One drink won't hurt you

"Why do you desire alcohol?” This was the second time that the man behind the bar had repeated this sentence.

Todd hadn’t answered the first time, not because he hadn’t heard him but because he had never been asked this question by a bartender before. Surely the role of a bartender, in a spot like this, was to passively serve you with alcohol until you either became merry, fell into a drunken stupor or ran out of money and therefore had no choice but to leave. A bartender’s role was definitely not to question its patrons about whether or not they desired the one thing which the place should have in abundance.

“Todd, why do you desire alcohol?” The bartender asked for the third time.

“Because I…” Todd’s reply was cut short as the bartender began to talk again. It was as if he already knew Todd’s answer and just like a competitor on a game show wanted to beat him to the buzzer. Also, how did he know his name? Todd was going to verbalise this internal question but before he did, he realised that his name tag was still pinned to his sweater and he was glad, he hadn’t made a fool of himself.

“Is it because you want to forget something or someone?” As the bartender said this it seemed like he had somehow managed to make his way to the other side of the bar and was now standing next to Todd. Todd thought that not only had the man changed his location, but he had also switched from being a worker to a customer.

Todd looked over the man’s shoulder and observed for the first time his surroundings. The inside of a downtown bar would normally be thick with a pungent blend of body odor and spilled alcohol. It would also have the low hum of conversations and the occasional laughter and whispered secrets exchanged among its patrons, but this bar was silent. It was as though it had been lobotomized.

“Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but I’ve had a hard day and I’m not in the mood for socializing”. As Todd was saying this the man seemed not to be listening to him. Instead, he was fully focused on pouring a dark liquid into two glasses which had appeared on the bar in front of them. Todd had once visited the Sutherland Falls in New Zealand and the way the man poured the drink into both glasses was as captivating as that.

As he stared into the mist which was somehow being produced as the liquid filled the glass, he began to forget about the metaphorical knife, which was shoved into his heart by Karen, less than an hour ago. Todd's thoughts were interrupted as the man began to talk again, ignoring Todd’s blatant rudeness.

“Ah, I can sense it was someone not something…Am I right? By the way, I’m Lemures.” The man said this whilst handing one of the drinks to Todd and he took it without thinking.

“What is this?” Todd said this and suddenly realized that he hadn’t changed his abrasive tone of voice.

“I’m sorry, what kind of a drink is this?” This time Todd’s voice was lighter.

“Don’t worry about what it is. All you need to know is that it’s free and it’s what you need...” Lemures paused for a second to take a sip of his drink and then continued. “…to help you forget”.

Todd thought that the Lemures had played a masterstroke. How could he ignore a man who had just given him a free drink? He surmised that he was getting the better deal. He would get this man to give him drinks in exchange for a bit of small talk.

“So, tell me my friend, who do you want to forget?” Lemures this time took a big gulp from his drink.

Todd felt that his quick pace of drinking was an attempt to encourage him to join the man in his consumption of the beverage.

“How much alcohol does this have in it?” Todd only asked this to slow down the drinking pace of the man. Heartache or no heartache, he still had to go to work tomorrow and didn’t want to have a stinking hangover in the morning.

“Don’t worry! There’s no alcohol in this. Only something which will help you to forget”. Lemures raised his glass, and Todd realized that after he had raised his glass in a toast, he would have to join the drinking session.

“Prosit.” Lemures said this whilst clinking his glass with Todd’s.

“What language is that?” Todd asked and then took the first sip of his drink.

“It’s Latin. It’s my language.” Lemures took another gulp of his drink.

“Isn’t Latin a dead language?” Todd asked and placed the glass on the bar. He did this because he wanted to see what effects the drink was going to have on him before he took another sip.

“Just because humankind has forgotten about something doesn’t mean that it is dead. Although other people may want to forget about these things…” Lemures paused for effect and continued. “These things are not only remembered but also claimed by people like me.”

“So, this drink will help me to forget?” Todd said this and picked up his glass.

“Yes, my friend, but unlike alcohol which only helps you forget for a short period and, then in the morning, when you are sober, you have to face the bitter reality of life.” Lemures once again stopped to take a drink. “This drink will replace your heartache with nothingness…My friend, nothingness is not as negative as it sounds. We are at our best when we are not preoccupied by bitter memories.” He raised his glass again, but this time Todd joined him almost immediately in his toast.

“Prosit. Did I get that right?” By saying the toast, Todd had finally agreed to join the party.

“Yes, my friend, and remember that no matter how much we try to forget a person by drinking alcohol, that person will still find us even in a place like this. Now drink up. I’m going to the restroom but when I get back, there will be nothing for you to worry about.”

***

There are many bars hidden in the shadows of a seemingly ordinary town but as Todd sat, out of view of any entering customers, in this mysterious establishment which didn’t serve alcohol but offered a menu of enigmatic elixirs that promised unique sensations, his surge of emotions, both joy and despair was now long gone.

As he stared into space, a woman entered the dimly lit bar. The bartender, clad in dark attire, welcomed her with a smile and asked.

“Karen, why do you desire alcohol?”