It was mid-January, an extreme winter month, and the clock had struck 12. I rubbed both my hands, took a deep breath, and jerked myself out of the office, hardly expecting a dense fog waiting to embrace me.

The morning was sunny, but suddenly the weather changed. It seemed nature had its plans to excite our nerves. Each one of us in the office was feeling dizzy and mysterious. The air got misty as the fog lowered to obscure the visibility of the tree trunks. Also, the surroundings looked so mystifying that I forgot my office blues.  I paced slowly over the road.

There was hardly any vehicle except for a few paddlers and cyclists trying to paddle in the least visibility. I was moving towards Royals Cafeteria, located towards the corner of 5th Avenue Street. Here, I would often go for my favourite coffee and spend some of my leisure hours, and today was no different. As soon as I submitted my project, an intense desire for the luscious brew arose.

Different coffee flavours are offered, along with experimental cocktails and Asian cuisine conjured with French essence. It is an absolute delight to be here.

The cafeteria owners are Mr. and Mrs. Rolls, a young couple of Portuguese origin who settled on this side of America. Both must be in their mid-thirties—a most hearty couple. Mr Rolls is short, with a round Face and a slightly bulging stomach. He has a slight moustache, broad eyes, red lips, and fair skin, while his wife, Mrs Rolls, is taller and slim with a dark face and sharp features.

Even though she has a pointed nose, short eyes, and broad jaws, her personality looks distinct. With a slimmer body, hair neatly tied in a bun, and a white and neatly ironed cloak, she would appear as an eighteenth-century maiden. I had never seen them over-excited or hyper at anybody or get into any argument. They would always smile and cheerfully serve their guests. Once or twice I had left my wallet in the office, and realizing the urgency, Rolls had offered me coffee with money to be paid later.

That day, it took me five minutes to reach the Royals, as I had stopped in between to marvel at the beauty of the small shrub growing at the corner where the footpath ended. As soon as I entered the cafeteria, I felt something strange. Exteriors bore the same look, but this time chairs and tables were damp due to moisture, and the grass was also wet. Only two girls in their mid-twenties were sitting at the side table.  A waiter whom I had encountered on several occasions was also in no mood to even nod at me; his face looked gloomy.

I thought to myself, I should not have come today! But somehow, I entered it. A few youths were sitting around; I also took my seat at the corner, which had a window to look outside. A waiter approached me, and I ordered the same cappuccino, which I would often drink here. Mr. and Mrs. Rolls were standing towards the other side of the counter. Today I was surprised that they were hardly smiling, and there was a certain sense of gloominess and fear on their faces. This kept me wondering, “What had happened to them? I had never seen them like this before.”

Suddenly, I saw a shadow behind them. It appeared strange. I tried to look at it clearly; it appeared to be of a man. At first, I thought it must be a waiter or a helper, but I felt fishy when I saw a gun-like object. The smell of coffee was touching my nostrils, and simultaneously, fear engulfed my nerves. I again looked at Rolls; they looked paler, and then, when I turned towards the youths, I noticed they too had guns in their side pockets. I thought of running away from there, but as I was going to get up, one of the youths turned his face towards me. I was startled to see that his eyes were burning like fire. His glare was enough to keep my mouth shut and remain seated. There was no doubt that the place had been seized.

I started shivering from fear. I even thought of running away, but the fearful faces of Mr. and Mrs. Rolls stopped me. I could not imagine how many men were there—two or more. But several things started going through my mind. “Do not lose courage,” I said to myself. As I was thinking of how I should get out of the danger, I noticed an electricity point on the wall towards the left of the corner table. An idea struck, and in the flash of lightning, I raised my arms and switched off the lights. It was dark everywhere.

In this darkness, I leapt forward to pick up the phone that the terrorist had kept on the other table, and as soon as I was going to dial the police, lights automatically turned on, blinking my eyes. As I blinked my eyes, out of nowhere, a flash mob appeared with the musical note “Happy Birthday to You.”. Amidst the colourful lights, I saw both the husband and wife smiling. They now had a bouquet of beautiful flowers, which they presented to me and gave me wishes for.

Mrs Rolls announced, “We came to know that you were coming here, so we planned to surprise you. You have always been very nice to all of us. And you remember that you also helped one of our waiters, Nick. He did not have sufficient funds to pay college fees. It is all due to you that Rikkie is now doing very well. This is a small token of appreciation, and we are so glad to have you as our esteemed customer.”. Tears of happiness appeared in my eyes. As I looked around, there were a few of my office colleagues and some strangers applauding me.

Mr Rolls then raised his finger at someone; a man from behind the cabin appeared with the cake, and the gun was hanging still by his waist. There was cake cutting followed by music dancing and masti all that afternoon. I will never forget that day in January, which shook my nerves, but in the end, it was the happiest moment of my life.

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