If he was surprised to find me hanging out behind the restaurant, he would hide it. He wore a white sèa vest on his broad bucket chest—we called it a "wife beater" in college. He has tattoos on both arms. Some of the tattoos are handmade, but most of the tattoos are made by you in prison. His most distinctive feature is his thick, well-groomed mustache, which contrasts sharply with his bright, cleanly shaved hair.
He looks like a strong man in a circus, or a member of a motorcycle gang (not the leader, but a muscular man), and he is also the kind of person who doesn't like being attacked suddenly.
I raised my right hand to half of the false surrender. My other half of the surrender jumped sharply, and I hid it on one side of my body.
He finished chewing the doughnut in his mouth, swallowed it, then put the remaining doughnut into his mouth, chewed slowly, swallowed it, and wiped the crumbs from his beard before speaking. say.
"Breakfast is still an hour away," he said. He walked past me, walked to the trash can, and threw a bag of black trash into it. He tied his new white apron around his waist and wiped his hands with his trouser legs. He walked a few steps, returned to where I was standing, and waited for me.
"Can you tell me where Silas Nelson lives?" I asked.
"Why should I do this?"
"I want to ask him a question."
"Too bad," he said.
""No, not too bad. I really need his help. "
"I won't give Mr. Silas' address to strangers. It's too bad," he repeated, walking towards the back door of the restaurant.
I walked in front of him and blocked the door. He looked at me up and down. No impression.
"Listen, I met Mr. Silas yesterday. At lunch time. What he said to me was nonsense at the time. He told me that there was a face around my head. He told me that I would come out In the car accident, sure enough, I was in a car accident." I raised the plaster on my left hand as evidence. "He said I was going to die, I almost died too."
He grumbled and reached out to me. He put his hand on the doorknob and waited for me to move before opening the door. I didn't. He sighed, "Please come in. I'll call him for you."
I followed this bearded giant into the kitchen, which was warm and bright and smelled very delicious. I sit on the stool he instructed with fat hands. The stool is hidden under a small countertop in the corner. He poured a cup of coffee into a white dinner cup and placed it in front of me. There is no oil and sugar. When I was drinking coffee, he put two freshly made doughnuts on the plate. He also put this in front of me.
He does not speak. He just went back to work. I watched him walking around in the kitchen. It reminds me of "Pork Chop", but it's bigger, which is a good thing, because I don't think giants can move in the small kitchen of a coffee shop.
He is making cinnamon rolls. Oversized cinnamon rolls. When I saw how much butter he used, my eyes almost fell off. That must be some delicious cinnamon rolls. If they are as delicious as the donuts I just ate, then they must be the best cinnamon rolls in the universe, including my own.
"I am a baker in a coffee shop," I said, trying to start a conversation. He shrugged. He never cares about who I am or who I am. He cut this huge cake one by one and placed it on a baking tray. Be very careful with every movement, just like glass or a baby.
I don't know how much time has passed, but it seems a lot. I drank two full cups of coffee and ate two donuts, still watching the giant walking around in the kitchen, tasting sausage gravy, checking biscuits, and chopping potatoes to make hash browns.
"So, you said Mr. Silas saw Yan sè on your head?" Obviously, he decided to talk to me. His low voice quivered in silence, making me unable to concentrate. I was totally fascinated by his silent routine.
"Yes."
"Mr. Silas, he saw something. He can see what others can't see. What's interesting is that he is almost blind and can't see what most people can see. Just tell you how God is Give with one hand and receive with the other. "The giant never looked at me when he spoke. "Mr. Silas can see human souls, I believe. He saw mine. He saw what no one did. Not even me. He also saw my future. He saw the future for me. More than I thought, more than I deserved. I owe everything to Mr. Silas." When he said the last part, his eyes were flat on me. He glanced at me and measured my worth, just as I saw him measure cinnamon, sugar, and butter. "Mr. Silas is watching. He used to go down in the morning, drink coffee, and sit where you are sitting now. He doesn't do this anymore." He wiped his hands with a towel, picked it up and hung it on the wall. Black telephone receiver.
He pressed the button on the phone and held it to his ear.
"Mr. Silas? It's Terry," he said.
pause.
"No, everything is fine here. It's just that I have a girl here. She said yesterday that you told her she was going to have a car accident, and she did have a car accident. It looks like she is really a badass. She asked to see you."
pause.
""Yes, sir. OK. "
Terry hung up. He wiped the receiver with a towel, even though I couldn't see anything on it.
"He's here," Terry said before returning to work.
