A Moment in the Oasis

Zoraida had decided to walk home to her beach house from her offices located in the centre of the town. It was actually quite far, farther than she had anticipated and further than one should probably ever want to walk in red patent leather high heels. Despite having sore feet, Zora knew she needed to calm herself down after such a hard, very weird and just extremely out there day.

As she slowly walked along the streets lost in thought, she came upon a building that had stairs leading down to what looked like a bar or pub of some sort called the Oasis. Stopping, Zoraida, contemplated quietly the building before her for a long moment, for some reason it reminded her of an English pub that she used to frequent sometimes when she was younger and studying in northern London.

And before she could think twice, Zoraida found herself descending the stairs and opening the door to the bar. The Oasis was exactly as she suspected and hoped it would be. Small, cozy and welcoming, and it had that English pub vibe that she had been expecting. Glancing around, she saw that it was actually quite busy and that most of the tables had people sitting at them. Deciding then and there, that she could use a moment to rest since her feet were killing her, Zoraida walked over to the bar, hopped up on a bar stool and waited for the bartender to come over and serve her.

@Fletcher

Waiting patiently for the bartender to serve his other guests, Zoraida looked around the room and smiled. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves, and as she focused in on her surroundings, she realised that there was jazz music softly playing in the background. Loud enough that you could hear it if you listened carefully, but not so loud that you had to shout over it.

Smiling as a very well-dressed, tall and dark-haired man placed a coaster in front of her, Zoraida realised that he was actually the bartender. Not expecting this, she unconsciously sat up straighter in her seat, and proceeded to order, "I'll have a glass of your house red wine, please, " then before he could say anything Zoraida suddenly changed her mind, "No wait, make that a gin and tonic instead." she said deciding on a drink she hadn't had in years.

@Fletcher

Zora quietly watched the tall impeccably dressed bartender as he went off, without a word, to make her her drink. Watching him with some interest - the oddest things fascinated her sometimes - as he grabbed a glass, the tonic water and the gin, and pour it together before setting it down in front of her.

"On the house?" Zora remarked questioningly, visibly surprised and touched, yet unsure why he would do such a nice thing for her. "B-but, why?" she asked, not really used to people buying her drinks - at least not in a normal bar situation where she wasn't trying to pick up guys or have a good time.

@Fletcher

Zora nodded slowly at the bartender's words, rather amazed at his uncanny intuition. Then she looked again at her gin and tonic in front of her, reached out and wrapped her hands around the glass for a moment, enjoying the coolness of the drink. She had had a bad day... a freakingly weird day actually, not just bad. However, Zoraida had thought she had managed to hide her agitation quite well, so the fact that the bartender had noticed, caused her a bit of consternation.

Glancing up at him, she stared for a brief moment at the bartender, watching him dry glasses, and then she smiled, appreciative in a way that he could actually tell she had had a bad day. Not many could actually, and if they did notice they rarely, if ever, asked her what was wrong. She guessed that was what happened when you became "the boss" - or as her brother liked to called her, "the b!tch in charge", though it still didn't make her feel any better. She had come to find that being the one in charge was often lonely and somehow wished it could be different.

"Thank you." she finally said, "And you are not wrong. I have had a very strange day...Perhaps stranger than I've had in a long while if I'm honest." she admitted as she took a sip of her G & T, savouring the bitter sweetness of the gin.

"You are quite busy, today..." she stated as she watched people pay for their drinks, as the bar slowly started emptying out.

@Fletcher

Zora quietly considered the barkeep's words about strangeness, she wasn't too sure if what had happened today made her life any better. In fact, she felt like it was worse, parts of her life were spiralling out of her control. She felt she couldn't control anything that was happening and it frustrated her.

"I don't know about that. This day was strange, but not in a good way... I can't see things having an overly happy ending." she sighed.

"Have you ever had a family member pull you unknowingly into something that could have dire consequences? My brother seems to have angered somebody very powerful, and now I must clean it up... she explained tiredly as she absentmindedly traced a pattern with her manicured finger on the sheen of her cold glass.

