I spent mornings in the coffee shop, staring into my cup. I could never tell whether the sound of the bells jingling above the entrance was a welcome or a farewell.
No one greeted “Welcome home” or “Have a safe trip” or “Have a great day” or—
“How is your coffee?” speaks a voice too gentle to belong to anyone.
My eyes never dared wander. But today, they do. The wooden door is still swaying in its frame. I’ve missed the new comer or the leaver, but I would not miss the next.
I’m not quite sure why I am still sitting when the shop is empty. In hopes of more coffee perhaps. In hopes of hearing the gentle voice perhaps. In hopes of meeting its owner again perhaps. Or perhaps, to feel the sense of something I once had.
The bell tinkles by my ear. The door continues swaying behind me.
Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, a Nebula-, Locus-, Ignyte Award finalist, and an immigrant from Fujian. She is a member of HWA, SFWA, and Codex. Her work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, Uncanny, The Masters Review, Prairie Fire, among others. She is the recipient of Odyssey Workshop’s 2022 Fresh Voices Scholarship and the author of Linghun and I AM AI. Find her on Twitter (@AiJiang_) and online (http://aijiang.ca).
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