The girl who served behind the counter made his heart beat faster every time he went in.
There was no doubt about it; she was a stunner! He had to admit that it was just the thought of seeing her again that made him use the same café regularly. It wasn’t just her looks. She had a lovely personality, so open and friendly. Her simple uniform was always crisp and clean, and as for her smile!
He was reading his paper when he heard the scrabbling noise. He looked up and gave out a brief scream as he came face to face with the most hideous creature. It was crouching, right in front of him. Its black eyes bored into him. Its disgusting pink body was covered with huge wrinkles. It didn’t seem to have any hair. It looked menacing. The repulsive thing just sat there staring at him. He’d never seen anything like it. It was something straight from hell.
His cry of fear had gained the attention of other customers. He was considering rolling his newspaper up beneath the table and clubbing it, when the girl of his dreams approached.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, as she picked the filthy thing up.
He shuddered as he watched her stroking the underside of the revolting creature’s chin, causing the ugly body wrinkles to ripple slightly. “What is it?” he managed to stammer.
She flashed a smile. “Oh! This is Archie, he’s a hairless rat. He’s really quite harmless.” She said this as though it was perfectly normal to hold such a gruesome thing against her body.
A wave of disgust swept over him. He knew some sort of horrid contagion was at play, without fully understanding what it was.
She was still smiling, but it didn’t have the same appeal as before.
He did know that there were other cafés in town.