Life and Its Whatnots

Chapter Four.

Chapter Four.

I went for a stroll with Charlie to find new places to love in Arca South. I was instantly drawn to this coffee shop called Brewed Books which is only a block away from our house. 

Brewed Books is a coffee shop and a library in one. It serves brewed coffee, hot/cold milk (yay hot milk), teas, frappes, and pastries or as I call it, it serves anything-you-could-think-of-they-serve-in-a-coffee-shop coffee shop. The only difference is, they serve anything on the menu for free to first time visitors (to which I qualify) and they have a rule for some guests which says Pay Only What You Can and Just Put All That Love Inside The Tip Box who can't afford their meals. 

I wondered if there are people in Arca South who can't afford the meals at the café. In my own opinion, they have a decent – actually, cheap – price for something that tastes absolutely good which comes with a free choice of books to read while enjoying your time at the café. This place reminds me so much of Bayang Luntian. 

I was never a fan of talking to strangers, but, I remind myself that sometimes Life asks of us our comfort and we have to give it up at some point. So even if I didn't want to, talking to a stranger (the barista who's been going around to bus tables) I did. 

"Hey, Lizzie!" I said, reading her name from her pin, "Thanks for my free meal! I'm halfway to finishing it, it's so good! However, I was just wondering, is that Pay Only What You Can for real? Do you have customers who, please don't feel bad with how I'm gonna say this, can't afford your menu?"

"Oh hi, ma'am!"

"You can just call me Pilar." I told her.

"Yes, uh, Pilar. The answer to your question would be yes. Are you new in AS?"

"Yup."

"Do you know Aeon Colleges?" she asked.

"That would be my school in about a week time." I politely told her.

"Oh, that's so cool!" She remarked. "Well, at Aeon Colleges, they are accepting students coming from families classes C to F – those students who are bright enough to pass the entrance exam to be their scholars. So pretty much, it's from that block that we get the Pay Only What You Can customers." Lizzie explained.

"I see."

"If they don't have a place to study they can come here and enjoy our service and pay only what they can. That's the vision. One of the sons of the De Guzman's thought of that, we just didn't know who amongst them. But I bet it's the older one named Travis." she elaborated on the details and upon the statement about the older De Guzman son, she just gave out a blush. 

"The De Guzmans who owns Aeon Colleges are the owners of Brewed Books." she added.

"Hmm.. A very good vision they have! It seems like this coffee shop became their Give Back to the community. That's really nice of them." I thanked Lizzie for shedding light to my confused brain cells early on before I went back eating. 

Talking to Lizzie made me feel that talking to strangers is not at all bad. Besides, talking to strangers and going out of your comfort zone is how you make friends.  I might talk to strangers all the more this year, especially now that I’m in College, in a new place and new school. 

Going back to my Revel Cookies (aka dark chocolate chip ((with a tiny tiny stash of peppermint)) cookie) with a cup of Hot Milk, I grabbed a book from my favorite author which Brewed Books had on their collections. I have read Tuesdays with Morrie before but I decided to reread it again today. I felt glorious holding a book like it was my first time to possess one. I forgot how books made me feel ever since I decided to stop making love with words and adventure and solace that one person may find in a book, on the day when I decided to stop writing. I came to realize how foolish those decisions were. It's so foolish that I needed to charge it to Experience.