His consciousness wished it could just drift away. He was so tired.

Tired.

Yes...

Lucas's life lately was just one tiring event after the other. He was at the last semester of college and thus, as much as he hated this affair, he had to make a graduation project and defend his thesis later on in front of a crowd and a few judging professors that would determine whether he failed or succeeded in graduating from this long course he spent so much time and had to go through so much stress to drag his exhausted mind forwards till the very end.

The fact that he was unemployed didn't help either since the, as he would frequently complain about, idiotic teachers would often demand class projects and other things that involved spending money which he didn't like one bit.

Plus, to make all bad matters worse his mind was an utter mess. It could easily be said that he was crawling his way into the finishing line in the most excruciating process possible to him, and him procrastinating frequently didn't aid at all either. His motivation was zero and his energy was at the same level, he found all of this process a big and tormenting waste of his time since he had long regretted making this specific choice of college to take.

But in any case, none of that mattered. His mother was constantly nagging at his about finishing since he was already so close and, as expected of any mother, was also constantly complaining about his inability to get a job despite his numerous explanations about economy and politics that were basically putting EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE COUNTRY in jeopardy.

The politics in his country cause fear and the broken economy caused despair. There was nothing he could do about jobs or money due to the fact that he, as well as millions of others, was unemployed or like so many more in his country was getting closer and closer to unemployment or, if they were of a higher social standing, lose their careers or businesses.

It was truly a tough time to live right now and his mother's constant claims of his "unwillingness" and straight out "laziness" did not help him at all through these events. He knew he had to have patience with her and everyone else, but it was becoming harder and harder to endure in silence.

It took Lucas a good ten minutes to stabilize completely and relax his body. His muscle tension diminished at the same pace as his pulse did whilst his breathing became easy and no longer did he wheeze. His clothes were not completely dry, but thanks to the controlled climate environment around him they were considerably better than they were when he entered the place a few minutes prior soaking wet from the rain.

He no longer slumped on the counter but instead sat up straight as his head felt somewhat light. He shook his head a bit to help his focus return before observing the place he had entered out of desperation.

The counter he was slumped on previously was actually quite beautiful now that he took the time to appreciate it. It was a solid light brown wood piece that resembled the natural patterns you would often find on recently cut wood that was carefully drawn out by whoever made this surprisingly beautiful and useful work.

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Behind the counter were several wine bottles neatly lined in the metallic shelves enveloped by a material almost exactly equal to the red carpet on the floor making it look like there was a competition being held on those curiously looking shelves. Not only that but in those shelves, there were also other neat things like crystal goblets and metallic ones as well as several frames that held pictures of customers and the owner.

There were also several books, both old and new, standing on the topmost shelf. He could see many classic titles and also many technical books about the processes of wine preservation and how to correctly consume a wine. There was one book that had a peculiar look to it and was considerably thick that, the moment he laid his eyes on it, made Lucas feel as if the book was calling to him. For a few seconds he couldn't break eye contact with the book but after that, he feigned ignorance about the occurrence and continued to observe.

Then he noticed that on the ceiling there were three fluorescent white lamps that were specifically pointed to the counter so that it was properly illuminated. The walls of the place were covered with a stylish royal purple wallpaper that was streaked with black and gold patterns that converged in several identical symbols that looked like weird medieval crests or crosses that Lucas felt familiar with but could not exactly remember where he had seen it before.

Lastly, he looked at the owner who regarded him with a welcoming smile. He was a man in his late forties that had a few white hairs here and there popping on his head as well as baggy skin under his eyes that made him seem a tad older than the general impression he gave out. His eyes were a very light brown that had some traces of blue in it that seemed to transmit a wise kind of vibe that made Lucas somewhat surprised.

He was a tall man, at least as tall as himself. His physique was somewhat similar to his own but much thinner and neatly kept. He wore a pristine white shirt and a black waistcoat that had a single pocket on it with a golden chain coming out from it and linking to a golden ring strapped to the waistcoat above the pocket. He wore black pants and neatly polished black shoes that only contributed to the overall impression that the man was a butler or an old-fashioned man from England.

"Well? How do you feel now?" The man asked.

"Much better than a few minutes ago. Thank you for your patience." Lucas politely replied.

"Don't sweat it. I know better than anyone how bad it feels to be caught by a sudden rain whilst equipped with a sickness like ours" The man chuckled.

"A terrifying option..."Lucas sighed.

"I assume you can now talk properly. How about we have a chat?" The man offered.

"But what about your costs in keeping me here? shouldn't I consume something?" Lucas inquired suspiciously.

"If you want, you should. I'm also using this place and since there are no more customers to consume and/or keep me company I don't mind you staying here. Also, considering the look of the storm outside right now, I don't think you actually have that much of a choice." The man replied.

"What do you..."

CRAAAACKKK BOOOOOM!!!!

Lucas's body stiffened as the lightning roared and the thunder rumbled in the stormy sky. He turned to look towards the door and saw that the pouring rain had only intensified and now made it absolutely impossible for him to head outside.

"Well, that certainly did not go as planned." Lucas sighed to himself as he pondered about the rain.