Sketch and Story : #1Blog1Story : WHAT WENT WRONG...

What went wrong here...

"Wish you a safe journey, see you in fifteen days. And no extended leaves".
"Sure boss, I'll be back in time".

Misham was beaming towards the end of the day. It had been two years since he last visited his home, a village up north. He had left for the big city to pursue his first job and hadn't been to his home since then. Life was good, new friends and new place, but he missed his old village. His family, his buddies and his Hangout the Soda-palace.

The Soda-Palace brought everyone at one place to relax at the end of everyday. Misham missed it very much. He considered it to be his very own "CHEERS" - Where everybody knows your name.
He had heard over the phone that the Soda Palace had changed ownership and old man Buzz had moved over to the next village, he would miss Buzz but he believed that an establishment got its character from its visitors so Misham didn't expect it to change much.

With memories of the pool table, dart board, retro games, lemon-cola and his gang, Misham was riding his old bicycle along the lake towards the Soda Palace. His was in a foul mood. He had arrived yesterday at home and met with the family and the neighbors. They exchanged their stories. After the No-Cellphone lunch and dinner, the lake side adventure stories and the financial situation at home, he asked about the Soda-Palace.
"It's not what it used to be son... " The rest of all what his father said was incoherent.
Here he was the next evening parking his bike and entering the most amazing place he ever knew.

There were only two customers at the left. Two. At 6 o'clock. Instead of 40. What went wrong here....

"Hello.. " Misham approached the cash counter to the left. A bald man was playing a game on his mobile phone and didn't look up when Misham approached.
"You must be the new owner here .. I am Misham. I used to come here a few years back".
This time Misham got a mere glance. "Yes, I am Ben Touler what can I do for you". The guy was still holding his phone and probably playing an online games because he kept glancing at the screen.

"Lemon-cola. Please"
"Sure..."
"What is with this place? The place used to be crowded at this time"
Misham could no longer hold his thoughts.
"Can't say I know.. since old Buzz left, the numbers have been reducing each day. Now I feel lucky to have 10 people every day. Had to cut down on many things just to keep running. Business is not good kid. Don't know what went wrong here.."

After a minute Ben put down his phone and went towards the back wall to fill a glass.
Misham assumed that some customers might be in the pool room, someone he might recognise. So he started to move towards the door to take a peek.
"Where you going kid?".
"The pool room".
Ben's face made his answer redundant.
He said "There is no pool room kid, we turned it into the mushroom room. In time there will be a fat income from that business I say"
No pool room! Misham lost his will to stand and slumped onto the stool. That would be one of the reasons why this place isn't full.
"Sold the table to fat Billy".
Fat. Bald. Billy. Billy, who seldom won at pool. Billy who never gave up. Billy with his mermaid stories. Billy who could balance any object on the tip of a nail. He would never come to this place again. There was nothing here of interest.

Could this really be the only reason for this place to go south? The owner was struggling to focus his eyes on his phone. Maybe he forgot to wear glasses. But even a blind person would know the difference between 40 customers and 3 customers. He should have noticed the down trend and tried to correct things.

The pool room was just an accessory. Still its absence explained a lot. To top that, Ben had an unwelcoming air about him. Or is it that old Buzz was the friendliest man around?

The roof was dusty. The floor was damp in places. The owner busy on the phone. Surely there was more to it.
"Here you go"
Misham took the glass and brought it to his lips.
There was a black speck at the bottom of the glass.
Thinking that it might be on the outside and not inside the glass. Misham took one sip. The taste was the same. But he realized how ordinary it was. The ambiance of a place can really do amazing things to an ordinary drink. He didn't enjoy his first sip as much as he had expected.
What went wrong here...
Fewer lights in the room?
What went wrong here...
Dusty glasses?

He brought the glass closer to his lips and realised that the black speck was indeed in his glass. And it wriggled. Alive.
" I think I know now... "
Misham muttered to himself, placed money on the table and left.

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This story is a part of the #1Blog1Story series that i am planning to start
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