A Hidden Destiny

A special place

Just as I turned around the corner, I slammed into a tall and muscular person. I gathered myself and quickly apologized to the guy in front of me. He looked startled as well and gave me a weird look before he reacted to my apology. “I should be the one apologizing,” he said with a small smile, as he straightened his shirt. “It’s fine,” I told him. He looked at me again with a curious expression, but didn’t say anything further. ‘That was awkward’, I thought to myself. I took it as my cue to leave and quickly stepped around him, continuing my search for ‘Patty’s’.

A couple of minutes later, I found myself standing in front of a black sign with a wolf carving on the top. It was the outline of its face and it was growling, showcasing several sharp teeth. The sign said ‘Patty’s’ and was handwritten with bright yellow chalk. It was really grabbing the attention of any by passers with the bright color against the black background. ‘I hope they serve a nice burger’ was my only thought as I opened the door to the establishment. Inside I was hit with so many different smells I didn’t know what to think of it. I smelled food, obviously, but also alcohol, sweat and… was it smoke? What kind of weird place was this?

I glanced around and I located the reason for the smell of smoke and a breath of relief left me. In the back, an open fireplace was crackling with several seating options placed around it. Some people were sitting close by playing some sort of board game, laughing and sipping on their beverages. To my right was a bar with five barstools. The stools looked old and the leather had, well, seen some behinds, to put it lightly. Behind the bar were endless shelves with different glasses and varieties of alcohol. So this place was a bar and not a restaurant?

When I looked to my left, I saw eight tables, some had two chairs, others had four. On each table were a red tablecloth and an old zinc mug with utensils in it. I could smell food and I really needed something to eat! Just as I thought exactly that, a woman somewhere in her forties welcomed me with a bright smile; “Hi there, welcome to Patty’s! What can I do for you?” I smiled back to her and replied “Well, I’m looking for something to eat.” She smiled even bigger “You're in luck, we’ve got the best, and only, burger in town! Do you want to sit in the bar or at a table?” I thought for a second. “The bar, please.” She gestured to me to follow her to the bar and so I did.

I took a seat on the worn barstool and made myself as comfortable as I possibly could with it wobbling under my weight. She handed me a menu, but I interrupted her, “I really want to taste that burger, so can I order one and a small beer, please?” “Of course you can, I just need to see some ID real quick.” I froze in my spot from her words. Not that I wasn’t old enough to order a beer, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had to actually show my ID to anyone. “Oh, sure,” I replied and started to look for my ID in my wallet. “You know, as the owner I know the regulars really well, but I haven’t seen you around before. Just to be sure, no offense.” She smiled at me and her words calmed me down, oddly enough. “None taken” I replied and handed her my drivers license. “Thank you. Your burger is coming right up” she said, returning my drivers license and then started to fill a glass with beer. After placing the beer on a coaster before me, she scurried out the back, presumably to a kitchen. “JOE, 1 WOLF SPECIAL TO THE BAR, PLEASE!” she practically yelled to the poor chef. “Jesus Christ” I whispered to myself and took a sip of my beer, enjoying the feeling of the cold liquid as it poured down my throat.

I heard a group of people yelling. Not the aggressive kind of yelling. After some thought, maybe it was cheering I heard. Yeah, definitely cheering. Beside the fireplace was an open doorway to another room. Above the room was a neon sign saying “GAME ROOM”. That explained the cheering and perhaps also the smell of sweat. This was indeed a special place. It seemed there was nothing you couldn’t do here.

My mouth watered, as I smelled something delicious. “One Wolf Special just for you”, the barkeeper said as she placed a huge burger in front of me, making my mouth water from the sight of it. I couldn’t wait to taste it!