Bar «Free drinks for your souls». Erick Poladov

in front of him:

      – Louis.

      He timidly turned around to face the bartender.

      – Let me talk to you about something before you go. It won’t take long.

      – Yes, of course – Louis said quietly.

      – Sit down – Albert pointed to a chair in front of the counter.

      He threw a snow-white towel over his shoulder, placed his hands on the edges of the counter and turned to Louis:

      – Before you want to leave, I would like you to know what you may need most right now. I’m sure Justine has told you a lot about what’s going on here. But I want you to know the main thing. Those three days that you spent here – no one took them away from you. There, in the outside world, these three days really passed. But here life comes to a standstill. During this time you have not aged at all. Time in my establishment has no power over people and it stops for those who want to spend a day, a month, a year here. Nothing could be worse than losing your wife and children. Don’t ask me how I know everything. Just listen. Now you will return home, you will wake up with chest pain, and you will fall asleep with it. And the days allotted to you will melt away. Your soul is filled with grief, there is complete sorrow in it. But this grief is too strong. And this feeling will not allow you to return to the world in which you lived before tragedy engulfed your home. Don’t get me wrong, Louis…

      Albert continued to speak, filling a glass with the contents of some bottle:

      – …this establishment is not a prison, but a place where time stands still. Here among the visitors there are rich and poor, believers and atheists, lucky and unlucky, daredevils and cowards, pacifists and militarists, generous and greedy. Everyone has gathered here. If you stay here for a while, you can get to know this crowd and maybe they can change your attitude towards life. Believe me, all this rabble has such life experience that your idea of the world will seem meager to you, and life will seem like time that you wasted. In addition, you will have nowhere to rush, and therefore you will be able to carefully think through all the pressing issues.