When Rain - a dreamy designer - buys an antique cross, she begins to see visions of her previous life in her lucid dreams. A series of accidental events begin to bring the people from her dreams into her real life: Charlie - a quirky girl from the p...
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The Charles Dickens Pub was almost swarming with visitors, with different types of people sitting at the tables.
John House had seen each one of them. He had not only seen them every evening, but he could also see through them.
People came to his pub after work or for lunch. They could be tired or full of energy. It never mattered whether it was a weekday or the weekend, Charles Dickens was never empty.
The visitors always came back. Take that couple, for example, they met each other here. It had been a blurry morning, and he ordered coffee with hash browns while she had something like toast. They'd been sending signs to each other for about forty minutes, and then he finally approached her.
That guy over there wrote his first novel in here. Of course, he didn't get any prize or award for it, but the book turned out pretty good. Every morning he came in here, sat at the table in the corner, and began watching.
God knows whether or not that writer knew John had him figured out. John never even took time to read the novel, but somehow he had the feeling that his pub was described in the book.
And over here, behind the speaker, that's one of John's favorite visitors. He played dice every evening. That's why everyone here called him Gambler. To be honest, John had no idea what the guy's real name was. But today, Gambler was going to sing. By the way, the whole idea of bringing karaoke to Dickens belonged to him. Who knew what might come out of it?
Gambler tapped the microphone a few times, clicked a couple of buttons on the controller, climbed on a bar stool, and started nodding in time with the music. He was probably thinking that he looked like Kurt Cobain.
Oh, there's Rain! She's been coming here ever since Charles Dickens had just opened. She lives somewhere not very far away, and has spent long enough time there to become not just another visitor but a good acquaintance of John's.
"Rain!" He waved at her.
She turned her head and gave him an adorable smile. Whatever happened, this girl was always smiling. And it wasn't even her best year: she had a ruined relationship on her mind, and work had been slow lately.
Rain set herself behind the counter right in front of John and gazed observantly at Gambler.
"And that is..." Rain commented.
"No, no, that's a one-time thing." John shrugged. "Karaoke in Dickens. What are you drinking?"
"You choose."
Without a second thought, John poured her a pint of golden cider.
"It's on the House." He smiled and observed the room. "Wait, I almost forgot!" John slapped his forehead and pulled the coaster from the counter. "Look, Rain, I have some business to discuss." He smiled at her. "My friend wants to conquer the club business. He is looking for a designer. Now, I'm not sure I know if you accept extra work, but I took the liberty of recommending you. Send him your portfolio, let's see how that goes."
Rain nodded and put her head on her palms.
"That sounds all right. Since when are you interested in my job?"
"Got tired of paying for your drinks." He smirked and gave Rain another coaster with an e-mail address written on it. "Keep an eye on that."
"Okay, we'll see." Rain pressed the handmade card to the table with her finger and gave it a good look. "You've got a wet thumb, John."
"Don't forget to drink for success." The bartender pointed at her glass, which Rain seemed to have forgotten for a moment.
"In your eye-e-e-es..." Gambler moaned, trying to out-roar the music and the buzz of the pub.
"Who stepped on that man's ear?" A girl just appeared at the counter. She took off her coat, and big drops of water hit the floor.
Her name was Charlie Chester. A cute girl, and a frequenter too. She worked in the district. Usually you could catch her around two, sometimes in the evening. She loved complaining about her job.
Rain turned her head and looked at Charlie. There seemed to be something familiar about her. Or maybe it was the cider and a desire for a simple chat.
"He's a gambler, not a singer," John said to Charlie. "You want musicians, you should come after three. What're you drinking, dear?"
"A cherry beer." Charlie kept staring at Gambler, then she noticed an indignant look on Rain's face and said sympathetically, "Music is not his strong suit."
John placed a glassful of cherry beer in front of Charlie. Well, now it was easier to survive that sound. Also, a girl near her was singing along pretty well.
"Do you sing?" After all, the girl caught the tunes better than Gambler did.
"A bit." Rain gave an inscrutable smile into nowhere and then looked around, noticing the print on a random jersey. "When I need a friend, I come to a pub." It was like a sign, and signs had been following Rain around like crazy for the past week. What if, for once in her life, she actually followed a sign? She looked at Charlie.
"I'm Rain, by the way."
John crossed his arms. Rain and Charlie looked pretty funny, like two old best friends. The strange thing was that they'd been coming here for a long time, but had never met before. Somehow, John felt like these two were just about to start something crazy. Especially Rain, with her spirit.
These incidental acquaintances and the twisted stories that grew out of them made John think that Charles Dickens was not just another pub, but also a special place in the Universe, where life itself ties the knots.
