May 1, 2026
By Cliff Potts
The day before, there was nothing there.
He walked the same stretch he always walked, coming off the train and heading toward the bus. Same sidewalk. Same tired rhythm. Same gap between buildings where nothing had ever quite managed to stay.
He passed it without thinking.
There was no reason to think about it.
There was nothing there.
The next day was heavier.
Not in any way you could point to. No single thing had gone wrong. Nothing had broken, nothing had failed. It was just one of those days where everything sat a little deeper than it should.
He got off the train slower than usual.
Walked with his hands in his pockets.
Didn’t look up much.
When he reached the same stretch, he almost passed it again.
Almost.
Something caught him—not a sound, not a movement. Just… something being there that hadn’t been there before.
He stopped.
Looked.
The storefront sat where the empty space had been.
It wasn’t new. It didn’t look new at all.
If anything, it looked like it had been closed for years.
The glass was slightly dim. The kind of dim that came from time, not dirt. The blinds inside were old, the thin kind, pulled all the way down but tilted just enough to let in a narrow line of light. Dust clung to the edges of the slats, undisturbed.
A small sign hung in the window.
No hours. No name.
Just there.
He stood there for a moment.
Then he opened the door.
The bell above it made a sound that felt older than it should have.
Inside, it was warm.
Not hot. Not stuffy.
Just warm in a way that settled into him without asking permission.
There were a few booths along one wall. Three, maybe four. A long counter ran the length of the other side, worn smooth where hands had rested over time.
It wasn’t busy.
It wasn’t empty either.
Just… present.
Someone behind the counter looked up.
“Sit wherever you like.”
He nodded and took a seat at the counter.
The mug was already there.
Thick. Heavy. The kind that held heat.
Coffee.
He wrapped his hands around it without thinking.
It felt… right.
Before he took a sip, a glass was set down beside it.
Tomato juice.
He hadn’t asked.
He didn’t need to.
He just nodded once, quiet, like acknowledging something that didn’t need to be explained.
The plate came a moment later.
Two eggs over medium, already resting on top of the hash browns.
He broke the yolks with the edge of his fork.
They ran down into the potatoes, soaking in, turning them soft and rich in a way that felt familiar before he even tasted it.
The first bite slowed him down.
Not because he meant to.
Because something in him eased just enough to let it happen.
The sausage patties were larger than he expected. Not oversized, just… real. The kind that didn’t try to be anything other than what they were.
The toast wasn’t wheat.
He knew that right away.
It had weight to it. A roughness that wasn’t unpleasant, just honest. Grainy in a way that didn’t come from anything packaged or processed.
It tasted like something that had taken its time.
He ate without rushing.
Without thinking about anything else.
Somewhere between the coffee and the last bite, he realized he was sitting up a little straighter.
Breathing a little easier.
Not fixed.
Not anything like that.
Just… able.
He finished.
Left money on the counter.
No one counted it.
No one needed to.
“Take care,” the voice behind the counter said.
He nodded again.
And stepped back outside.
The day moved the way days do.
Work. Noise. Movement. People.
None of it felt quite as heavy.
He didn’t think about why.
He just moved through it.
That evening, on his way back, he passed the same stretch.
The same place between buildings.
He glanced at it.
Out of habit more than anything.
There was nothing there.
Just the empty space again.
Same as the day before.
Same as it had always been.
He didn’t stop.
Didn’t question it.
Didn’t look twice.
Because by then, he was okay.
And that was enough.
That’s just the way it is in the real world.
End
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