“Treasure the memory, lads. It will be a long time before we see more of it any time soon,” the bartender said, silencing the table.
Jack felt the mood of the entire room thicken into dry sensibility. The sound of chewing and swallowing took the place of words and laughter as he witnessed friends making a eulogy out of that chocolate cake. One of them even shed a tear, humming thoughtfully.
“Did something happen to Chocolate City?” Jack had to ask.
“Yes,” Barnaby replied, his thin and elongated face nodding at him in regret. “Lost its stone weeks ago.”
“Damn nutties,” Alfred mumbled, most likely referencing Peanut City citizens.
The yet-unnamed friend wiped the tear of his face with his fist, sniffing. “It’s heavily overrun with cocoa monsters, now. Most everyone has gone, we hear.”
