The Edge of Eden

⋆ Chapter 1: Taken ⋆

⋆

⋆ Intro ⋆

Deep in the lush forests of Missouri, far off the main highway, rests the quaint town of Torlona. Known for its artisans, craftsmanship, and local farms, this town is the hub in which most of the locals sell their goods to tourists or visitors. However, due to the low visiting rate of August, the streets remain desolate and silent. Many areas on main street are closed off for the month, and use the time to make more items to sell.

At the edge of the town, right before heading back towards civilization, a quirky diner rests with it's doors sprung open, patiently awaiting customers. The diner has many items from the artisans decorating it's exterior and interior, from paintings to handmade rocking chairs, and interesting antiques. Doubling as an antique shop, most of the items are for sale.

Currently, the diner remains open, its night hours not affected by the harsh conditions. One of its most valued employees, Serena, hums a delightful tune in the back kitchen, sweeping up the crumbs and dirt from the day. Anyone can tell just by looking at her that she's tired. Even though she smiles constantly, and would go out of her way to make her customers happy, Serena's great at hiding her true feelings.

The grandfather clock in the corner struck nine, and made its usual jingle to indicate the time. Serena awaited the tenth chime, but to no avail. A long sigh escaped from her mouth, before I set the broom back in its corner. The day felt like it was dragging on, moving so slowly. The diner didn't have many customers, and those who came in were only ordering small items off the menu. Still, the young waitress kept a smile on her face whenever she left the kitchen, knowing that any frowns or ugly faces would make the customers angry. Deep down inside, she felt like exploding when they complained and assumed that it was her fault. But she made sure to let the customers feel like they were right, even if it was a trivial issue. Now let's jump into the story, and see how Serena is really doing...

┏━━━⋆━━━━━━━━━━━┓

⋆ Taken ⋆

┗━━━━━━━━━━━⋆━━━┛

The sound of the bell jingling from the front door caught my attention, as I slowly peeked my head out the kitchen door to see who it might be. Low and behold, it was the usual ten-o-clock gentleman who ordered coffee and crumb cake.

Although, it was odd that he was earlier than usual. It was nine o'clock at night, but he usually came at ten. And he was always on the dot at ten, kind of like someone who is always right on time. So his early arrival already gave me weird vibes. He stood wearing his usual business attire; a dark grey suit with a navy silk tie and a white undershirt. Instead of being slicked back, his hair was messy and frayed. The briefcase he held was replaced with a worn, leatherbound journal, and a strapped folder of loose papers.

Mazzie, my coworker, spoke with the customer using her typical polite mannerisms. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He responded with a short sentence, using but three words, and Mazzie began rushing towards the back kitchen.

My eyes widened, and I took a few steps back so that Mazzie didn't push the door open on my face. God knows that's happened more than once when we're both on the clock.

Without a doubt, I immediately ask Mazzie if I's alright, "You okay, Mazzie? What's wrong? Did he say something weird?"

Grabbing my shoulders, Mazzie looked at me with the most concerned gaze. "He said to me... 'go get Serena.' Didn't even bother to say 'hi' or 'how are you?' I am used to people requesting your service because you are the nicest person in the world, but... he creeps me out."