The Storeroom in Jacky's Cafe

by Oceana

Oh. It's you. They said they'd send another like you. I know what you want.

You wish to know of times gone by. The dreams I used to have. Moonside.I know your

type. You don't have to explain anything to me. I also know that I have vowed to never

speak of it again, not for anything. It is a time that is dead to me, like a leaf that

has fallen to the ground and crumbled away.

Yes, I sold Jackie's Café. I sold it because business was terrible and no one

liked it there. Who cares if I owned the place 20 years prior to Moonside? You see! I

do not fear the name. It is dead to me and selling the café buried it and marked its

grave.

What will you do with your new insight? Will you inform the world of the man

too scared to enter his storeroom? Ah, you are a tricky one. So it's all for me now,

not you. Well, I don't buy it and I don't like you, but I am past my prime and have

time on my hands. However, once open, this door is not easily shut.

The rustle of autumn leaves begin our tale, for that sound will always make me

think of Moonside. Autumn was a bad time of year for my café (Unfortunately, there

were no good times). Before he showed up, the only world I concerned myself with

revolved around dangerously high levels of caffeine in the form of espresso. I

think at the time, such things were illegal, but I cannot be certain. At my current

income, bankruptcy was inevitable. Then, a strange man with a unibrow and a pot belly

approached me about keeping some sort of odd antique in my storeroom. He paid so

handsomely I could not refuse.

I don't think it was the first night, and I cannot recall the second, so I

will say that it was the third night after this that the nightmares began. They all

began the same way. I would wake up in a place that I would first think to be my

bedroom above the café. Yet everything would be different. The first thing I would

always notice was the darkness. Neither sun, nor moon, nor stars would ever gaze upon

Moonside. I remember well the chaotic neon signs that were the only light in this

unending darkness.

There were people in Moonside. Strange people. They would babble off nonsense

and say that no was yes. In retrospect, I'm not sure all of them spoke real words, but

somehow, I would always find myself talking to the same person in the end. Male?

Female? I do not recall. I'm not sure I knew. I would ask them the same thing for

many haunted nights and he would respond the same way.

"Where am I? What is this place?"

"Moonside."

"Where is Moonside?"

"Where do you think it is?"

"Someplace cast in shadow."

"This place was not cast in shadow, for it is shadow. It is the shadow of

Fourside."

"How did I get here? Why am I here?" I would always feel a grip of panic steal

over me, for I feared the answer, even after I knew it.

"You are here to await the coming Universal Cosmic Destroyer. He comes to

destroy, end and turn the workd to darkness." Then, this person I spoke to would look

at me with the most vacant of expressions and proclaim, "You do not belong here just

yet, but you will."

Suddenly, it seemed as though the entire town would turn towards me. Then,

they would smile and it would be a warm, friendly smile that chilled me to the bone.

And so I would turn away, only to be staring into the eyes of a giant golden statue.

At the time, I couldn't help but think that it was a strange beacon in the darkness,

yet it cast long, dark shadows. I could feel some sort of ominous potency radiating

from it. The eyes of the statue were ones I could never forget. Somehow, the craftsman

had managed to instill the eyes with an intensity that made the statue seem both alive

and dead. I tried to pry myself from that terrible stare, but it bore into me and I

fear it took something from me, but I couldn't tell you what it was.

Night after night, I would be assaulted by these specters of darkness and I

fear I will never truly eradicate these visions from my mind. Some days, I would feel

a sort of dead calm come over me and I could pretend it was nothing. Other days, I

could barely pour a cup of coffee. Yet, money was coming in. My café would never be

popular, but for the first time in a long time, money was no longer a problem. I

should have been happy, but my nightly visions kept me in a perpetual anxiety.

Thinking about the dreams, I cannot understand the panic that rises in me by

their very mention. I would walk around, talk to people and then see a frightening

statue. What about this made me weak with terror? I have no answers. All I know is

that I still feel unease when darkness falls and slumber beckons. During the day, I

would think up different sorts of questions to ask my strange companion. Yet every

night, the same words fell out of my mouth and my companion's. It all seemed like some

sort of stage and we were all rehearsing for some final performance. I also began to

notice small things. Everyone in Moonside seemed to be waiting for something… someone

perhaps.

My life had become stagnant when Unibrow returned. He strolled around the room

before turning to me and asking, "How is my antique?"

