Zadie, Malcom, Go

That's the thing about this city - you should totally wear flat shoes while in it.

I'd kill for one pair of ballet flats in, hmm.. beige? Black ones could do its jobs as well. What about oxblood? Oxblood is nice. My hair color back in the days was kind of burgundy. I mean, oxblood and burgun (and maroon too) are all in the same tonal area so..

Who am I kidding? In this very moment, I'd probably kill even for the most basic crocks ever made. All thanks to my new strappy heeled shoes. They successfully headed me even to this point in life.

While I am onto this That's the thing about this city thing, there's one about this particular woman as well – she's a sucker for a good fairy tale.

Most of Prague's streets are paved with cobblestones. I can't endure it anymore. High chances are that I am going to continue roaming around barefoot. What's a big deal about that anyways? Nobody knows my name. Nobody refers to me as Zadie. Nobody knows that I am a race car mechanic. Neither that I am dealing with pet grooming from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I am a pet person. I had a goldfish once. His name was Go. Apart from Go, I've got a Malcom, fairly aggressive rabbit.

How in the world I went from fairy tale to fairly aggressive in a matter of seconds?

„I can't believe my eyes. Zadie? Zadie, is that you?“

Actually, I couldn't believe mine. Cherry Mocha in one hand, huge shopping bag filled with God knows what in other. Flanellish shirt and the bluest eyes of them all. „Bishop?“

„Zadie!“

„W-what are you doing here?“ That was bit of straightforward of me. „I mean, what brings you here?“

„Payton lives around the corner. She'd be pissed of with this Cherry Mocha but there's nothing to do now. I totally forgot what she wanted. Cloud something. Erm, yeah, I guess. Cloud it is.“

„Cloud Caramel Macchiato?“

„For Gods sake. Yes. Zadie, where have you been? The last time that I saw you was like a… few years ago.“

„Time flies. Cherry Mocha is still your favorite, right?“ Cherry Mocha for Bishop, Pumpkin Spice Latte for Zadie. Some things never change.

Bishop nodded. „Some things never change.“

I gave him a small smile before pointing a finger in direction of the bag that he held in his right hand. „That bag of yours, Bishop. Does it, by any chance, contains shoes?“

His blue eyes immediately landed on my feet. „You moron.“ The very next moment, before I could even react, he started taking off his sneakers. While doing it, he almost spilled drink all over himself.

„That wasn't my intention. Stop it. Bishop, are you nuts?“ That didn't work out.

That's the think about Bishop – he is not an obedient type of guy. Never was and, probably, never will be.

„I am searching for the narrowest street with a traffic light. Do you happen to know if I am close to it?“ I asked him while taking of my heels and replacing them with the brand-new Nike's. „Thank you. They were killing me so bad.“

„No worries.“

„Then?“

„Then what? O-oh. Yeah, you are super close to it. Just so you know if the light is red, you have to wait for people who have already passed that narrow passage to climb or descend the stairs. When the traffic light is green, it is a sign that no one has "reserved" the street for themselves.“

This time I was the one that nodded. „Understandable.“

In the heart of Prague, on Mala Strana, there is a street so narrow that two people cannot pass at the same time. The name of the street is Vinarna Čertovka and it is about 50 cm wide and about 10 m long. Our conversation continued while we were walking towards it. Bishop had a pair of running shoes in his bag but they weren't in the best condition due to his gym schedule. In the end he wasn't barefoot. That was only thing that mattered.

„What about Payton?“ I asked him while we were waiting for a green light. „You were supposed to be with her by now. Wait, did you just take a sip of her drink? Your sister's-„

„I'll face the music“ He used his don't bring up the subject again voice.

Both of us guffawed at the same time. That was Bishop's mantra since.. since forever? It's been a really long time since last time I've heard it.

„What's with this light? Is it broken?“ I was wondering.

„Let me keep you occupied with the story. This narrow passage was not originally intended for people. It was supposedly created for the devils. Now, I mean in recent years, demons are afraid to appear among humans.“

I stared at him in disbelief. „Bishop, you just made that up?“

„Green“ He mumbled and quickened his pace towards the passage that he was just talking about.

„Right? Wa-. Bishop, wait for me“

It was really, really narrow. Just about roomy enough for an average size person to squeeze thought. That itself was kind of funny and totally worth seeing. It happened to be a small passage that leaded to a restaurant. Kind of a tourist trap. But the cool one.

„I will never get bored of it.“ His face exuded calm. Years have passed but it seemed to me like yesterday.

My heart was so full it could burst.

„I like it as well.“ I admitted.

Terrace of the restaurant offered such a gorgeous view of the Vltava. „I know it is a dead end way but I-„ Weather was just right and all my mind could think of was icecream. „It seems to me like a great photo opportunity of the Charles bridge and..“

Bishop saw through my excuses. „And you are wondering about their ice-cream, right?“

I shrugged. „That's what you said.“

Our sneakers hurried towards entrance. Then I realised. Bishop wasn't playing around. The restaurant name was Devil.