The cafe of Secrets

Main Characters....

Mira Sen – 25, a literature student who comes to the café after midnight to write. Reserved, observant, hiding trauma from her past.

Adrian Cole – 29, a charming but mysterious man who always orders black coffee and never stays long. His motives aren’t clear.

Nina D’Souza – 40, the night-shift waitress, who knows more about the customers than she lets on.

“The Stranger” – A hooded figure who comes at irregular hours, leaving cryptic notes behind.

Enjoy the story guyssd l hope u will like it

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🕛 AFTER MIDNIGHT

Part I – The Café of Secrets

The rain had stopped an hour ago, but the streets of the city still glistened like liquid silver beneath the glow of the streetlamps. It was nearly one in the morning, the time when most of the city surrendered to silence. But in a narrow lane tucked away from the main road, there stood a café that never closed its doors.

The sign above it read Café Serenade, though the paint was chipped and the neon lights flickered as if undecided whether to stay awake or not. Inside, the smell of roasted beans lingered heavily in the air, comforting in its warmth.

Mira Sen pushed open the door with her usual hesitation. She wasn’t afraid—it wasn’t fear that slowed her steps—but a peculiar ritual she had developed. Every time she entered, she would pause, breathe in the aroma, and remind herself that here, she was safe.

The night was her time. By day, she was just another face in the crowded university library, a literature student who quietly passed unnoticed. But after midnight, she came here with her battered leather notebook and sat at the corner table by the window. It was the only place she felt invisible yet strangely alive.

Nina D’Souza, the night-shift waitress, noticed her instantly.

“You’re late tonight,” Nina said, wiping down the counter. Her voice carried the roughness of someone who had smoked one cigarette too many in her life, yet it was oddly gentle.

“Rain slowed me down,” Mira replied, setting her notebook on the table.

Nina gave her a look that lingered a second too long, as if trying to read more than Mira wanted to reveal. But she said nothing further, only nodding before heading to the kitchen.

The café was nearly empty except for two other customers. At the far end sat a hooded figure hunched over a mug, their face hidden in shadows. And then, as always, there was him—the man in the black coat.

Mira had noticed him months ago. He came in almost every night, usually within fifteen minutes of her arrival. He never ordered anything other than a black coffee—no sugar, no cream. He never lingered after finishing it. And he always, always sat at the table across from hers, angled so he could glance at the door.

She didn’t know his name. At first, she told herself she wasn’t curious, but curiosity has a way of burrowing under the skin. Who was he? Why did he always come alone? And why did his eyes—sharp, watchful, restless—seem to carry a heaviness she recognized in herself?

Tonight, he caught her looking. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second. Mira immediately bent her head, pretending to scribble in her notebook.

“Black coffee,” Nina said, placing the man’s order on his table without asking. It had become routine.

The man murmured thanks, his voice low and gravelly.

Mira tried to focus on her writing, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, her pen drifted across the page until she realized she was sketching a pair of eyes—his eyes. She quickly shut the notebook, embarrassed by herself.

When she opened it again minutes later, there was something there that hadn’t been before.

A slip of folded paper........

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