As many people said, coffee wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but Lincoln started to enjoy it.
It was called "nin" here or in this shop anyway. He ordered a small cup of nin and some cookies and sat at one of the six small tables.
It was quiet and peaceful here, just like any small coffee shop. There was only one other woman at the tables, but before the minute passed, she left the building, the bell in front of the door ringing as she opened it and walked into the morning waiting outside.
So the boy sat and quietly ate his chocolate cookies with his nin. As the sky turned bright, he stared out the window as the streets started to look a little less condensed. He wouldn't be able to get used to the city's traffic being totally upside down.
A few minutes went by before the front doorbell chimed once more. An old man, balding with a hint of grey hair, wearing a navy blue jacket and jeans, walked in with a cane. He took his order at the front, just a large black nin with a newspaper, and walked over to where Lincoln sat.
Sitting on the opposite side, he opened his newspaper and said, "Nice day today, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Lincoln took a sip of his nin.
"Now let's see here…" He turned the newspaper pages until he found it—the crossword puzzle. "There ya are!"
He sounded quite happy, like a kid who found candy in a field of vegetables.
"What are you doing?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh, the usual. This one looks like a hard one too!"
There were four seats at the table they sat at, two on each side. After some thought, Lincoln got up and sat next to the old man.
The old man placed the newspaper flat on the table so Lincoln could see as well. "Er…" He wrote down an answer and continued.
Lincoln watched as the man did his crossword, taking sips of his nin and finishing the last of the cookies. The old guy was good and didn't feel like interrupting by giving any input.
The front door chimed for the third time, and another old man with white hair walked in. He was a hunchback but had no cane with him. Wearing a dark leather jacket and jeans, he ordered a nin with some milk and walked over to the two of them.
Sitting across from them, he said, "Mornin', Jared. Who's the squirt?"
Jared waved at him and replied, "Morning, Harry." He returned to his crossword puzzle for a second before pausing and looking at Harry.
"Wait…" He looked at him and pointed with a shaky finger. "If you're… then who's…" He turned to Lincoln, who had just realized what had happened.
"Your eyesight's not as good as it used to be." Harry laughed.
"Oh my! I thought you sounded different." Jared laughed toothily, showing off his old crooked teeth, which had a few missing. "I'm sorry, son. Your hair got me."
"It's fine." He said whilst smiling back. "I'm Lincoln."
"The name's Harry. This here is Jared."
"Nice to meet you," Lincoln said as Jared patted the boy's back.
Harry took a sip of his black nin. "How's that puzzle going along, Jared?"
"Oh, I'm just about halfway," he replied, "It's an easy one today."
Lincoln finished his drink but stayed in the quiet shop for a bit. The two old men didn't mind, silently sitting at their table for a while.
Jared continued with the crossword puzzle, and Lincoln finally helped him with a few of the words.
Eventually, Lincoln chose to head out and said his goodbyes to the two kind men.
"Take care, Lincoln," Jared said with a slow, shaky wave.
Harry raised his cup. "Have a good day!"
Lincoln smiled and waved back. "See ya!"