'Berlin Nights: A Self-Discovery Adventure'

“It’s just a cigarette, Sarah.”

“I don’t want to. Really.”

“Tom’s right. You need to loosen up.”

“You’re the one who needs to loosen up, Katie.”

“Whatever. Just one drag. It’ll be like kissing a baby.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, for real. I remember when my Aunt Linda first quit smoking, she said it was like kissing a baby.”

“I don’t know…”

“Tom and I will do it with you. Then you can’t say we only did it because we wanted to.”

“You guys suck. You’re gonna make me do it.”

“Yes. So, are we getting another round?”

“This is my round!”

“Wait, Emily got some too, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll pay for that one.”

“God, you guys are terrible.”

“C’mon, Sarah.”

“Okay, fine. But I’m only doing it ‘cause it’s my round.”

“That’s great, Sarah. That’s why we love you.”

“Fine, whatever. Let’s just go already.”

“Um, excuse me,” a man with dark hair addressed us as we walked to the bar. “Do you speak English?”

“Pardon?” Katie responded.

“Do you speak English?”

“A little bit,” Tom answered.

“Ah, perfect. Do you think you could help me out?”

“What do you need?”

“Well, I was supposed to meet up with some friends here tonight, but I’m not really sure where they are. Their names are Greg and Jen.”

“Well, do you know where they live?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never been to Berlin before.”

“Don’t worry about it. I think we’ve already met them.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. They’re sitting over there.”

We had barely taken a few steps towards the table when Greg jumped up and ran over to greet us.

“Hey, guys! Thanks for finding me!”

“You’re welcome.”

“Uh, what are you talking about?”

“This guy was looking for you guys. He said he doesn’t know his way around here.”

“Oh, got it. Well, this is my friend Jen.”

“Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Lucas.”

“It was nice to meet you, Lucas. We’re going to grab some food. Are you hungry?”

“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, I was wondering if I could buy you guys dinner. Just a little thanks for helping me out.”

“Oh, well, in that case, we’d love to.”

“Great! So, how about we head over to that diner over there?”

“Sure, that should be fine.”

“Awesome. Let me give the waitress over there my credit card.”

Lucas walked over to the waitress and handed her his card. She swiped it through the machine and gave him a receipt. He signed his name on the receipt and returned to the table.

“All set. Let’s head over there.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah, me too.”

We walked over to the diner. As we approached, we noticed that the lights were off. However, one of the doors was open, and some light from inside filtered out into the night. The waitress stood under the awning, smoking a cigarette.

“So, are you guys from around here, or are you tourists?”

“Tourists. We’re from America.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool. Like, New York or L.A or something?”

“Nah, Indiana.”

“Oh, Indiana. I’ve never been there.”

“Neither have I, actually.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, I’ve lived out here since I was a kid, but I’ve never made it to the States.”

“Oh, wow. That’s crazy.”

“Well, I grew up in Berlin, so there’s not much of a reason to leave.”

“True.”

“How about you, Lucas? Are you from here?”

“Oh, no. I’m from somewhere much smaller than that.”

“Really? Where?”

“I’m from a small town in France.”

“Oh, okay. Well, it’s great to meet you all. We’ll be right inside here.”

The waitress pointed at the door.

“Thanks.”

“Have a good one.”

“Thanks.”

We walked over to the diner and opened the door. As we stepped inside, I noticed that something was strange. The lights were dimmed and the place was empty. The waitress was the only person in the entire restaurant.

“Well, shit. This place is closed.”

“Oh, well. That’s a shame. I guess we’ll have to try somewhere else.”

“Yeah, that sucks.”

“You guys wanna get something to eat, then?”

“Yeah, maybe we should.”

“You have anywhere in mind?”

“No, not really.”

“Let’s just walk around for a bit and see if we can find somewhere.”

“Okay.”

We walked down the street. However, after a few minutes, we couldn’t find any other places to eat. Every single restaurant and bar that we passed was closed. It was almost as if they all closed down right after we entered the diner.

“Wow, that’s weird.”

“Yeah, totally.”

“All right, well, I guess we’ll have to try another place.”

“Yeah, let’s try over here.”

“Well, this place looks pretty swanky.”

“Yeah, it definitely does. It looks like a nice place to hang out.”

“Well, we’re not bothering the people inside. We’ll just have to eat outside here.”

We walked to the end of the block and turned back around. The restaurant looked completely different. The building was dark and run-down. The windows were shattered. The sign on the door read “Closed.”

“Oh, crap. I forgot my wallet.”

“What? You told me that you had it.”

“I do! It’s in my pocket.”

“Well, why don’t you go grab it?”

“I can’t. It’s gone.”

“What? What do you mean it’s gone?”

“I mean that it’s gone. I left my wallet back at the diner.”

“How did you leave your wallet back at the diner? We haven’t even gone there yet.”

“I don’t know, alright?”

“You’re freaking me out, man.”

“Well, I’m freaking myself out too.”