Remember Me

First Things First

Wayne entered the diner, looking around as the bell above the door announced his arrival. His eyes were drawn away from the records hanging on the wall to a man. The man was sitting on the staff side of the long countertop, writing in a notebook. He leaned back towards the door at the sound of the bell and hopped down when he noticed Wayne.
"Hey, what can I getcha?"
"Um... A black coffee." Wayne had been unprepared to be asked what he wanted straight away, usually a waiter will give him a menu first.
"Okay, coming right up." The waiter turned around again, heading towards a coffee machine.
"You're American." Wayne remarked, noticing the man's accent.
"So are you."
"How'd you get to England?"
"Magic." The waiter then smirked at him. "Or you know, I bought a plane ticket and flew over."
Wayne let out a laugh at that. "Okay, why are you in England?"
The waiter brought the coffee over to Wayne.
"I could ask you the same thing." He then looked down and sighed. "I'm running."
"From what?"
"The past. I had these people I cared about, really deeply loved. But something happened. Now none of them even remember me."
Wayne winced "I'm sorry. I'm sure they haven't completely forgotten you."
The waiter let out a bitter chuckle. "No, they have. It's for the best anyway. So what brings you to 'Ye olde England' Wayne Sermon?"
Wayne blinked "How did you know my name?" He then exhaled as he realised "You know my band."
"Yeah, who doesn't know Imagine Dragons? You guys are crazy good. Missing a singer but you still make do pretty well."
"We never could find a singer. Everyone we auditioned felt like they were trying to fill this important hole but never truly could fit. No idea why though."
"I know, I've seen the interviews. Well, I should leave you to your drink. Enjoy."
The waiter turned around, grabbing a spray bottle and tea towel from a bench behind him and started wiping down the countertop further down from Wayne.
He was humming and soon started lightly singing. Wayne couldn't hear his words but the singing was beautiful. It felt like coming home from a long day of work to a warm house. He had no idea why.
"Hey, I never got your name." Wayne called over, partly out of curiosity and partly because the feeling he was getting made him sad for some reason.
The waiter turned to face him and smiled, something in it seemed almost bittersweet.
"Dan. Dan Reynolds."