Prisoner

Thirty (epiloigue)

"And here's your two Caramel Lattes and a cinnamon roll, have a great day ma'am."

The smell of coffee drifted through the air, accompanied by soft acoustic music and the shuffling of a few dogs that customers had brought in. It was nice and Louis was proud of what he had made for himself.

Of course, he owes it all to Harry. Without him, Louis would've never thought he could do something like this. He wouldn't of had the motivation. He did it for Harry though, not just himself.

Opening the cafe in Harry's name was Louis' way of keeping him and his memory alive. Three years later and now there's others that know about Harry too.

Some ask about him, why it's his name and not Louis'. He never lies, he always tells them the truth and they always seem to question how something so tragic could happen.

At first when people mentioned it, it hurt, and it still does to some extent, but in a way that's bittersweet. A way that creates a reason for Louis to keep going.

His dad helped him out too, along with some of the money his mom left him. His dad was the one who suggested the halo logo on Harry's name, and as soon as he did, Louis fell in love.

He remembers talking about opening a cafe with Harry. They were gonna call it Halo. Louis still likes that name, but he wanted it to be just Harry's, the logo though, it keeps that memory fresh in his mind every time he sees it.

Not everything was quite how they made it up, but it was very similar in a more realistic way. There was the music, and dogs, the modern yet vintage look, it was all there.

Instead of having dogs that stay at the cafe, Louis decided it'd be smarter to just make it a pet friendly space. They even had a section of the pastry display dedicated to baked goods themed dog treats, along with a bowl of free milk-bone treats as well.

Louis never would've thought the cafe would be as successful as it is. He thought it'd take years upon years to be able to open, but somehow it was like a guardian angel just paved the way for him.

The decorations in the cafe all have something to do with Harry as well. There's a painting that Louis had done, recreating the picture he took the night of Harry's execution. 

It was of the night sky, the moon was crescent and the rest of the sky was absolutely clear, not a star in sight. Except for one. There was only one star in the sky that was visible to Louis. He knew exactly who that star was and now everyday he looks to that painting and gets to relive that memory. It was the only good thing about that day.

There was stuffed frogs sitting in random places around the cafe, but the one Harry originally gave him was safe and sound in his apartment. He couldn't risk something happening to it.

There was a book shelf as well, full of lots of different stories, but they each only had one copy, except for the one about the void. The one that Louis shared with Harry. There were two of those.

All the tips Louis made went straight to a fund that helps people like Harry who were unfairly sentenced. He's donated over three thousand dollars in tips to that charity. He wished those people had found Harry first.

He also had signs around that stand up for lgbtq+ rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, along with other articles and signs that featured and educated people on other social and political issues.