The first time Amara stepped into 'The Eclipse Cafe' she was eight years old. She held tightly to her father's hands as they walked through the glass door of the cafe. The scent of coffee, roasted and brewing filled her nose. She could recall shutting her eyes and inhaling it all in. That was how her love for coffee grew, and ever since, she has returned to the coffee shop every day.
The Eclipse Cafe had been a great landmark in their small town. According to her Dad, it had been there long before she was even born, long before her father was born, too. Mrs Ngọzi, the oldest woman in her community, had described the cafe as being there since the inception of the town. But no one could tell who owned it. They all wondered, but no one had its true story.
Twenty-two years later, Amara made her way into The Eclipse Cafe, this time not as a customer but as a lawyer who was going to save it from the hands of greedy developers.
“You’re late, Amara; you told me you'll come earlier. They're already here and inside,” Mama Chike, the woman who was in charge of the café, snapped at her. She was standing by the entrance, her hands tucked into the pockets in her apron. Her eyes had this glare of fear.
Amara placed her hands on her shoulder to calm her down. "Had an emergency at the office. I'm sorry" Then she pushed the door open, and the bell by the door jiggled. Amara held the door for Mama Chike to pass then she followed her. Immediately, the scent of coffee filled her nose. Instead of tickling her fancy, this time, the air had a heavy scent of tension mixed with it.
Just at the end of the coffee shop was Mr Tunde, the greedy politician who always had a fake smile on his face. He was seated with two other people who Amara couldn't recognise.
Mr Tunde was the biggest developer in the town. He owned almost all the properties in their little town and from the way he craved to buy off The Eclipse Cafe, Amara knew he wasn't done.
She pulled a seat for Mama Chike to sit down, but Mama Chike refused and insisted she stand. Amara sat on the seat and stared at Mr Tunde with so much disgust. But as usual, he put on his fake smile
"Ah, Amara. The traffic must have been too bad this morning huh?" He asked. "Don't worry, we understand that's why you're late. There's no need to apologise for coming late. This is my lawyer and my P. A" he introduced the people he came with
Amara gave up her stare, pulled out a file from her bag, and placed it on the table. Deliberately ignoring him and the request for a handshake from his partners.
"Do you know why this café is called The Eclipse Cafe, Mr Tunde?" Amara asked.
"No, no, I have no idea. And I guess no one knows, too," he replied, leaning forward.
"This was the first place our ancestors gathered on the first night they discovered this town and how it was safe to live in after months of journeying from their former land that was washed away by a heavy flood. That night there was an eclipse of the moon. They took it as a sign that the gods had accepted this land for their settlement. But they had nothing to celebrate with. No drink at all. But for one woman who had a coffee bag with her." She proceeded to open her files. "After that day, they decided as a way to remember that night that they'll build this café hence the name "The Eclipse Cafe "".
"And how did you know all these?" Mr Tunde asked.
"Because I did my research" She looked him in the eye. His smile was gone.
"I believe we're derailing from why we're here,", his lawyer said, adjusting his suit.
"Ahh, yes, back to business", Mr Tunde concurred, his fake smile returned.
“My client, Mr Tunde has made a generous offer to Mama Chike. And I believe it's more than the worth of this place if we’re, to be honest.” his lawyer said
"This place is priceless. It's the heart of the town" Mama Chike roared.
Amara raised her hands, a sign for Mama Chike to calm down.
"Madam, this place might be cherished by the town, but the Chief of the town has given an order for it to be sold to us", still the lawyer.
"We're also giving you a chance to retire well. Because we'll pay you off too." Mr Tunde's P.A chipped-in.
“That'll mean taking away our history. Memories of people who have met their soulmates here, memories of people who wrote their first novels, made lifelong friends.” Amara chipped in “Can't you see that some things are just priceless.”
Mr Tunde laughed, "There are no emotions when a city needs to be developed. Buying off here will bring progress to this town with what I want to build here. We all can make new memories in it"
"The café, from what I've seen, isn't even doing well anymore. The roofs are leaking, customers don't troop in as before." His lawyer continued
"That's because the new Chief pockets the revenue generated from here and never tries to maintain it. How can a man who grew abroad be made chief and we expect him to understand our land and what this place means to us." Amara asked angrily.
