Enchanted Coffee and Comfort at Skadi Kafe: A Short Story
I decided to write a quick short story based on my latest illustration. Hope you enjoy this warming tale!
Ding
The little chime of the bell pricked at Aerin’s senses first as she opened the door to the Skadi Kafe. Next was the immediate warmth that enveloped her in comfort after walking in the cold from her little hotel room down the street. It took care of the cold sensations forming around her cheeks and the tips of her pointed ears instantly. Finally, the smell of fresh pastries and the bitter aroma of coffee grounds made her stomach growl in anticipation of a good bite to eat.
To Aerin, this type of weather was not normal for her. She normally kept to the warm climates of this world and its many adventures. But, after a bit of a rough time back at home, and some convincing from a friend, she’s here in the mountains getting some R&R away from her normal. Her friend in question, Sofia, was shaking off the cold with a quick shiver as they walked in with the brightest smile on her face. She’s a little shorter than Aerin, human, with brown skin, and long hair dyed pink and braided into two tails that dangled in front of their frame. She sported a puffy blue jacket and a scarf tied around their neck. She looked much warmer than Aerin, who didn’t prepare well as she would just a normal sweatshirt and a turtle neck that wasn’t helping her fight the cold all too well.
As they approached the counter, Aerin’s pointed ears took in all the small talk happening around them. There were two women next to the door sitting at the long table. Their breath was very visible with every word as they sat close to the frosted windows at the front. They were excited to have dropped off their children at the mountain for some skiing lessons from what Aerin picked up. She also caught them mentioning this little cafe visit being like a little date. The way the short curly-haired woman in the poncho was looking lovingly at the blonde woman sitting criss-crossed on the stool somehow proved that they are a couple who are enjoying the little moment of peace from the kids.
Next to the couple, was a man in a long jacket with his small laptop. He was typing furiously, plucking away at the keys like playing a hard piano melody. Aerin managed to pick up what he was typing as she passed, a full-blown essay that seemed to be due very soon by the way his frantic fingers typed up every word. Or, maybe that cup of coffee next to the laptop might not be his first and caffeine is giving him a bit of an energy rush. How many has this man had?! She thought, wishing there was some evidence in front of him to help answer this question. But alas, only one cup is visible.
Aerin got in line and pondered the menu as the woman behind her sitting with a friend got up all excited, very audibly cheering because the friend told them they got accepted to that college they always wanted. Sofia was looking over the pastry case trying to decide what they wanted, or rather how many of each she’d be buying by the look her eyes were making. All big and bright, almost turning into liquid like those exaggerated eyes in anime shows. She ended up getting 3 of each, minus the sourdough. She only has one small loaf of that. Aerin shook her head in disbelief as the Barista rang out the purchase.
“You can’t get all those pastries, Sofia,” Aerin sighed, “We can’t eat all of them by ourselves in a day.”
Sofia turned and puffed her cheeks at Aerin, “We aren’t eating all of these now. They are for later, too. These pastries don’t get stale. It’s one of the many perks to the cafe’s magic. It’s my favorite thing about this place.” Aerin raised an eyebrow. Truth be told, Sofia doesn’t care for day-old pastries to begin with. But it doesn’t go stale? She’ll have to test that later on during the week.
It took a bit, but once the pink-haired woman was done getting her pile of pastries, it was Aerin’s turn to order. The fawn barista turned to her, the bright red bob shining brightly in the morning sun hitting the cafe’s interior. The fawn had bright amber eyes behind large rounded glasses. Their pale blue woven sweater hung off their shoulders underneath the apron that almost looked like it was made of the same material as cargo pants. The fawn finished wiping down her hands before she spoke.
“Hi there, love. What can I get ya?” The barista asked, a little lilt to her voice. Her sweet voice was as sweet as the cinnamon rolls Sofia almost took all of. Aerin fidgeted with her fingers in her sweatshirt pocket. She was standing there forever it felt like, but her tired mind drew a blank when looking at the menu. Even her usual choices at a place like this weren’t sounding good.
“Honestly…not sure what I want… Surprise me?” She said, and the barista’s smile softened a little.