"Fine," I replied in dreary monotone.

He walked over to the counter and leaned forward so our faces were inches apart.

"Tell me. Have you ever laid eyes on my statue?"

"You specifically instructed me to never look at it."

"Very good." He handed me my money and left.

That night, when I awoke in my bed in Moonside, I walked down to the bar and

decided not to go talk to that person like always. I stayed in the cafe, behind the

counter and served Espresso, same as it was all day long. No one ever came up to me

unless he or she wanted something to drink. Then, just when I was getting comfortable

and thinking that perhaps I would no longer lived in fear, a woman came to the bar

wearing an alluring red dress.

"Do you want some espresso?"

"No."

"Here you go." In Moonside, I had found there was only one kind. Once the cup

was within her grasp, she turned to the others.

"I propose a toast. To the coming of the Destroyer!" Everyone cheered.

I shrank back, the familiar terror creeping over me once more. The woman turned back

to me. I knew the words that would touch her lips before spoke. "You are not ready for

this place yet, but you will be. Just wait and see."

"What are you talking about?"

She seemed to give me a once over. "Emoclew ot Moonside. Now that you have

seen this place, you have been touched by it. Soon, you will live dually, both here

and there. Between light and darkness. Much of Fourside lives this way and even more

people like you are dragged into the shadows every day. With the rise of Monotoli and

through the use of the Mani Mani statue, the Universal Cosmic Destroyer will come and

he will rule us all!" She and the others laughed loudly and sipped from their cups.

The name came to my lips, though I hadn't known it before. "Giygas."

"Yes. He is coming. We must prepare the way."

A whirlpool of panic and confusion raged inside of me. Waiting, yes, preparing

the way for our own downfall and destruction? A visible shiver ran through me. Would

I soon say and, maybe one day believe such things? I vowed that this would never come

to pass.

Then I awoke in my bed. The first thing I did was run over to the curtains

and pull them open, needing some form of light to filter in. Almost immediately, they

were shut again. I wanted to weep, to cry out, but all I could do was utter the name

of this terrible, accursed place.

"Moonside." I was still there. Not able to believe it, I opened the curtains

again, blinking furiously at the bright sun."Fourside!" I could hardly believe it.

But how?

"Soon, you will live dually, both here and there." I recalled from the

nigtmare.

All day, I poured expresso and talked with the five customers that wandered

in and out of my bar. Around noon, I convinced myself that it was all a nightmare.

My peace was shortlived. Unibrow strolled in around two, when I had no customers.

"Have you seen it? The thing you keep in your storeroom?" His voice carried

an intense enthusiasm as he had never exhibited before.

"You specifically told me never to look at it" I repeated from yesturday.

"I tell you, you have seen it." He sounded positively giddy."You must agree.

I'm the most powerful man in the city."

"Whatever you say. I'll look at something I've seen before." I could not

contain my sarcasm just as he could not contain his glee. We both entered the

storeroom. Aside from the boxes of bootleg expresso, all that was in my storeroom was

a large crate marked FRAGILE. Suddenly, he had a crowbar in his hands (I honestly have

no idea where it came from) and was prying it open.

At the sight of the thing inside, I felt my entire body begin to shake."That

thing?"

"My prized possession. The Mani Mani statue." He laughed with delight. "You

recognize it, don't you? Is it to your liking?"

"How did... How did you know I've seen it in my dreams?"

"The Mani Mani statue is a machine that creates illusions. I control it. I

created Moonside for the weak and the downtrodden of Fourside. I gave them hope.

"They keep talking about the Universal Cosmic Destroyer. How is that hope?"

"They wish for the end of the world. Giygas is the means used to achieve that

end. YOu will be happy there. You wish for it as well."

"What are you talking about?"

"You do," he said with that same excited gleam in his eye. "This cafe of

yours... no one comes here anymore. No one likes it here. You are a failure and

becasue of this and you wish for all of it to end."

"No!" I cried. Certainly, I was a failure, yet... "It wasn't until the Mani

Mani statue came that I felt that way!"

"Who is to say?" Unibrow still looked far too cheerful for the situation.

"Perhaps these dreams, no, illusions brought forth the hidden desires within your

soul. Emocle wot Moonside."

"Why me? Of all the places, why did you choose mine?"He paused and I waited in

agony for a response.