"Your loss, not mine", Mr Tunde replied, leaning on his chair.
Amara groaned in anger. She felt like hitting Mr Tunde with the foot of her heels. But she held herself. She could feel Mama Chike's heart beating fast. She looked at her and held her hands. The sound of the soft hum of the old ceiling fan fills their silence.
Amara took a deep breath and looked around the cafe. There were pictures of different customers on different occasions of their lives hanging on the wall. From proposal nights to birthday celebrations etc.
"You know what" she blurted out. "A month. Give us a month to prove to you that this place can still come alive"
"What?" Mr Tunde yelled.
Amara turned to his lawyer. "I want to prove to you and the chief how important this place is to the community." She looked at Mama Chike; she was wide-eyed in surprise. "We can bring this place back to life, can't we?"
She nodded immediately.
"That's not going to happen. Put your signature here, and we will send you the money," Mr Tunde's lawyer pushed on.
But Mr Tunde held him back, "Wait." He said to his lawyer. To Amara, he said, "And If you fail?
"Then we'll gladly sign," Amara replied.
"You're not possibly considering this, sir," Mr Tunde's lawyer asked him.
"Deal" Mr Tunde said. "One month".
"But sir.." his P. I tried speaking. "It's a trap, sir"
His P.A. wasn't far from the truth. Although Amara had no idea or plans on how to get The Eclipse Cafe alive again. But she had one thing: Faith.
Mr Tunde stood up with his smile again. And left the cafe with his people tagging along.
Amara turned to Mama Chike and smiled at her. But she didn't return her smile. Instead, she said.
"I "wonder* what your plan is, but I'm all in with you"
"I wonder what my plan is, too," Amara murmured.
The next day, Amara began sending flyers and pushing social media posts with a challenge named My Memory with The Eclipse Cafe. She asked people to post their stories and pictures of their memories with the cafe using the hashtag "#mybeautifulmemoryattheeclipsecafe*.
Then, she introduced something new called Eclipse Nights.
On these nights, which were usually weekends, The Eclipse Cafe was run only with a single bright light at one end of the cafe, plus candles on each table. It set a romantic atmosphere, then they made people tell their stories of their most memorable day with the Cafe. Some stories were soul-lifting and beautiful.
This made people visit more on weekends, not just for the coffee but for the stories too. In less than a month, the cafe regained its old glory.
By the last night before the return of Mr Tunde, Amara and Mama Chike let the people know that the cafe might be closed down and sought their help. Surprisingly, the people volunteered to contribute and rebuild the cafe together. According to them, the cafe was the heart of the town and wasn't going to be sold.
On the D-Day Mr Tunde stepped into the cafe with a smile on his face. This time it was genuine. He was with his people again.
Amara led them to a seat and they sat down. Mr Tunde was still smiling. And before Amara could talk he spoke.
"Nice work Amara," he said. "You proved us all wrong. This Cafe' is more than what we saw it as. We saw the crowd you pulled in and what it meant to the people. It was everywhere on the net, even in the news" he paused.
Amara watched as his lawyer brought out a file from his bag and handed it over to Mr Tunde who pushed it over to her. She feared at first that he was reneging on their deal.
"We had to buy off the ownership of the Cafe from the chief. He's incompetent to handle such a monument in this town. We are handing over the ownership to Mama Chike, who will see that this place is run and maintained well. But the proceeds will go to the orphanage homes. This place is part of the life of this community and we aren't going to let it die. This will also be my contribution to this community and humanity"
Amara was speechless but Mama Chile spoke in her stead. "Thank you, Sir"
Mr Tunde nodded, then he stood up and walked out of the Cafe.
Mama Chike turned to Amara, who was still shocked and said.
"You're a wonder my dear. Because of you, The "Eclipse* Cafe lives. I'll get you a coffee, we need to celebrate.”