“Oh, are you feeling a little lost, sweetie?” she asked. “You have it written all over your face.”
Aerin’s eyes shifted away in a bit of embarrassment. Maybe she isn’t hiding her exhaustion and depression all too well. “Yeah… you can say that.”
The barista cocked her head to the side in thought, before speaking, “Hmmm, I think I got something that’ll help.” She turned around to get to work at the espresso machine, pressing a couple of buttons to get the machine up and running. As the espresso shots were being made, she carefully measured out the oat milk into a metal cup and got the frother going. She then pondered through the assortment of syrup flavors she had stacked on the shelf about the machine. After a quick moment, she picked up the maple flavor and poured a shot’s worth of it into the mug she had ready to go for all the pieces to come together. It was almost magical how fluid she was making this drink, the muscle memory of doing this day in and day out. Aerin watched as she quickly grabbed the shots and dropped them into the ceramic coffee mug, then picked up the cup of frothed milk and slowly poured it into the mug. Before the milk filled the cup, she shook her hand in a rhythmic pattern to create a little flower on the top of the coffee itself.
“Here you go sweetie, a maple cappuccino.” She pushed the mug across the counter and motioned for Aerin to take a sip.
Aerin took the warm mug in her hands, feeling the warmth spread over her entire palm. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip. She thought at first nothing would be special about a normal cappuccino. But the moment the liquid went down her throat, she felt a warm sensation spread across her body, easing her tense muscles down and allowing her to clear her mind. This was not ordinary coffee. Aerin looked shocked at the barista who had the biggest grin on her face.
“I knew that would help.” She said, rubbing her hands clean with the towel again before processing the order on the screen.
“What did you do to the coffee? That was some magic?” Aerin asked, still in shock at how refreshed she was.
“It’s just my special quality. All my ingredients here are imbued with some magic. You just can’t see it.” The barista said with a little pep in her voice. She seemed very excited to see Aerin in a much better state.
“How did you know that would work? I didn’t tell you anything.” Aerin said as she finished the cup of coffee.
“Well, you looked like you’ve been through the wringer. Your tired eyes told me that. And the way you were indecisive told me you feel lost at the moment.” The barista pointed to the back of the counter where the syrups were, “It’s all in my syrups. The maple I picked because it’s a good topping for pancakes, giving it a morning, fresh start taste to your drink. So I imbue that flavor with recharging qualities to give you a good reset.”
Aerin’s shock turned into amazement, and she smiled. “That’s incredible. Thank you!”
The barista shrugged, “It’s what I do, and from the looks of it, you seem to be clear-headed now.”
“Yeah… just been a rough couple of weeks. My friend who walked away with all those pastries dragged me out here for a change of scenery.”
The barista laughed, “Oh Sofia, she’s a regular during the winter months. I have to make sure I have an extra stash of pastries ready to refill the case when she comes. She must’ve known this place would help you. Mind telling me what was making you so exhausted?”
Aerin pondered for a moment. She looked behind her to see if there was anyone in line, but no. She took a deep breath before answering, “Just been feeling burnt out. Been doing the same thing day in and day out and it was getting to me. I started thinking about a change and it made me overwhelmed with that possibility, and the unknown whether or not I’ll be ok. It got to me bad. Pretty sure I was on the phone with Sofia crying for an hour straight.”
“Ahhh I see now. It can be scary deciding to change your trajectory in life.” The barista nodded, “But it sounds like whatever this change is, it’ll be beneficial to you in the long run, am I right?”
Aerin nodded, giving a small smile, “Yeah. It will be. Thank you again.” Aerin looked to the now empty cup, and lifted it to hand back to the Barista, “Do you think I can have a second cup of that cappuccino?”
The barista threw the towel over her shoulder, “Coming right up!”
A quick work after you read this comforting story
I create these little worlds a lot in my illustrations. A lot of the time I do come up with a quick story in my head when I make them, but never write them down. This time around I decided to do just that. I’m not a writer, heck I struggled with English class back at school. But, thought I try my hand at it again and see if it’s something I keep doing for all my illustrations. I hope you enjoyed this quick story at home, the the warm heat, with a nice cup of coffee.
