The Churros Shop

Prologue: The Unknown Beginning

There's a deep sense of comfort when you smell the fatty goodness of food in the air. whether it's fries or doughnuts or whatever, it's heartwarming.

So here I was, on a cold dreary and impossibly gray day in London, sitting on my battered up bike. it was freezing out and i could see my breath in the air. i didn't bother making myself warm, just sat there and looked at nothing and tried not to contemplate how annoyingly sad my life was.

Then deciding that I had nothing better to do, I wrote in my tiny little notebook about all the people I hated and how I wished they would disappear. to be honest, i didn't feel all that much better which was odd since venting usually worked. so i shook my head, disgusted beyond reason and took out my pack.

It was unhealthy, I knew. but i didn't do it often, only when i felt sorry for myself, which i was definitely feeling today. so i lit one and took a puff. it wasn't long after that the smell came.

It was faint, at first, thanks to all the smoke I was emitting. i barely noticed it. but then it grew stronger, much more fragrant, and i regretted lighting the cigarette. smells like these were ones i appreciated not masked with smoke. So I dropped the thing and ground it to bits.

I looked around, trying to pinpoint where the smell was coming from and my eyes settled on a small but crowded shop. The place stood out from its corner of the block. It was the bright light against all the cold darkness of early evening in London. It was, well, it was beautiful.

The line was extreme, never ran out of people. And I could see why they all went. It was an enticing place. The atmosphere, the lights, the smell... It was all tempting me, as if it was willing me to go see where the good stuff was.

Well, I was a sucker for sinful treats and it was attacking me at my weakest, so I stood up and went.

As I drew nearer, I became more aware. The lights were getting brighter, the noise louder, the smell better. My pace quickened. The line was getting longer as well, but I paid no attention to it. I had to see the place up close.

And then I was there. I looked inside. It was busy, the people inside moving about like they were in a race. They were shouting, too, in a language that seemed Spanish. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking it all in. It was so alive, so vibrant! It was like a symbol of what life could be, what life was supposed to be.

Then a person snapped me out of my moment. I looked up to find the cashier looking at me and saying, "There's a line, miss."

"Sorry," I said. I was about to leave when one of the chefs went up to her. He said something rapidly in his language and gestured in my direction. Then the woman shrugged and went back to the customer, the chef coming to me.

I didn't know what to do then and was contemplating taking off when the guy leaned out of the shop and said, "You hungry?"

I only noticed my growling stomach when it did. "Yes." Then, realizing that I had no idea what people bought here, I asked very awkwardly, "What do you have?"

He smiled amusedly. "What do you think?"

I had nothing else to say. "Well it smells like doughnuts to me."

He laughed loudly. "Nope. But you're close enough." He went inside and came back holding a paper cone filled with fried prism-like things.

I wrinkled my nose. "So, not doughnuts."

He handed me the cone saying, "Try it."

I took one and hesitantly bit into it. I wasn't expecting much, but it was actually pretty good. It was crunchy yet soft and covered in cinnamon sugar as well which was an added bonus.

"This is really nice," I said, taking another bigger bite.

"Really nice?" he repeated. "Really nice? Are you kidding me?"

I was still chewing. "What? It's really good!"

He shook his head. "I think I know what you need."

He went back inside, leaving me dumbfounded. Wasn't that a compliment I just said?

I was just about to ask him that very question when he shoved a paper cup filled with chocolate in my free hand. "Dip it in there," he ordered.

"What? Oh, ok." And as I did it, the smell of dark gooey chocolate hit me smack in the face. With that thought in mind, I took another big bite.

Oh, yeah. This is different.

The chocolate was so rich, complimenting perfectly the slightly bland dough. It was so good I had to just take a moment. When I opened my eyes again, the guy was looking at me with a smug smirk on his face.

He folded his arms. "Now you tell me that was really nice."

I ignored him and went back to eating. I only looked up when he handed me a cup of water. "Thanks," I mumbled through the food.

"Don't mention it." The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a beautiful woman, señorita?"

I snorted and almost choked. "No. But thank you."

"Really? Odd."

When I had polished off the whole thing, I told him, "Thank you for letting me jump the line. How much?"

"For you, señorita, nothing."

"Ah, but..."

"Please, I insist. Take it as an appreciation of your beauty."

I smiled at him. "I am sadly not beautiful."

"You are. And I have wonderful taste in women."

"Really? I was starting to question that."

We both looked at each other for a while before we let loose and chuckled. "Are you sure I don't need to pay you?" I asked him.

"Maybe you can. With a promise." He rested his elbows on the counter. "A promise that you will come again."

I chuckled. The idea of not coming back was funny for me. "Don't worry. I will."

He seemed to understand the reason behind my laughter. "Your name, señorita?"

"Johanna."

"Mine's Miguel." He looked towards the kitchen. "And right now, duty calls, so I'm afraid we're going to have to postpone this conversation."

"All right, then." He waved and was about to walk away when I remembered something. "But wait! What was it that I just ate?"

He smiled the amused smile again. "Churros. What you had was churros. Orgasmic, aren't they?"

Hi, there! So this is my first story on Wattpad. If anybody decides to read this and likes it *snorts*, then please know that this is only an improv kind of story, so updates will be slow. There is also a high chance of discontinuation, if ever. If I do continue, it won't be very long. So that's it! I still hope you enjoy.    ~Evelyn ;)