There is always an understated song humming in the air when you go to a coastal coffee shop, be it a lazy weekday afternoon or a lazy weekend; it is both effervescent and everlasting at the same time. Miranda is waiting in a queue, she needs coffee. Needs is the wrong word; she wants coffee. She thinks, maybe 'need' is the right word, because she needs coffee to feel alive, "aliver". The aroma enters her mind through her nostrils, and starts a chain reaction of magic. It is like a domino effect, or butterfly effect - thoughts are taking their own tours. Miranda steps one step forward, quickly swipes the phone without actually reading anything, just habitually. Another step, the middle-aged skinny barista, who clearly has all of his skin wrinkles showcased, looks insanely handsome and hot, just like a prince charming; because he holds the keys to the castle of the thick dark liquid Miranda is craving. She imagines that Enrique Iglesias on his stylish motorbike rushes in and swiftly picks Miranda up, lands a soft kiss, and she giggles like a little girl — for a moment, just in her mind, not visible to anyone else (at least she hopes so).
Miranda, a 39-year-old, recently single, nomad at heart, who is tied to a beautifully boring city, due to her job and whatever, recently started exploring new cafes whenever she can.
Miranda settles in a corner, with her travel kits: a camera, a notebook and a laptop tucked in a backpack. She doesn't plan on doing anything, just go with the flow. Right now, she ordered a cappuccino, and a breakfast burrito, perfect pairing for 4pm rendezvous. This is an interesting cafe, it is a bookstore and a coffee shop, with comfy chairs and cozy couches. Its window frames are red but everything else is in muted natural colors: cream, beige, muted orange, grey, brown et cetera. Half of the crowd are simply holding books, some of them are reading. The grey-haired man in a turquoise polo got bored with his book halfway into it, and now is intently scrolling his phone; the everyday, usual way of reading books.
There is a couple, sitting at an outdoor table, with arms around each other. Miranda thinks, that is cute. But then she corrects herself, no that is gross. Upon reflection, maybe cute. She doesn't want to think about the couple anymore. But they are right there. Then another couple just walks past. What is wrong with these people? Why is everyone paired up.
Actually not everyone is paired up, there are two girls sitting on a couch and separately reading books, with subtle annoyance and a thin smirk on their faces. Miranda asks herself, what is she annoyed about? Maybe the protagonist is taking too long to propose to the girl? Or maybe the side character cheated on her boyfriend because she couldn't come up with an excuse to break up. But now she cannot tell her boyfriend and she is mad at him. Or maybe the main character has been silent in his marriage for so long that the only way he can feel is by hooking up with strangers and going back home fully intoxicated. Or maybe it is just a GRRM book taking too long for anything to really happen. Miranda wants to know.
She thinks about quantum entanglement - it is interesting until you observe, because the moment you observe, it is untangled, the suspense is over, the cat is alive. She is not sure how Schrödinger managed to keep the cat alive for so long without food. She doesn't want to know anymore, just imagining what they might be reading is fun, because she can make them read whatever she wants. The people are real, and her imagination is too. Sweet deal, win win for everyone.