SHE picked up a glass of drink for herself as she said, “You’re quick. I’m scared now.”
“Where are we?”
“We… are… somewhere safe. Where exactly, only the Magus knows.”
Prolonged silence came into play, during which the woman held her glass in one hand and a relatively large scalpel in the other. Even when she had finished her drink, the man didn’t seem all too interested in moving.
“Well?”
“What?”
“Are you going to lie there all day?”
“What am I supposed to do? I bet there’re guards outside. I’ll get caught if I do anything.”
“You’re already caught.”
“Excellent deduction. Now let me wither away in peace.”
The woman shook her head in what could be regret for saving this man, then went to the door and knocked on it. The sound of heavy boots walking in made the man jump in terror. The guards were real, and one of them appeared very blatantly to be the captain. The woman slipped out, not wanting to have any part in the interrogation. As she closed the door after her, the captain held up one of the items the thief had stolen, nodding as though asking for an explanation from the man who cowered in a corner of the room.
The woman met up with one of the other staff members, a youthful man with bartending skills far beyond his years. She ordered a drink, then contemplated the events that had taken place as the bartender performed his craft for some of the other patrons.
It was still night, courtesy of the building’s ability to travel to different world. They were on an island, small and desolated, surrounding by endless water. Twin moons keep the stars company during the long dark hours, just like drinks were the woman’s closest companions.
“Anotherone,please,man,” she mumbled.
“You sure?” the bartender man said.
“What?” she exclaimed with a degree of surprise.
“No offence, but this will be your seventh.”
“You just keep them coming.”
“Ay-yo. Your funeral.”
After the tall glass was placed on the counter in front of her, she literally grabbed it and downed half of the contents in a single swing. The bartender didn’t stare as civility took over.
She mumbled again, “Stupid idiot.”
The bartender maintained his aura of courteousness with a polite, “Come again?”
“My patients.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t understand me. Never understand me.”
“They come from different worlds, don’t they?” asked the young man as he placed a bowl of snack food in front of her.
The woman helped herself to the serving, saying, “Doesn’t mean they have to be uncouth. I mean… I mean, look, whether or not you-you have travelled to different worlds doesn’t make a licking difference when you interact with people. When you meet someone, aye, you be nice to them, right, you look them in the eye, you be polite. Is that too much to ask?”
“Some people just don’t get the hint, I admit.”
“Another one, man, before we… too late. At least I like this world.”
The Tavern no longer stood on its lonely island of despair in the middle of the ocean. They were now on a mountain, overlooking the sun that was just rising between the peaks. The bartender mentioned how beautiful the scene was, and the woman concurred.
>End of story.
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