At The Bottom of The Coffee Cup

Philosophy and Expressos

        I walk into the cafe that I have been going to for about 3 weeks. The brown walls, hippie people and the smell of coffee are giving off a rustic aesthetic and that's one of the biggest reasons I come here. It reminds me of the cafes in France or in Korea; they were aesthetically pleasing.

I hop over to the counter and ring the bell to get the barista's attention. I've been here so often that I know all of the workers here. It is a small coffee shop. "Aurora," I say as she smiles at me while wiping her hands off with a small white hand towel. "The usual." She throws the towel over her shoulder and puts her hands on the counter. I grin and put my finger on my chin. Pretending to think. "French vanilla with two shots of espresso and whip cream on the top; heavy on the sugar and the cream." She says as she moves her ashy grey hair behind her ear. I gasp dramatically " How did you know, oh my god. Are you a mind reader?!" She shakes her head as she goes to make my drink. " What? don't shake your head at me" I say chuckling. Looking around the cafe I notice the couples and the how they interact. If love at first sight, really does exist, it means that it can only happen once; if that's the case then how do we know when it happens? I mean I'm sure there are some physical factors to it but I mean, how would we know for sure? Would we ever know?

My train of thought is stopped by Aurora. "I mean, love is a very floppy thing, don't you think?You never know when you will fall in or out of it." She smiles and hands me my drink. " I was thinking out loud again wasn't I..." I chuckle as I take a twenty dollar bill out of my pocket. She smiles and nods lightly. I hand her the money. "Keep the change." I say as I grab my stuff and walk to my usual spot in the cafe, a corner where there is a couch and also a table so it always comfortable yet convenient. I love to sit here and just work through things in my head and on my writing. I never have a specific type of writing that I do some days it may be poems. Sometimes it's an opinion paragraph on why I think dogs are great animals or I might blog about my experiences in the countries I've been too. I put my bag down on the couch and my drink on the table. I sit and go through my bag." Hmmmmm, I'm going to doooooo some poems, yea why not." As I talk to myself I get out my notebook and pen. I flip to the next free page. As I am about to put the pen on the paper the door opens and the door chimes go off I make a quick glance to see who it is. I see a woman enter, her lean and feminine body intrigues me. I keep watching her, she orders a tea and a bagel. When she receives her food she walks over my way looking for a free spot. Her curly hair bounces with her movement, her dark but beautiful eyes hold my gaze. She looks at me and gives me an awkward smile as she finds her spot. I quickly look down. What are you doing Reese? Get it together.

As I take another lookup I see her taking out a little sketchbook. She takes out a pen and starts to draw. Her facial expression changes ever so often as she changes the angle of the book or her arm. After a while, she took a break to eat her bagel. She then looks my way and I pick up my cup and act as if nothing ever happened. I wait 30 seconds and look back up and she is back to her drawing. I decided to write a poem, pick up my pen and look at her yet again. The words start to flow.

I sit here stuck in your trance

I think this is romance

Or just fascination

Your beautiful curls frame your face

And I just can't look away

It's not only my attention but my heart that you took away

Please don't play games.

You draw the world but I draw you

In this poem that one day I hope to show you

A love poem I dedicate to you

Dear, cafe girl

I put down my pen pleased with what I wrote down. As I finish up my coffee I get sad cause I never stay after I'm done. So it's our time to depart. Sadly, I'm the only one who cares. I pack up my bag and stand up. Picking up my empty coffee, I look at the bottom. It looks so empty. I bring the mug to the counter. Aurora grabs it from my hands and smiles ." Where are you off to today?" She says as she puts the mug in the dishwasher. 

"Who knows? Hey, would you be able to do me a huge favor?" I say as I rip out the page in the book. I hand her the paper secretively. "You see that girl sitting down with the curly hair and she ordered a bagel and tea? Could you give this to her?" I say, smiling shyly. 

"Sure, should I tell her you wrote it." She scans the paper. 

"No, no please don't." She raises her eyebrows. 

"You weirdo," She says putting the paper away carefully "I got you, see you tomorrow." She pats my arm, and I smile. "You're the best." I sling my bag back on my shoulder and walk out taking one more glance at her. I smile and turn around and push the door open.

I make my way down the busy streets and look at my surroundings. The sun hits my skin and I just smile at life. The small things make me happy ever since I was a kid. Learning to ride a bike, picking flowers, going somewhere new and not worried about being lost. Just loving life. I love being as free as I am. Being confined and having structure doesn't worry me but I don't care for it at the same time. I reach the end the street and I look at where I am and where I could go. So I just turn left at this tall brown brick building and continue on my way, thinking of her.