"Do you have to ask?" He sneered. "Your cafe is the most unpopular place in

town. The perfect place to hide it. And you... I knew you would not stop housing it,

even knowing what it was."

I hated to admit the truth in that statement. At the time, I really did love

my cafe and wished so badly for it to do well. I knew, even then, I would not be

telling him to find anywhere else.

"You are a cruel man," I told him. "But you are right. I will keep your statue

here if you are still willing to compensate me." I hated to say those words, but I

can't say I've ever been one to lie.

He smiles his cruel smile and hands me a large white linen sheet. "For your

generocity, I will give you this." He threw it over the statue. "And double its rent.

You are all the man I thought you were." Even now, I'm not sure if that was a

compliment or insult.

"I suppose we are both generous men," I muttered. "Now I will be grateful

enough to show you out." I should have been more polite, but I felt too disgusted with

myself. Perhaps I really did wish for the end of the world. He left me after that to

contemplate my fate.

I suppose you think I was hopelessly friendless because I haven't mentioned

any of them until now. The truth is that soon after the nightmares began, they

distanced themselves from me and I from them. I was always a nervous wreck and they...

well, they always had plenty of problems of their own. Can't say I blame them, for I

soon fell into my own world.That's not to say it wasn't painful. I remember now that

after Unibrow left, my girlfriend of three years came in. I remember her voice so

clearly.

"Are you even listening to me now? I feel like I'm always so far away from you

now. You always stand there with that haunted expression on your face. What happened

between us? We were so close. Why won't you tell me anything anymore?"

"I'm sorry," I said and though I was, I also knew it was a pathetic reply.

"But you wouldn't understand." There was no way I could tell her...

"Well," she answered, sighing deeply. "We'll never know. I'm moving... to

Summers. There's a good job waiting for me and... well, there's also someONE there

as well. I'm sorry it had to be like this, but..." All I remember after that was not

knowing what to say. I think she probably walked out in disgust.

Looking around my cafe after she left, for the first time, I looked at the

place, which had brought such hardship and misery and felt a twinge of loathing. I

still wonder what curse was put upon that wretched place.

Being who I am, I cleaned up anyway. You know, Just in case someone was so in

need for expresso that they had to come here. While I busied myself with organizing

behind the counter, I heard the unmistakable sound of conversation. Getting up slowly

and turning around, I noticed the lights had turned neon and the floor had become

black. Moonside.

"I-I'm not asleep, am I?" I remember saying aloud.

"Do you think you are asleep?" asks the female customer at the counter. She

had silky blond hair and penetrating gray eyes. I stared at her for a moment before

offering her a cappachino, but she only repeated,

"Do you think you are asleep?" She shifted her weight from one hip to the other and

her red dress swayed.

"I-I must be. I only come here when I'm asleep," I replied, entirely

dumbfounded. "Do you want anything?"

"No," she replied.

"So why are you still here then?"

"I said no." How stupid of me to have forgotten. I wordlessly prepared her the

drink. "You are the keeper of the Mani Mani statue."

My mouth went dry. I handed her the drink as I answered. "It's in my storeroom."

"Okay, then there is something you need to understand. The statue is the

machine that allows us to exist in Moonside-"

"Then Moonside is an illusion?" I cut her off before she could say more.

She took a cautious sip of her drink. "It is the world as it will be. It is

the world as we wish it." Illusion it shall be no more should the Destroyer succeed."

"When I first came here, they said it would be the end of the world if he

succeeded."

"And it will," She said with relish. "All the world shall be covered in

darkness. It shall be as Moonside is." She took another sip as I repressed a

shudder. "And might I add... this is the only plane of existance in which such a

cafe could ever be popular." Leaning in close to me, she whispered, "And that's a pity.

I like it here."

"T-thank you..." I think I responded. Perhaps it was something similar.

"Guard that statue. Especially keep your eye out for a boy in a red cap. He is

the one who could destroy everything." Destroy. Such a choice of words. "Should you

truely be one of us... Should you be, you will protect the statue, even if doing so

should claim your life."

I thought of telling her how much I hated that statue and of the slow loathing

rising in my chest at the sight of my once-beloved cafe. Yet, all I said was, "I will

protect it with as much devotion as I have for my cafe." She seemed satisfied. At least

I can say I am not a liar.

