Brewville

I didn’t know what exactly drew me to the attic that day. I just remember that I was feeling especially invigorated. It was barely 10 am, and I was already cradling my third cup of coffee when I had this overwhelming urge to sort through my belongings. I randomly threw things into the bins in the attics when I felt I didn’t need them anymore. And for the life of me, I didn’t need all the hassle of sorting through them.

_Source

But here I was, fishing in my bins like a crazed miner. I guess my coffee mix had given me an extra dose of adrenaline today. Oh well, I thought. Better now than never. When I opened my family album, however, not just the one of my immediate family, but the album of generations passed, I felt an eerie shift in the air. There was this prickly sensation at the back of my neck like I wasn’t the only one in the room.

I looked around me but when I saw nothing, I shrugged and continued leafing through the albums. Generations of Sinclair’s. I came from a coffee generation. And since Great Great Grandfather Sinclair, it was like a family heirloom. One that unfortunately ended with me because I had no zeal to keep the family business going. I adored coffee and that was about it.

I felt the shift in the air again and this time it was more pressing than ever. I turned a nanosecond before I saw the hand as it gripped my shoulder and with a frightening shriek, I was transported to another dimension. At least that’s what I thought as I landed gracelessly on the floor with a man guffawing at me. I glared at him, standing, rather inelegantly to my feet.

“Who are you? Where have you taken me to?"

He wiped a tear from his eyes. “My word, that has to be the most graceless fall I’ve seen in a century."

I seethed. “Oh, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t land like a swan when you just took me out of my attic into some...” I paused and took a look at my environment for the first time.

“Yes?” he asked.

_Source

I was too taken away by the beauty around me to answer. Starting from the sky. It was like the richest brown and the most royal gold came dexterously together. Then I noticed the people. They had such beautiful smiles on their faces. Smiles that I rarely saw in my world anymore. The adults had that glow and the children’s eyes brimmed with joy and innocence. My eyes took in a child in particular as she hopped to a fountain and absentmindedly took a scoop of the water to drink.

My first impulse was to stop the child. Why was she drinking fountain water? Then I paused for a bit, looking at the fountain more closely. There was a rich, familiar smell emanating from it. I let out another gasp.

Was that coffee?

I silently turned to my abductor. “Where...is this place?”

He grinned. “Welcome to Brewville. A coffee heaven. Where all your coffee dreams, realistic or not, come to materialization. We aren’t some floating spirits set to grant dreams. Here at Brewville, we just do our thing but if you notice, everyone is happier because of the power of the aromatic elixir called coffee.”

I was slack-jawed. “Wow, I don’t even know what to say." My brows creased in concentration. “I’m still confused though. Why did you bring me here?”

He smiled serenely. “We’ve watched you for a while, you see. And every quarterly, we give a person whose love for coffee is genuine and grants them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to find happiness in our unique world.”

I opened my mouth to speak, already giddy with anticipation when he raised a hand. “Before you make your decision, I want to take you on a tour of this exquisite world of ours.”

I stood flummoxed. “Is that necessary? I mean I’m ready to move in now.”

He said nothing more and simply held my hand. And together we walked through the streets. The people waved and laughed happily. Genuine joy. There were several tap-like things at strategic corners and before I could ask why, I saw a man who seemed to be running late for work hastily stop at the tap. They were cups by the tap and before I blinked, I saw deliciously steaming coffee rush into his cup. He shut the tap and resumed jogging to his destination, sipping his coffee.

I turned to my guide. “So.... there’s no water?”

He looked at me with incredulity. “Water is to feel refreshed, no? Then what’s its need when we have all the refreshment we need?”

I looked on silently as he continued the tour. When he was done and asked for my decision again, I had my answer.

_Source

“On a regular day, I’d give my right arm to be in a place like this. But as I think of it, the novelty of coffee to me was in the alternative. It’s like we have other options but we coffee lovers just choose to drink coffee. The fact that there wouldn’t be a choice but coffee and it’s regularly at our fingertips takes away that novelty you know.”

He smiled so widely at me, I knew I’d made the right decision. And before I could blink, I saw myself back in my attic. I stared into the air, wondering whether it was all a dream, but I looked at my hand and saw a cup of golden coffee in my hand with Brewville stylishly written on it. I smiled and picking up my phone, dialled the one person that would love the words I was about to say.

“Hello, mama. I think I’m ready to reopen Café Sinclair.”

Jhymi🖤