Buttter Croissant and Cappuccino

“Ah fuck!” shouted out David as he saw his train depart to Milano without him. ‘Mom? Yes, mom hello?” “Hello darling, is the train full?” “I didn’t make it mother, there was terrible traffic in Zurich. I think those crazy vegans were protesting again’’ ‘’Lord saves us all. What are you going to do now?” ‘’I'll wait for the next one, but I’ll definitely arrive late. Anyways, just wanted to share my sorrows with you.” “Darling, you’ll be fine. Get yourself a nice warm tea and something to eat.” “Ok mother.” “… and make sure to cover yourself up darling, I don’t want you sitting in the cold waiting for the next train.” Yes mother.”” … and double check all your documents darling.”” Yes mother, I will. I’ll call you once I get there. “Ok darling. Your father and I will be waiting. Your cousins and aunts should be arriving soon. “Ok mother. Love you.” Love you too darling.” After hanging up with his beloved mother, the idea of eating something was beginning to sound like a great activity to do while waiting for his next train. The sudden paradigm shift stunned David. By no means did he imagine himself in this situation but he quickly came to terms that his fate was not inside the train heading to Milano but rather inside the Hauptbanhof of Zürich, Switzerland for a couple of more hours.

He slowly turned his back on the empty train tracks, as if he purposely meant to, and made his way to the main hall, where the train schedule could be seen in a gigantic screen, detailing every train, departing and arriving to Zurich and its connections. This great empty space was usually used for grand events, this time however, there was no food festival and even the smallest penny drops could produce a redundant eco. A grand structure, constantly re-newed to maintain the baroque aesthetic. Its inside walls were covered with empty offices, home of the train station workers that worked religiously to keep up with chaos and mayhem during working hours and secret rooms that hosted private meetings of the rich and powerful.                            

The environment inside the train station was hostile to David. The early morning cold breeze stung him continuously. Even with the thick winter coat he had on, his skin could still be affected by the insidious wind, not to mention, the unique state of mind one enters in the early hours of the morning, cold, dazed and out of sync. He needed shelter and he needed it quick. There were many options to choose from, the Zurich main station was a relatively activel building, populated with small cafes, quick stops, and supermarkets but given the early hours of the morning, his options where limited. The closest thing he could find to shelter, was a 24/7 convenience store. “It might be warm in there” mumbled David as he headed toward his small momentary sanctuary. Inside, David’s spirit slowly entered back to his body as he felt the heat radiate by the beverage coolers wrap his cold body. “Let’s see, what do we have here?” thought David as he did a couple of rounds. The store offered, fresh bread, fruits, instant meals and coffee. David chose a butter croissant and tapped the option for “cappuchino” on the coffee machine. After paying he made his way to the back of the convenience store where a stand-up table was waiting for him. He dropped his bags next to his feet and sunk his butter croissant inside the freshly made cappuccino, The explosion of favor inside his mouth, kick started a small dopamine rush. David was no longer feeling cold and regretful but warm and optimistic. Outside, people where slowly waking up to face another day. Some walking to work, some coming back from work. David stood still inside the warm convenience store, admiring it all. As if God had granted David a couple of minutes of his holiness. Every sip of coffee and every bite of croissant David made, triggered a burst of energy outside. One sip, an ambulance drove by. One bite, the street light turned red. Another sip, another person entered the convenience store. Another bite, school kids on the way to school crossed the road holding hands. It wasn’t until he took the last bite the he saw a group of people returning home from a long night of heavy techno. Reaching down to his belongings, David took out a folder containing papers filled with words. He brushed aside the empty cappuccino cup and croissant wrapper and started to profoundly focus of the words in front of him.

After finishing his readings, David noticed his watch, an old gift from his grandfather. His train was about to arrive. A mixture of excitement and fear followed. He was going to finally catch his train to Milano but he would have to face his arch enemy one more time, the cold breeze. He returned the papers to the folder and returned the folder to its carrier. Picked up his trash and dropped it of before stepping outside, where his train was slowly positioning itself to disembark and embark people. One of those people was David.  

The 24/7 convenience store clerk noticed the milk cartons on the milk section were low, so he wandered off to the back, picked 4 new milk cartons and loaded them inside the specially made freezer. Right after, he noticed the small, old television was turned off. He turned it on and skipped to channel 5. After, he returned to his store clerk duties. A lady appeared on the TV and spoke. “In other news, Milano will be hosting David Munger, a US peace delegate that has been sent in from the White House in order to mitigate the Russia and Ukraine war. Munger had been on a European peace tour promoting peace dialogs and between Ukrainian and Russian officials. His last visit to Zurich, Switzerland according to the US Department of International Affairs was “a giant failure.” As both Ukrainian and Russian representatives refused to sit down and enter diallage with one another. His next stop will be Milano, Italy where he is expected to meet with the Russian Ambassador in Italy.” Up next, a miraculous new pill that makes you lose weight, without changing your diet! We will have all this information and more right after this break”