I stroll pleasantly down thread lane, looking up at the clear blue sky, when I suddenly feel an empty hole open up inside of me. A feeling of dismay, as if I had been missing something for a long time.

Then I notice it. Daydreams Cafe, just across the street. How long has it been since my last visit? Too long, I decide. I quickly cross the street and open the door, listening to the little bell jingle that is welcoming me back home.  

Inside, Ms. Plum is at the counter. She is talking to some sort of spirit, which is glowing a faint yellow. I feel like I should be worried about this floating ghost thing, but I actually feel quite content in its presence.

I walk in, slamming the door shut behind me. I'm in no mood to converse. I just need to drown my sorrows in a good ol' tea cup. I sit down on a chair and unfold my wrinkeled newspaper from my pocket. I notice a couple other people in the cafe. The smell of toast and coffee fills the air, and my mind starts to drift. I fumble my pockets for a quick dollar to tip the cafe, but to no avail. Instead, I slip outside and grab a penny from the dirty sewer drain. I walk back inside, and flip the penny onto the counter with a quick wink for added charm. A couple people shoot me strange looks. "No problem people, just acting generous." I announce, disturbing a few conversations.  I sure am a nice guy.

"Would you like to sit with us, Mary?" I ask brightly. Quill and Jade have joined me at the wooden table, but there is still room to spare. I take a sip from my positivitea, which continues to give off sweet-smelling steam. My songbird pastry is warm from the oven and emits a cheery tune when I take my first bite. The dusty rose-colored spirit of joy flutters through the room, which is full to the brim with chatter and laughter. I join Jade and Quill in a conversation about rainy days, inspired by the rain currently pounding on the roof. The cafe is much busier now!

Periwinkle smiles at me and says, "Of course I don't mind!" I sit down at the wooden table that reminds me of the cabin by the lake I used to spend my summers at. I gaze wistfully out the window at the rain before shaking the memory out of my head. I take the satchel off my shoulder and place it on my lap. Knight pokes her head out and squeaks, "ognap." 

"You want to take a nap?" I ask my CAPTCHA. She nods her hamster head and ducks back down into the satchel. I stroke Knight's soft cream-colored fur with one hand and hold a Motivation Cookie in the other. A ghost drifts by, the color of a lake in the rain. I take a sip of Positivitea to wash down a Motivation Cookie. I look down at my plate and startle. I have been so absorbed in watching a sparrow outside the cafe window, that I didn't notice I had eaten all the Motivation Cookies and drank all the tea. Looking out the window again, I bite my lip. It's raining harder outside and I still have some zonks in my satchel. I stop petting Knight and she looks up, eyes tired. "Stay here, okay?" I tell her. 

I stretch as I stand up and walk over to the counter. "Back again?" Miss Plum smiles, purple eyes twinkling. I nod and grin back. Even though I've never met Miss Plum before today, she already seems like a second mother to me. 

"I'll have a Pumpkin Spice Cake," I say. I hand over a zonk. "That's all I have..." I apologize. 

"No matter," says Miss Plum. She hands me the cake and my change. "Enjoy." 

"Thanks," I say, and walk back to my table. 

I see Dreamii and wave her over. "What'd you get?" she asks "A songbird pastry" I say in response. NDF looks up, "Oh hey Dreamii! You should've seen Juni's face when she heard the songbird sing!" "It was scary!" I say half outraged half amused. "They sing?" "Yeah" I say "Nearly scared me to death". "So" Dreamii says "What's up with that ghost thing Miss Plum is talking too?" "I have no clue" I say and NDF nods in agreement. We decide that me and Dreamii should aproach the ghost.

As I look out the window, I suddenly become aware that I've finished my tea. I turn to Wanderer. "Wait here." I walk slowly up to the counter. "Hello again, Miss Plum...can I have some more positivitea and some songbird pastries, please?" Miss Plum smiles and pushes a plate of songbird pastries across the counter, along with some positivitea in a transparent pink glass. I put the zonks and zoots on the counter. "Thank you!" Then I walk back to my table. I grab two songbird pastries for myself, two for Wanderer, who says "wvmhz" before digging in, and leave two on the plate. I look up at pangolin. "You can have those two songbird pastries," I say, smiling. Then I sip my tea, listening to the rain pattering on the roof, making it's own music. 

I walk back to my seat, navy blue cloak swishing behind me. I remove the satchel from my chair before taking a seat at the pine table. Knight peeks out and crawls up onto the table, spotting Wanderer. “ycutb" she says to the CAPTCHA. 

I put a finger to my chin, trying to decode. "Y...why...cut..b...bee? Are you asking Wanderer why they cut the bee? I think that makes even less sense..." I trail off as Periwinkle walks back over, carrying a plate of pastries and a cup of Positivitea. 

"You can have those two songbird pastries," they say. I take a pastry off the plate and bite in. A chorus of bird chirps fill my ears, and I ball up my fists and quickly nod my head forward so the hood of my cape covers my head. Realizing it’s just the pastry, I flick my hood back down, looking slightly embarrassed. 

"Well, that’s certainly interesting," I remark, breaking off half of the pastry to feed to Knight. She sniffs it, before showing it into her mouth whole. She puts her nose in the air, sniffing for more songbird pastries. "Aren't you greedy," I laugh, giving her the rest of the pastry I'm holding. I pick up the second one on the plate. "But this one's for me." I take my eyes off Knight, letting my gaze drift through the cafe, taking it all in. CBers are scattered throughout the cafe, and the blue-grey ghost is still floating around. I turn back to Periwinkle. I want to repay them for sharing their songbird pastries with me, and choose to split the pumpkin spice cake. I cut the soft, warm cake in half and pass it across the table to Periwinkle. “Here,” I offer. I look back out the window, where the rain is falling down the glass like many tiny rivers.

Daydreams Cafe.

I've walked past this place so many times, started to walk in several of them... and then I've turned the other way.

Why? Honestly, I don't know. How have I not been here before? Because you've been procrastinating, a tiny voice in my head reproaches me. I shut it out and step purposefully into the cafe, smiling a little bit.

I've finally made it.

And I don't regret it, not one bit. "One positivitea, please, not too hot if that's all right," I say, sliding the appropriate amount across the counter to Miss Plum. She absently hands me a positivitea, not too hot, still talking to the softly glowing ghost-spirit-thing.

I plop myself down across the table from Lazerbat with no invitation whatsoever. Ignoring me, he continues reading his newspaper.

Probably, he wasn't looking for company. Oops. What was I thinking?

Well now I'm stuck here, because I can't exactly inconspicuously leave without hurting his feelings- I really did not think this through. Maybe I should be regretting this.

"Um, hi," I say and take a sip of positivitea. Lazerbat looks up.

I glance up from my newspaper to spot someone sitting across from me. They akwardly say "Um, hi!" while blushing. I reply with "Greeting. Lumi, right?" "Yep!" We are about to start a conversation when Windracer runs up to me. He's crying. Can't I just have a conversation without him interuptting me for once? Windracer meekly waves to Lumi. *Sniffle* "H-hello. 7506 just t-threatened to burn my finger off!" I sigh. "He does that every day. Now, if you interrupt me again I'll take away your explosive privliges." He looked surprised then jolted out of cafe, saying "Off to find 7506 and place peacefully!" I looked back at Lumi. "Sorry about that. Now, what were we sayin?"

I'll have the on-the-go cinnamin bun, please and thank you. And here, buy yourself something. *hands Miss Plum 23 Zoots*