“Brewing Hours”
-Zahra Fatima
Tall shiny bottles gleam on the counter under the patches of yellow light. Her long fingers extend to pump some of the caramel topping in her miniature mixing cup. A splash of Caramel and Hazelnut, a shot of Espresso, and some soy milk, with some whipped crème on top. Like magic, she adds in these wonderful ingredients and hovers over to the master mixing pot. In the corner sits a little grey, mettalic steamer, that she calls “Gandalf the Great.” Swirls of steam arise as she pours in the mixture and the magic begins.
“A minute or two,” she says, her eyes shining brightly, and her teeth straight and perfect.
If we were part of a fairytale, Liz would possess the qualities of the good witch who was always making potions to encourage, uplift, and help people. She’s experienced in her field and the mixtures she simmers can turn any college student’s paper from an incomplete paper to a complete success. Her famous potions include “The Almond Joy”, “The Promised Land”, and “The Cactus.” She works several shifts in this magical coffee shop, preparing drinks for students as they pile in with their overly heavy backpacks and tired expressions.
A witch stereotypically has a scary nose, a creepy chin, and an evil stare. Liz looks like the complete opposite of one. In my opinion she looks more like a pixie sometimes. Her hair is short and cropped, making her look a little like a character from the eighties movie “Grease.” Her dressing style is simple and sophisticated, yet it has an edge. She likes the color blue from what I notice. When I was last talking to her, she had knit blue long-sleeved shirt, faded blue jeans, delicate pearl and silver hoops in her ears, and a sparkling ring on one of her fingers.
“SO much goes on in here.” She says.
“I think the funny part is that people don’t acknowledge that I’m HERE, because I’m just the one girl that brews the drinks, but I’ll hear everything they say. It’s fun!” She says grinning impishly.
Liz stands behind a little counter brewing, listening, changing music tracks, and cleaning. Few people acknowledge her presence. Like a wallflower, like a painting in the corner, a statue dancing in her own world, she takes in the details. She notices the people who walk in, the clothes they wear, the expressions they have. She notices the instant atmosphere change when she plays an upbeat song after a low-key song. Liz knows, Liz takes in, and Liz processes. She has the brewing capacities of a good witch, radiates the beauty of a fairy, and has the knowledge of a wise philosopher like Gandalf from the “Lord of the Rings.”
“People talk about weird things, like Hamsters! And sometimes this weird thing happens. I’ll have a line of customers waiting for a specific drink. I love the Chai and the Irish Crème, but then you have these people and they ask for bananas with chocolate…and I just think that’s kind of…interesting. Why would you mix bananas and chocolate?! It’s a free world I guess.”
As I sit at a table I hear her play a variety of interesting songs. “Kiss the Girl”, “The Circle of Life and other classic Disney songs. I look over at Liz who is humming and dancing in her own barista world. I walk over to the counter and order an iced hot chocolate. A girl comes over and claims that she loves the song playing from the Broadway show “Newsies,” and is happy that she and Liz share a similar music taste.
“Now is the time to seize the day!” Liz sings as she pumps a syrup bottle and walks over to Gandalf the Great. Three more potions, and then this good witch plans to lock up her little cafe, and spend her night reading in vicinity of her cozy apartment.