For two weeks, life went on in such a haze that I can only glance at fleeting

details. A boy in a red cap may have stopped in, but I did nothing to bar him. At any

rate, that horrible statue remained intact. The next thing that comes clearly into

focus was when a thief stopped in by the name of Everdred.

"Rumor has it you have a golden statue in your storeroom." he said immediately.

I glanced behind us at the scant few customers here. For my Fourside cafe, this was a

large crowd.

"Well, if rumors say so, I must," I muttered as sarcastically as I was able,

hoping he'd get the impression that I had no idea what he was talking about.

"It's mine!" he cried with a sudden fury. "Give it back to me!"

Giving up all pretense, I decided to be direct. "I've seen the owner and he's

not you. Either order something or leave."

"Some man with a unibrow? He stole it from me!"

"What do you care for some creepy golden statue? Trust me, it's probably more

trouble than its worth." I muttered deferentially. "You can't really want such a

useless thing back." The conversation went on for some time longer and from there, the

details are shakey. All I remember for sure is that eventually, I showed him to my

storeroom. With a quivering hand, I pulled the white sheet off of it, declaring,

"This is it! This is what you wanted?" He looked at the statue with a

determined stare, looking right into the statue's horrible eyes without a show of fear.

The eyes blazed and shot forth a strange attack of light and energy. He ran away from

it and I left the statue uncovered and went on with my buisness.

"What just happened there?" Asked one of the customers, who sounded rather

dazed.

"Checked something in the back. Got a stain on his shirt. Going home to wash

it," I muttered, thinking Certainly he would be alright. I found his obituary in the

newspaper the next day. Showing him the Mani Mani statue is one of my deepest regrets.

I forced myself to focus on work. I forced myself to forget the feeling of

disgust I felt toward myself for actually continuing to keep that wretched thing in my

storeroom for so long.

Two hours later, the boy with the red cap came into my cafe, for either the

first or second time (I can't really remember). Also, for either the first or second

time, I did nothing to stand in his way. I couldn't bring myself to protect that

stupid statue. After all, if that tough man, Everdred ran from the statue, what

possible harm could some kid do, even if he did have a red cap?

He crawled into my storeroom and the world shifted to Moonside. To my

amazement, I had the same customers in both places. I shrugged it off and continued

working, letting the boy walk right out without a fuss. Time passed without anyone

leaving or entering until the female customer from before came in wearing the same

red dress.

"You let that boy near the statue! Didn't I warn you of the danger he would

be?" Her eyes narrowed in contempt. "Why did you let him through? Answer me!"

"I told you," I replied dully, as though I had said it eight times. "I would

protect the statue with the same devotion I have to my cafe. Ever since I came here,

I like it less and less."

"But-but... Why are you here if you do not wish to acheive our goals? Why are

you here if you do not wish for the Destroyer to come?"

"Are you sure you want the world to be like Moonside?" I asked her quietly,

realizing that perhaps the statue cast illusions into the heart as well as the mind.

She stared at me, both furious and frightened. The entire cafe went silent. At last,

he voice returned to her.

"I wish for it more sincerely than you could ever know."

"I'm not sure I believe you," I replied, returning to the neverending task of

cleaning. She stormed out. I never saw her again.

My vision swirrled before my eyes as another familiar face waltzed in. Unibrow,

the face I had never seen in Moonside before.

"I heard what you did," he told me under his breath. I wondered why he didn't

seem more angry. "I think it's rather despicable to stab us all in the back."

"I guess you were wrong about me then," I answered stiffly. "I don't really wish

for the end of the world."

"To think I trusted you with my prized possetion!" He fumed, his face rapidly

turning the color of a tomato.

"Is that thing really yours or is your ownership an illusion, like everything

else connected with it?" I retorted scathingly. He seemed very taken aback and stormed

out in the same manner as my lady customer.

From there, I could do nothing but ponder the result of my actions. To this day,

I am disgusted with myself for being little more than an observer, allowing things to

happen as they would. Of course, everything turned out all right in the end. Light

triumphed over darkness and I was able to say goodbye to that wretched cafe. Perhaps, if

I could return to that time, I would have refused the offer and gone bankrupt. Would that

have been better, I wonder.

Now is not the time to ponder what cannot be. You have what you came for. Now

leave me in peace.