I shuffled towards the coffee and poured myself another cup. My third. I need it, it's nice and thick. Terry nodded at me. I looked in from the passage between the kitchen and the dining room. The sun began to rise. A deep red light illuminates the street. From time to time, people will drive by with a clear purpose. Most of the exercises this early had a purpose; people tried to get from point a to point b. This is my favorite part of the morning, and I think I am lucky to watch it at least three times a week. If I were to make my own decision, I would never get up to see it by myself.
I saw a dark figure walking slowly along the street. It gets closer and closer to me, and I can recognize two separate shadows. The first is Silas Nelson. I can tell from the crutches that his spine is straight. He is listed on the right. The second shape is a big black dog. The dog walked slowly and steadily, leaning to the left, and following Silas Nelson, his head looked warily here and there. When they approached the corner, it walked in front of Silas. Silas Nelson waited. The dog looked to both sides of the road before leading Silas across the road. Once they passed safely, Silas patted the dog on the head. The two of them bypassed the back door of the cafe and walked straight to the back door.
When Silas Nelson walked into the kitchen, Terry smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Mr. Silas," he said.
"Good morning, Terry."
"I have something for Satie. Is she outside?"
"Of course, she is waiting. You know she is. If that old girl is not profitable, she won't come. "
Terry laughed and laughed happily, making a rumbling voice, "Sati will accompany you to and from hell, you know."
"We hope this is not necessary," Silas Nelson said.
Terry opened the back door. Sati lay on her side, but when the door opened, she quickly sat up, her eyes bright and her tail wagging, waiting. Terry threw her a piece of bacon.
"I'm sorry to hear about the car accident," Silas Nelson found me in the spacious kitchen. "But you are not dead, I'm relieved."
"I think so too," I said.
"If you could have breakfast with me, I would be honored," he bowed slightly formally.
I hesitated.
"You are so kind," I said, "but—"
"It will make me very happy," he said.
We were sitting in a surfboard booth, the same as yesterday. The waiter for the breakfast shift arrived, and Terry changed the "door closed" sign to "open door".
After Silas Nelson told me that I would not regret it, we all ordered sausage gravy and biscuits. He is right. Sausage gravy and biscuits taste great. We ate quietly for a while, listening to the sound of the fork sliding on the plate.
"Terry said you can see things. Especially people's souls and the future."
Silas Nelson said: "You better not believe everything."
"How do you know what will happen next?" I asked.
"In my opinion, this conversation may have two outcomes. I can tell you that I am just a stupid, old man approaching the end. I am confused. This may make you feel better. You seem to need a break. Click. Or I can tell you the truth, it may not make you feel better or worse. Which one do you like?" Silas Nelson leaned back in the phone booth. He was wearing a neat white shirt, suspenders, and a green bow tie. From the top of his slender and sturdy head to the sharply polished black leather shoes, he has always been a gentleman.
"The truth," I said.
"The truth is not always useful," he Jǐng told.
"I am willing to try my luck."
"Terry said I can see people's souls and their future?"
"Yes, he said so," I said.
"Terry is half right," he said solemnly. "I can't see people's future."
"What did you see when you looked at me?" I asked.
"What I see is that you are surrounded by all kinds of faces. I can't see your face clearly, because the scene I saw the first time has disappeared, but with the scene I saw the second time, I see There are many face swirls around your head. I see color and light pouring out of your heart. I can see everyone’s face, and I can recognize someone’s face as easily as before. Everyone’s skin is different. Terry is Terry. Kevin is Kevin. Even Sadie has a face I can see, and Sadie’s face is Sadie’s face. Very similar. Fingerprints, your face is the mark left in the world. Do you understand what I mean
I nodded, he took a sip of water, and then slowly wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Hey," he cleared his throat, "I have seen your flags before."
"I remember you said that everyone's face is unique."
"Yes," he paused.
I waited for him to continue, but he seemed reluctant.
"When have you seen my face?"
""long, long ago. Another life," he said, his voice suddenly hoarse.
"I had never seen you before yesterday," I said.
""Yes, I know, but I have seen you. I watched you grow up. You are as familiar to me as my daughter. My Bernice will comb your hair and teach you how to sew. "
"I don't understand," I said.
"The face on your head, the light shining from your heart, your aura and the light of your heart, are exactly the same as a girl I once knew. I may be an old man, but my memory is as sharp as a razor. I am Sure. I'm not wrong on this point." His dim eyes stared at me for a long time. "Only once such a thing has happened, and how stupid I am. I don't know what that means, I let it slip through my fingers. I wake up every day, wishing I could realize that I saw What is it, but I don’t know ー” His voice gradually lowered and his shoulders drooped. "Now, I know. I know what that means. This time I'm pretty sure, I've never been so sure about anything. You are Annabeth Sugerman. You died in 1967, and now you are back. Meat and bones again. Oh my god, he really does business on the same deck. You, girl, are back to play again." (to be continued) (end of this chapter)