@Fletcher

When he asked if her brother was younger or older, she truthfully had to think about the answer. Zora was older, she had been born first, but Tomas was now older than her in human years because she had stopped ageing.

"It's my little brother," she finally said, "I'm the oldest." - which was true, she just didn't look like it and would never look like she was the older sister again. She'd always be a young woman of 27 - forever - while her brother continued to age.

"Unfortunately, it is..." she said with a frown as she adjusted herself on the bar stool, crossing her legs before her as she let a highed heled shoe dangle from her foot and took another sip of her cold drink. "Some dark cultist chap with a bunch of fanatical followers..."

"I have no idea why my brother likes to piss people like that off," she suddenly added, "It's like he gets some sick thrill from it." she stated as she looked at the bartender as if he might offer her some nugget of wisdom.

@Fletcher

Zora nodded in agreement about little brothers always trying to pick fights. Tomas had always been quarrelsome, deliberately provoking her into heated arguments, and when he lost a fight, he'd even try to curse her. Sighing, Zora finished her gin and tonic, the ice clicking against the glass as she set it before her on the bar top...

Maybe, she hadn't tried hard enough, or been patient enough with her brother? All she knew is that now he seemed to resent her to the point of hatred, and she was afraid she couldn't do much about it.

"Actually... it's worse than that." she admitted with a wan smile as she slowly twirled the empty glass, looking up at the bartender after he mentioned cults and brainwashing, remembering Altizica's follower and how he had just seemed to accept everything his leader did and said.

"My bother basically broke a business deal with them, keeping something that the cult leader wants back. " she said, "And now, I'm supposed to get it from Tomas - who, I am pretty sure, will tell me to f-off..." she explained, not actually sure what she was going to do.

"Any suggestions how to deal with crazy?" she suddenly asked the dapper looking bartender, trying to make light of a very bad situation.


@Fletcher

Zora continued to twirl the empty glass before her as she listened to the bartender’s advice. No, she didn’t have the package - yet. But she could have it, and she wondered what that piece of advice would’ve been then. But for the moment, she put that thought aside as it was irrelevant as he said.

She agreed with his comments and understood that while they were rather vague, it was probably advice that would suit the majority of people or situations. Unfortunately, her situation wasn’t that normal and she wasn’t the majority of people.

Nodding, she sighed, smiled and looked up at the bartender as he worked. “Well, since I don’t have the luxury of not getting involved, my brother’s life sort of depends on my intervention,” she admitted somewhat reluctantly as she lightly slid her empty glass toward the bartender indicating that she wanted a refill.

“I guess I will take your advice about stress…” She said with a friendly smile.

@Fletcher

"Something off the shelf, not too bitter, but soft and bubbly?" Zoraida said, repeating the bartender's words, visibly intrigued at his suggestion. Whatever it was, it was completely the opposite to what she was drinking now.

"And I can make this at home?!" she said confirming what they bartender had told her, She had never considered making her own cocktail, drinks at home before. The idea actually did interest her. "Would you mind showing me how to make this drink later?" she asked him as she accepted the refreshed drink.

Then, as he explained the second idea to her to relieve stress, Zora let out a good-natured laugh. "Well, it looks like a good book and bed is in my future then," she answered with a wide grin. She didn't have a boyfriend, and her closest relationship at the moment with anybody was with her personal secretary, Maria. who answered phones, did her shopping and brought her coffee. Besides, she also hated any exercise that include sweatpants, leggings or a gym and couldn't see herself having the time for such an activity anyways.

@Fletcher

"That would be great." Zora said smiling when he agreed to show her how to make the cocktail in question."For the moment gin and tonic are about the only drink I know how to make, that and a whiskey on ice, but I don't think that counts as making a drink." she laughed.

"A massage?" she said, nodding at that ithat idea, thinking that it might work, "that's not a bad idea. Do you give massages to here," she asked curiously, taking a sip of her drink, as she glanced around the bar wondering where the bar might offer such a service.

" I will have to check that book out," Zora said the title somewhat familiar.

@Fletcher