Four Cafes

My work took me one winter to a small sea-side town where I lodged myself in a high up apartment with a window opening on to a narrow alley that had a few shops, the most prominent being four cafes in a row that displayed ‘open whole night’ signboards. This intrigued me because I failed to comprehend how the café cluster could attract customers the whole night in the remote part of that small town. On a cold January night I looked down from my apartment window, and saw the road lights flickering in the mist created a mysterious exterior for the cafes. I then saw a man appear from the dark and enter the first café, but came out hurriedly, skipped the second and entered the third. After a long while, he walked out unsteadily with a girl to enter the fourth one. I didn’t see them come out as long as I was awake, but I realized I was in the red-light alley. Count : 165 March 4, 2023 Contest : Four Cafes Sponsor : Julia Ward