An original work of fiction. Characters and destinations are not real users or travel services.
The window seat
The café in Cloud Harbor has a window facing the falls. At nine each morning, its owner sets down two coffees, drinks one, and leaves the other to cool. A picture editor new to town assumes the seat is reserved. On the fourth morning she approaches with her own cup. “Is someone sitting here?”
An unwritten invitation
The owner shakes his head. Years ago, he was afraid to start conversations, so he left a second coffee and waited for somebody to ask. He has made friends since then, but the habit stayed. The editor laughs: since moving here, she too has been waiting for someone else to say hello. She moves her cup aside and sits down.
A card beside the cup
The next day a handwritten card appears beside the spare coffee: “This seat is not taken.” The owner leaves the rest blank. Visitors add their own endings: we can talk for five minutes; silence is welcome too; where does your story begin? Outside, the falls keep flowing. The little table no longer feels like a place to avoid.
Make it a small practice
- Write one question you would genuinely like someone to answer.
- Introduce what you have been doing through one concrete detail.
- Turn the two lines into an introduction using only details you want to share publicly.
Return to this space and sign in to publish the writing, photos, or work you make from this exercise.