Cafe Luna: Prologue 1 (The Hermit)

Author’s Notes: This is gonna be a series that I’ll be writing here. Updates won’t be regular. Welcome to Cafe Luna

I suddenly found myself in the middle of nowhere, darkness all around me and a cafe in front of me.

I scratched my head and walked towards the cafe. Not like I have any other choice.

When I opened the door, I was greeted with an old-school type of cafe, complete with wooden tables made from maple trees with its scent also propagating all throughout the cafe.

“Welcome to Cafe Luna, Sir. What should I get you?”

The man behind the counter motioned for me to sit in front of the bar counter. He’s wearing a black vest over a white long sleeve polo. He rolled his sleeves up to a comfortable lever and tied his shoulder length, black hair. He looked around the age of early twenties.

He nodded his head with his hands still motioned for the seat, urging me to move forward.

“U-Uhh.. Hi?”

I sat down and smiled nervously to which he returned a kind smile.

“What would you have?”

“Uhh, let’s see.”

I grabbed the nearby menu and scratched my head.

Huh? These drinks… I’ve never seen them before. I looked back at the barista and saw him polishing the cups.

“U-Umm.. Do you have a recommendation?”

“Hmm, how about Babel?”

“A-Alright, I’ll have that one.”

“On the way.”

He smiled and started preparing the drink. Meanwhile, I started wandering inside the cafe walking from corner to corner, trying to figure out where the heck I am. I walked towards a big bookshelf and found a book that piqued my interest. I carefully grabbed the book, making sure not to displace the others beside it. I opened it and found that it’s written in a language I don’t understand.

I tilted my head in confusion trying to decipher the letters but soon, I just gave up. I put the book back in its place and headed back to the counter.

“Here you go.”

The bartender poured the coffee (from what I can assume) into the cup with finesse unseen from my local bartenders. He then passed the cup to me and poured some for himself.

“U-Uhh. Where am I?”

I asked the bartender.

He raised his eyebrow and said:

“Hmm? I thought I welcomed you earlier?”

“I mean, yeah, you did. But like… WHERE is this?”

“Ohh. Well, this is Cafe Luna. A cafe without a physical address. It exists in the realms of imagination and dreams.”

“So, you mean, I’m dreaming right now?”

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

“I guess you can say that.”

Then continued:

“Anyway, take a sip of your coffee, it’s gonna get cold.”

“O-Okay…?”

I took a sip of the coffee and was awakened to a whole new level of flavor.

“Wow, this… this is really good!”

“Glad you liked it.”

“Where did you get the beans?”

I said while sipping more.

“It’s a secret.”

He laughed.

“What’s the name again?”

“Babel.”

Hmm? Babel?

“Like the tower in the Bible? Babel?”

“Exactly.”

He smiled as he put his empty cup down on its coaster.

“That’s an interesting naming sense. Did you name it?”

“Nope, it’s really called that.”

“But I’ve never heard of it in my whole life!”

“Well, it’s because it doesn’t exist in your life.”

“Huh?”

I put my empty cup down and he took care of it for me. He turned around and started washing the cups we used.

“Cafe Luna exists in a world different from yours, it exists in ALL worlds.”

He paused.

“While you only exist in a single one. Think of it as a parallel world. The main reason you couldn’t read the book you had in your hands earlier was the same thing.”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head to the side trying to figure it out.

“Actually, that book is in English.”

“No way!”

“Yes way, but it’s English in a different parallel universe that’s why you couldn’t read it.”

He paused for a bit as he dries the cups with his cloth

“Actually, I think you can read it now.”

Upon hearing this, I headed straight to the book shelf and grabbed the book again.

And he was right, I can actually read it now!

“How?”

“Because of Babel.”

“Because of Babel..?”

Upon putting the cups upside down back into their rack, he motioned for me to go back to the counter again.

“You know the story of Babel, right?”

“The tower that was broken because they’re trying to reach heaven with it, right?”

“Exactly, but it’s also an origin myth of why people speak different languages.”

My eyes widened in excitement as I finally got what he was saying.

“So that drink actually made me able to read this because it nullified the multiple language origin story?”

“Exactly, well, just for a short time though.”

“T-That’s amazing!”

I flipped through the book trying my best to scan through the pages until the effects of Babel finally faded.

“Aww, it’s over?”

“Yeah, that’s just how it is. I can’t make one with a permanent effect as it is against the rules.”

“But this book is really interesting!”

“I know, it’s an autobiography after all.”

He paused.

“Anyway, it’s time for you to leave.”

He clapped his hands and my vision faded until I found myself in my bed again with my alarm clock wreaking auditory havoc in my room.

***

My name is Hajime and I was born before the big bang even happened. Needless to say, I have witnessed everything on my side. I have the ability to see the future of the person right in front of me. Having this ability made it a nightmare for me to be in public eye as it can give me a headache being able to see the future of hundreds of people in front of me.

So I have opted to become a spiritual barista with a cafe that’s only accessible through specific manners. This way, I can give people advice about their problems and insecurities. People who stumble into my cafe come from different times, places, and upbringings.

Some nobles, others kings. Some modern, some from even before the industrial revolution. These people are the same as you and I. They all have problems like you do and are looking for solutions like you do.

My role here is to give them the push they need and the advice that they seek.