The Nook #mysteryfriday

The Nook

In a small town whose name doesn't matter, and inside a public house whose name is the only thing that matters about it, the local residents sought refuge from the burdens of life after another day of exhausting - and to some, pointless - work. The atmosphere was dull as usual, so dull that when the wooden door of the Nook was opened, it took everybody a moment to stir, let alone turn to the man who had just entered.

"Have you heard the news?" the man said flatly, seating himself at one of the tables. "The mayor's child has gone missing."

There was silence. Not the sort that indicates shock, but rather a comfortable one that implies nothing but pure nonchalance, as though it was no important news. And in all honesty, the people gathering at the Nook couldn't care less. However, for a fraction of a second, and only for a fraction of a second, no one could deny they did.

For example, during that brief moment a particular Jim felt a surge of malignant pleasure on hearing that the child was missing. It was the flame that ignited his buried spite, which erupted and, on its way to fill up his soul with jubilation, awakened his inner Edward Hyde. There was cool fire inside him, searing his heart, yet soothing it at the same time, as he realized that fate had finally decided to wreak vengeance on the tyrant. Ah, how sweet! Jim wished this sensation would last forever; however, his fatigue thought otherwise.

Not too far from Jim sat a Gloria, fiddling mindlessly with an empty glass she had just drained. Although her reaction when she heard the news was merely a nod of the head, her head itself had another reaction. It reminded her of her own children, and how the mayor, despite being an unpleasant person, was after all a father, and the child was just a child. She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at how she almost forgot that, and her conscience reproached her with a wrench that seemed to tug her heart out of her ribs. At first she wanted to gloat over the incident, but her desire was soon eroded by the crashing waves of remorse. Gloria wished the child would return safe and sound as much as she wanted this internal torture to stop. And it stopped. For, just like Jim, it was too weary to linger.

And thus the emotions around the Nook varied from one person to another. Some were like Jim, rejoicing at the thought of the mayor panicking, and relishing the idea of him being petrified with fear and worry. Some were like Gloria, believing that the child was just a child, and quivering at the cruel possibility of him getting hurt for crimes he didn't commit. And some were a confusing mixture of the two, happy that it was the time for the mayor to pay for his iniquities, but at the same time remembering that the kid had no hand in choosing his father.

But there was a fourth type, and it was represented by none other than the bartender. He was a young man who went by the name of Johnny, and he was one of those silent devils whose existence has always been an unsolved mystery, and whose end is even more enigmatic. In fact, Johnny was so silent that nobody knew if his real name was John or Jonathan. He was just there, serving the customers in a somewhat lackadaisical manner that was only a reflection of the moat of apathy that surrounded his castle of flaring emotion. He thought that its gates would open and set free his glee which danced and bounced like a jester - but they didn't.

Johnny found himself genuinely nonchalant about the whole matter from the start, and his indifference was only sincere because he was the one who kidnapped the mayor's child.
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A/N The Nook has won 3rd place in this contest. I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's read, voted or commented on this story. Your support means the world to me. ♡