Chapter 02 - January 15th, 2084 - The Café Part I

South Quay Café

Saturday night.

Salonika's favorite time of the week.

A brief pocket of time when people began to loosen the bars of whatever cage they had lived in.

A time when for a few precious hours, they belonged only to themselves.

Freedom that would fade by morning, though time was never the true limit.

The feeling was.

Salonika had understood that long ago.

Fleeting moment.

Yet that was the spell.

It was never meant to last forever.

That was precisely what made it special.

Precious.

The café was always full at this time. Warmth settled into every corner. Laughter drifted between closely packed tables, glasses chiming softly beneath the music.

Students.

Workers.

Couples.

Families.

Friends.

Those who spent these fleeting hours with the people and places that mattered most to them.

Salonika sat upon a high stool beneath the wash of stage lights, her harp resting at her side, the microphone waiting for her voice.

Her eyes closed as the song demanded everything its performers could offer.

Skill.

Heart.

Soul.

The song was her own.

A quiet piece about tides, written during the still hours between night and dawn.

Her voice emerged softly at first, then slowly blossomed, luminous as moonlight dancing across the sea.

The audience disappeared. Only the rhythm in her chest. Only the current of the melody flowing through her.

Mara's guitar threaded beneath her voice.

Carl's piano gave it a steady foundation.

Roen's drums lifted it gently skyward.

This little 'place' they had found in one another.

They breathed as one.

They always had.

Saloka.

Her band.

More than a name. More than a group of musicians.

A place where their hearts, minds, and purpose moved in harmony. Where every one of them belonged.

She felt the room grow still.

That delicate, almost sacred moment when everything aligned.

Every breath.

Every heartbeat.

Every soul listening to the same melody.

But then something shifted.

A presence.

Her eyes opened slightly, drifting across the room until they settled on the window.

And there.

She saw him.

Beyond the glass, beneath the glow of a half-lit streetlamp.

A man stood watching.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

The crowd flowed around him, yet he remained perfectly still, untouched by the movement of the world.

As though he didn't belong to it.

As though reality itself had forgotten to carry him forward.

A solitary figure, anchored beneath the surface of an unseen tide.

His presence reached her.

Dense.

Like the quiet pressure of deep water rising from below.

Her fingers faltered.

Just once.

A single note bent off course.

Then the music found her again.

Held her steady.

She kept singing.

Yet a part of her awareness remained fixed on the man outside.

Watching.

Waiting.

Unmoving.

What is this?

What's happening to me?

She tried to push the feeling aside. Tried to lose herself in the song once more.

She made it to the end of the first set.

Thunderous applause washed over her.

Her campus friends cheered from the front tables and cozy booths with enough enthusiasm to make her cheeks warm.

She let out a small, shy laugh before offering a graceful curtsy.

A few moments passed.

Cups and glasses clinked. Conversations gradually returned, filling the café with its familiar hum.

Clink-

The bell above the entrance chimed softly.

The door opened.

She didn't need to look.

She knew.

The man had come inside.

Something in the room moved to make space for him. She couldn't explain it, only that she felt a quiet weight settle into place. The café still smelled of coffee, butter, and warm sugar.

But now beneath it lingered something else.

A storm.

Wild.

Metallic.

Out of place.

He disappeared somewhere behind the crowd, beyond her direct line of sight.

Yet her awareness reached for him anyway uninvited.

When her gaze finally wandered across the room, it found him immediately.

Effortless.

Almost instinctive.

He sat alone in the far corner.

Back to the wall.

Perfectly still.

Watching her.

Mara lifted her chin, her breathing calm as the room settled around them.

"Second set."

The quiet murmur faded once more.

Roen tapped his drumstick against the rim.

Once.

Twice.

The sharp clicks cut cleanly through the lingering buzz.

Salonika's fingers moved.

The first note slipped into the air.

Soft.

Certain.

As though it had been waiting for silence to make room for it.

Then she began to sing.

Not just for the room anymore.

Her breath caught between phrases. Her pulse stumbled once, then found its rhythm again.

Something inside her tightened.

Strange.

Difficult to name.

Mara leaned into the next progression, smiling as she played.

Unaware.

Probably.

Salonika returned the smile out of habit, though her voice softened without her intending it to.

Still, she couldn't keep her eyes away for long.

Again and again, they drifted back toward him.

Toward the man in the corner.

Details gathered one by one.

He hadn't touched his coffee.

He hadn't shifted in his seat.

He hadn't looked anywhere else.

The realization arrived slowly.

He wasn't merely watching the performance.

He was watching her just as she couldn't stop watching him.

The distance between them seemed to thin.

Turn into something else.

Something neither of them could cross, yet neither could ignore.

The final note dissolved into silence.

Applause followed.

She bowed, drawing a slow, uneven breath.

She felt more exhausted than usual.

Yet her thoughts refused to leave the far corner of the café.

When she looked again...

He was already standing.

Moving toward the door.

Leaving.

The bell chimed softly.

And just like that...

He was gone.

Only a single cup of coffee remained on the table.

Untouched.

For reasons she couldn't explain, a small hollow opened in her chest.

Why?

Why do I feel like this?

She didn't understand it.

Her feet moved before her mind could catch up.

"Sal?" Roen called.

Carl looked up from his tablet.

She slipped away from the congratulations.

Away from the chatter.

Away from Mara calling after her.

She stepped into the night.

The South Quay night market rushed in all at once.

Cool sea air mingled with the scent of hot oil drifting from the food stalls. Lanterns cast warm pools of light across the damp stone, their reflections trembling in shallow puddles. People wandered between vendors, laughter and conversation weaving through the crisp winter air.

She looked left.

Then right.

Nothing.

Only the restless current of Plaza Seven.

Her hand rose unconsciously, clutching the fabric over her chest.

The feeling remained.

Heavy.

Persistent.

The cold found her then, slipping beneath her sleeves. She folded her arms around herself.

Who was he?

"Sal?"

Mara's voice cut gently through her thoughts.

Salonika turned.

Mara stood a few steps behind her, holding her coat, studying her with quiet concern.

"What's wrong?"

Salonika hesitated.

"...Did you see him?"

Mara tilted her head.

"Who?"

"The man. He was outside at first. Then he came in. He sat in the corner..." She paused. "...He was just watching."

Her fingers tightened around her sleeve.

Mara thought for a moment before nodding.

"Oh... yeah. Big guy."

She shrugged.

"Looked like a Vestal. The don't-even-breathe kind."

Relief flickered across Salonika's face.

"So... you saw him."

"Hard not to."

"He's real?"

Mara blinked.

"...Well, I did see him."

Then a crooked smile appeared.

"What? You've got yourself a stalker now?"

"It wasn't like that."

Salonika glanced back toward the street.

"It didn't feel like that."

The teasing faded from Mara's expression.

"You okay?"

"I..."

Salonika searched for words but found none.

"I'm not sure."

Without another word, Mara draped the coat over her shoulders.

"Then forget him. People like that? They pass through. If he wants more, he'll show up."

She muttered low.

"We'll decide then if he's a threat... or something else."

Salonika shook her head.

"I told you, it wasn't like that."

"Sure."

Mara waved a hand dismissively.

"Come on. It's freezing out here."

Salonika didn't argue.

Because part of her suspected Mara was right.

Mara always right.

The feeling in her chest hadn't disappeared.

It hadn't weakened.

It waited.

And for reasons she couldn't explain...

She knew she would see him again.

Soon.

...----------------...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***