaxing, it didnt take long to snap back again as the once muffeled sound i could hear in my head deep down somewhere had surged forward demanding to be reconized, and reconize i did.

The screaming was clear as day now, i looked in the direction it was commimg from just to see the barista sitting on the coffee shop floor with her hands cuping her face, her screams were so loud and full of fear, i cant remember the last time i felt so afraid and confused based solely off another human beings emotions.

I knelt down in front of her in an attempt to comfort her, i shushed her while trying to find out what happend. She was umresponsive and hysterical with no signs of slowimg down. I stood up and turned to ask one of the others what had happend when i saw it! The business woman was slumped back in her seat with her head tilled back as if she was looking up at the cieling.

To this day i still cant get the image out of my head, her face pointed upward, her neck floped back as if she no longer possesed a spin to allow her head to only go back so far, but the part that truely haunts me to this day... both her eyes were gone,as if they had somehow been burnt right out of her head, melted away leaving only the chared black emptyness of her eye sockets.

I cant remember exactly the moment it happend, but i had suddenly relized at that moment i was sitting back down on the floor next to the barista who was no longer screeching but just gently sobing now. I took a quick glance around for the others, but only saw the younger woman hiding under the booth she was sitting at not but 2 minutes ago, her arms were up covering her head, kind of like the way they show you in school when they do a tornado drill.

I maneged to get up to one knee using the booth to suport me. 'Hey' i said in a whisper. 'Hey' i repeated towards the woman under the table. She glanced up slightly to make eye with me. 'Wheres that guy you were with'? I asked her still in a whisper, although i didnt know why or even if we needed to whisper, just instinct i guess.

Her eyes were glossy, tears flowimg down her cheeck, she didnt reply only put her head back down and covered with her arms. I glanced back down at the barista, knowing deep down she was not going to talk or even able to for all i knew.

I sat for a few minutes trying to gather my thoughts, but to no avail. My mind was blank and void again, overwhelmed by everything that just happend in a span of 5 mins or so.

When my eyes opend and thoughts, memories, sense had all started to flood back in, i made the unwise choice to stand back up, still using the booth of course for balance as my legs have seemed to betray me.

Standing up right again, my vision was still a litte blurry, and the coffee shop was void of anything resembling sound. 'Hello'? I called out, somehow already knowing i wouldnt get a reply. My ears began to ring, and ring, and ring, it was so loud i had to cover my ears with my hands which did me absolutly no good, the ringing would not be shut out.

The very second i tride to form a real thought, the ringing suddenly stoped and it was beyond quiet again, sadly i suddenly relized it wasnt just sound that was absent, the coffee shop was completly empty, all 4 of the people i was there with a few minutes ago, the barista, the middle aged man, and the young couple were gone, just... gone.

I decided to give a last look around before i left, but with no luck. As i came around the corner back into the main area were we had all sat moments ago, i was hit with a blinding glow, this was unlike any light ive ever encountered in my life time and it was followed abruptly by the deepest, hollowest and yet over-whelmingly peaceful voice i had ever heard, and would ever hear again.

'Shield your eyes' the voice said. And without even a slight of hesitation...i did. Even with my eyes closed as tight as humanly possiable and with my hands covering those closed eyes, i could still see the light that became even brighter somehow. I heard a loud band followed by a wind so strong it knocked me back a few feet and onto the floor.

When the light began to dim a little and the wind had dyed down enough for me to stand back up, i pulled myself up to my feet and open my eyes just enough to see the hole in the building were the front entrance used to be. For whatever reason i decided to run out and try and see whatever i could to try and justify to myself that i wasnt insane.

By the time i got outside the leaves were burning, and the streets were empty, pitch black, aside from the bright glow of the burning leaves flickering like a candle in the wind.