03 faraway stories
the introduction
It was hard to miss Faraways; nestled in the middle of one of the main streets leading to Yiwai beach, the cafe dazzled with its collection of hanging lights, colorful bottles, and roughly painted wooden store signs pointing in all directions right in front of the gate. In the evenings, it was the only business open within a few blocks, beckoning like a radiant, rainbow beacon to long-time neighborhood residents and lost passersby. The first night Ari walked past, a symphony of rainforest sounds played from a speaker hoisted atop a makeshift pole by the door. She could see through the fence a courtyard paved with uneven stones and several tables underneath a canopy of mismatching umbrellas. The whole setup was so sparkly and bizarre, Ari rubbed her eyes and questioned if the jetlag was getting to her. She felt compelled to step through the gate, her entry kicking off a chain of bells above announcing her arrival.
A stout middle-aged man with a buzz-cut appeared at the window separating an inside room from the back of the courtyard. “Come on in through the door on your left! Shoes off please, and you can place them in the cupboard in the hallway.” Ari followed his instructions to go inside, revealing a spacious seating area decorated like someone’s home. Knick-knacks and framed photos were displayed on a shelf in front of the door, and another display cabinet of vinyls lined the wall on the left. A record player in the corner of the room was spinning a Sade album. The staff member who had called to Ari was now in the kitchen behind a counter where a man sat drinking coffee from a small porcelain cup. “Would you like to sit outside or here at the bar?” He waved a hand towards the empty seats next to the other customer.
Ari looked around; there were no others in the store. “I’ll just sit at the bar too,” she responds, walking towards the rightmost bar stool. The man sitting at the counter turned in his seat. He was a tall fellow with bristly blond hair and deep hazel blue eyes framed by a pair of thick, black rectangular glasses. He had a rather serious, almost stoic, appearance - an effect perhaps created by his lightly patterned collared shirt and slacks, but amplified by the very aura he seemed to emit. It was an energy embedded in the way he sat alone at the bar, back straight, every action precise as he sipped coffee late in the evening. There was a bound leather journal by his cup, and when he moved to make space for Ari, a dark abstract tattoo peaked out from a rolled up sleeve.
The Buzzcut bartender handed Ari a double-sided menu from where she chose a cocktail before handing it back.
“Brandon’s not in tonight?” Glasses customer asked. “No, he texted me this morning saying he broke his arm from skating. He’s fine but won’t be able to work for at least a month,” Buzzcut bartender responded as he put on gloves and shuffled around the kitchen gathering supplies. One side of the kitchen was clustered with a preparation spread of half-cut fruits and syrup bottles.
“Oh, what are you going to do while he’s out?”
“I’ll have to hire someone. I’ve been meaning to find another person for cafe shifts too anyways. I made a post about it earlier on Instagram.” Buzz-cut bartender crushed some raspberries with a muddler.
“Hmm any potentials? The timing is kind of unfortunate. It’s still a few months until the college students are on break.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. One person messaged me, and I told her to come in to chat tomorrow.”
“If it doesn’t work out maybe you can ask Jenny so she can stop badgering you to hire her.”
“Haha. Not happening. I don’t hire friends.”
“I know. It is a back up, back up plan though.”
Buzzcut staff was shaking the shaker now. He had prepared a snifter glass with a small mesh strainer balanced on top of it, ready to catch the last bits of fruit and ice that escaped a second strainer he held to the shaker when he started pouring. With a metal pick, he speared a whole raspberry before placing it on the glass and handing the drink to Ari. “Here you go! This is a new addition to the menu so let me know what you think.”
Ari took the glass, filled now with a pink concoction topped with a thin layer of foam, and had a sip - it was on the sweeter side, but balanced by the bitterness of a soju base and the tinge of sourness from some kind of citrus fruit. “I like it! Thank you,” she said.
“You don’t think it’s too sweet?” Buzzcut bartender looked expectantly at Ari.
“No, I really do like it. I wouldn’t lie about it,” Ari replied.
“Good.” Buzzcut bartender smiled. “So how long are you visiting Yiwai?”
“Is it that obvious I’m just visiting?”
“We’ve seen everyone who lives around here, and there aren’t many people moving here permanently,” Glasses customer explained.
“Oh. Yeah, I actually wasn’t planning on staying. I was transferring at the station but then some accidents happened. This guy on the train mistook my phone for his so then I went on a chase looking for it. I eventually got it back, but it did make me miss the last train, and anyways, it just ended up that I had no choice but to stay a night.”
“That makes sense. That’s how a lot of us ended up here - by accident,” Glasses customer and Buzzcut bartender exchanged a look. “But have you had a chance to explore Yiwai at all?
“Not really... Where should I go?”
“Hmm… you should at least go around the bay and see the beach while you’re here. It’s beautiful during the day.” Glasses customer gestured out the window in the direction of the water.
“Isn’t Jenny taking some of the students out for a cleanup tomorrow?” He asked Buzzcut bartender, who nodded.
“Maybe you can join them. It’s not usually much work at all, and I’m sure you’ll get a tour of the area on the way. Technically, the cleanup is for the junior high students - it’s mandatory for each class on rotation - but a lot of us just show up if we’re free. The community center packs bento boxes for all the volunteers so you get a free meal! Honestly, it’s hard to miss; you’ll probably see the group clamoring around town tomorrow. It’s pretty fun.”
“Hmm, that does sound interesting,” Ari pondered the idea. “What time do they start?”
“Meet at 9AM at the community hall. Unfortunately, I’m busy tomorrow morning, and I assume Tian here can’t go either because he has to be here, but you can just look for the lady with really curly brown hair talking loudly. That’s Jenny, she’s the organizer for these monthly cleanups. Tell her Tommy and Tian sent you, and she’ll take good care of you! I’m Tommy, by the way.” Glasses customer extended a hand.
“And I’m Tian,” Buzzcut bartender added.
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Ari.” Ari shook both their hands.
More ounces:
hello friends,
If it’s not obvious yet, the above is part of a fictional series I’m experimenting with. Apparently, this was in fact not obvious especially in my last post hahah. But yea, these letters will be titled accordingly as “# faraway stories” so as to not confuse with the real life ounces (my thoughts, essays, updates, etc). Not going to lie though, I have little idea where this story is going, but follow along with me if you’re interested to find out! :D Feedback is appreciated. If you haven’t read them already, here are the first two parts:
love,
oz