A black and white coffee through stories | Week 122

For days now, I've been walking around my city, unintentionally rediscovering new places. Perhaps as an excuse to find a new café or meet new people with whom I can try to discover some light that will illuminate me through them, or simply in search of stories to immerse myself in while time passes and some recent wounds heal.

My city is not big and one might think that there isn't much to discover after a few days of traveling around it.

Fortunately, reality surprised me this week, coinciding with this new prompt proposed by @cinnccf and the exquisite #CinnamonCupCoffee community.

So, unexpectedly, which is sometimes how life is most enjoyable, I found a new, recently opened coffee shop that undoubtedly amazed me to the point of being thrilled to have discovered it.

When I opened its doors, I suddenly felt like I was in Seoul, Korea, in 2017, in one of those coffee shops inspired by fantasy comics where you can create your own stories.

Look at the photographs I'm sharing, some of which I deliberately took in black and white and others not. What's the difference between them? It's just the presence of those present and their stories.

It's a café called Comic and Coffee, where everything is designed and decorated in two-dimensional black and white, giving the impression that we're actually inside a comic book. Its furniture, the use of space, the decorations—everything—is undoubtedly striking, which is very pleasant considering the quality of the service, the music, the well-regulated climate, and the offerings, although they're not at all easily or economically accessible for most people in my country.

Here time seems to stop, or to pass very quickly, depending on how we take it or consider it.

The views can take us to unimaginable places for a moment when we find the cafe empty...

Or forcing us to listen to the stories of so many people who suddenly come together to share them with everyone. Yes, with everyone, because, no matter how quietly they speak, it's common among Latinos to speak in such a way that everyone can hear what they're talking about.

And it can take a while to choose the type of coffee you want because they are diverse and all exquisite...

Or simply watch others immerse themselves in their cell phones without speaking to those around them...

Or you can imagine leaning against a wall with some comfortable cushions while waiting to be served...

And then the dialogues reappear, which I find out, I repeat, unintentionally...

Supposedly secret conversations. Others, evidently not so secret...

And I picture a dog in the window, wanting to play with any of us, while some of us talked about finding someone special who was truly worth getting to know, or the price of groceries, or the clothes this or that person was wearing...
No one talked about books or movies or the state of the country or the world. And yet, the dog remained in the window, waiting for someone to play with him.

I pause in front of the café door once again, yet another day. Now I know that when I walk through that door, I might find a secret piece of mail or a two-dimensional, lively silence, playing with time and smiling at it, always smiling at it!