A Day Like Any Other

Every day I wake up and do the same things.

I stumble around the house, shave, brush my teeth, grab my bag and, now that I'm finally feeling ok enough to leave the house again, I take a short walk to a nearby cafe.

It's an old-school internet cafe called “Terminal” complete with computer gaming stations, artisanal coffee, and free WiFi. Though it can get very busy during the day, I'm always able to sit in the same spot and enjoy my coffee.

Although the decor and atmosphere of the cafe feel pretty nostalgic, as I walk inside today I realize that I can't recall exactly how long its been here.

I started coming to this cafe in order to work on my romance novel, and now it has become such a huge part of my daily routine without me even realizing.
I mostly keep to myself while I'm here, but I've come to recognize a few familiar faces over the last couple of months.

“One black coffee please.” I say as I make my way toward the counter.

“The usual huh?” the barista says a bit playfully while I shuffle off to the side to wait for my drink.

“Are you sure you don't want me to sweeten it up for you?”

“No, thank you though.” I respond a bit tiredly.

I know it may seem boring to her, but I think there's nothing better for starting off a day of writing than a strong black coffee.

Not that I've really been getting much writing done lately though.

This place has become like a safe haven to me after everything that's happened, but I suppose that has its drawbacks. Though I initially came here to find inspiration to work on my novel and get used to interacting with people again, I ended up being caught up in the antiquated desktop computer terminals, the old books and video games, and the scent of gourmet coffee roasts which permeate the air.

Lately I end up spending far too much of my time on the computer testing out the cafe's indie game selection. I guess a few game developers will sometimes play test their games at the shop. Some of the developers are actually pretty well known, but I think most of the games come from programming students at the local college.

After a minute or two the barista hands me my coffee and I sit down at my favorite spot by the window. It's a small table facing the street, and situated right next to a computer terminal. The window is strong, with an intricate pattern of stained glass.

I log into my account on the computer, a dusty but reliable old desktop, and open up the Notepad. I'm about to finish writing the part of my novel where the hero meets the person whom he is destined to fall in love with by the end of the story. I sigh and stare at the screen in front of me as blankly as it stares back at me.

Who am I kidding with this?

I minimize the window like I so often do, and begin browsing the web while I try to think of something worth writing.

First I check my email, and see an unopened one from my mom which I can already tell is filled with job listing after dead-end job listing.

“This is just making me depressed.” I accidentally say this out loud, though I doubt anyone is listening.

I know I need to focus on writing, but I just can't seem to find it in me today. I want my novel to be great, and I know it can be, if only I could get out of my own head and write a bit more from the heart. They say you should write what you know, so I guess this is to be expected.

“Wait a sec, what's this?” I say as I click something odd that's sitting in my spam folder.

The subject line suspiciously reads “CLICK IT!!!!” but for some reason, I still feel compelled to open it.

The body of the message seems to be a compressed screenshot of a lengthy review of the first chapter of my novel. My writing had been well received, and I was being offered a job.

There is also a strange program file attached, and when I click it a small image pops up, although it is so pixelated that I can’t really tell what it is.
I stare at it for far too long and become deeply lost in thought as my vision blurs. My head starts to ache and I can’t think clearly.

Is this a side effect of all the caffeine, or maybe another flare up?

The room spins and my heart begins to race so fast that for a moment I feel like I could die.

My head hits the desk hard and as the room fades to black, swirling thoughts consume me.

I'm not ready to die, I still have so much left to do.

I can't tell how much time has passed once the crushing feelings in my body finally begin to subside, but it's significantly darker outside as I open my eyes and look out the window. I must have passed out, but for how long? I look back to the spam message still on my screen, and can now read it clearly.

 The sender was named Mokuren, the developer of a new MMO game called Honeyworld that had recently taken the cafe by storm. The game had received extremely positive reviews from play testers at the cafe, myself included, and the team was securing finances to work on the sequel. Apparently after seeing some of my writing in the cafe's game chat, Mokuren had decided to reach out to offer me a job as their lead story writer. The pay for the position was considerably higher than anything else I had seen on the market and it even included full benefits.

The thought of a job that would let me write something I truly enjoyed and still make a living wage sounded too good to be true, and because of that I almost didn't respond. Honey World was such a fun game that I would return to it often in times of stress, or when I was severely procrastinating. Over these last few months at the cafe, it had found a special place in my heart and writing for the sequel was like a dream come true.

This isn't how I want to be, I realize after I ponder a bit longer. I won't finish writing my novel, I won't even have enough motivation to make it out of bed if I keep thinking like that.

I have to at least have the courage to apply, or I won't even be considered. Honeyworld's original servers have already gone offline anyway, so what more is there to lose?

With that in mind, I hastily type up a short reply accepting the position, and hit send.

”One matcha latte, with oat milk and a shot please” a beautiful voice suddenly rang out, rising above the cacophony of sound in the cafe and pulling me away from my thoughts for a moment.

”Ah finally, something different!“ the barista exclaimed with relief.

You mean what a weird order I thought to myself.

I guess it doesn't matter.

I turn back to my screen but notice that the computer isn't on anymore.

”Hey, what's up with the serious face?“ That same voice from before calls out to me. “Is everything alright?”

I look away from my station and to the right of me stands a petite figure holding a steaming latte. They're tall, at least 5'8”, with beautiful raven colored curls and a fiercely piercing gaze.

“You wanna try?” they hold their drink out as if asking me to take a sip.

“Um, you want me to drink your drink?” I ask in disbelief as they pass the cup to me.

“No silly, you can have it.“ They reply almost laughingly. ”I can just get a new one. Besides, you look like you need all the help you can get with your skill distribution. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone in the game with base stats this low.”

Base stats? Skill distribution?

"Help my stats, like my strength and stuff?"

"Yeah, you know!" She says excitedly. "Like how some of the drinks here can boost your strength and stamina, while others are good for magic or intelligence!"

I start to become really confused now and get up to leave as she continues talking.

"Honestly, I don't know how you made it this far on your own without knowing that! It's a good thing you ran into me when you did" She laughs again and flashes a knowing smile.

Who is this girl,  and what the hell is she talking about?