My friends and I stopped in the coffee shop to sit and drink and talk. I almost ran into Jessica, who had stopped in the doorway. She ushered us back outside quickly.
“Batman’s in there,” she whispered frantically. Her face was red and there were tears forming in her eyes.
“What?” Grace asked. “Seriously, why’d you make us come back out here?”
“Seriously.” Jessica pointed at the door. “Batman is in there.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. Jessica always was one who would say something cryptic and expect us to follow her thinking.
“It means—” She opened the door so we could see inside. “—freaking Batman is in the coffee shop!”
Seated at a table not far from the door was a man wearing black clothes and a black hat. He was watching us peek in the door at him, and I wondered just how crazy he thought we were.
Jessica shut the door and we backed away as we saw someone else walking toward it.
“So…he’s Batman why?” Grace asked.
“What do you mean, ‘why?’ He had the whole get-up.”
Grace looked at me and I sighed.
“A black hat and sweater aren’t exactly a Batman outfit,” I said. “Maybe he’s just not a colorful person.”
“That wasn’t a sweater! Or a hat. He had the mask and all. You guys didn’t notice? Over in the back corner?”
“Oh…no, I was looking at the guy right up front here.”
“I was looking at the guy in the corner,” Grace said. “But isn’t Batman a fictional guy?”
Jessica stared at Grace silently for a few seconds before looking back at me. “Okay, look in there again, but this time look in the back.”
“I don’t want to stand out here looking in there again like some idiot. Let’s just go in.”
“But—”
The door opened then, and out walked a man in a full Batman outfit—cape, cowl, and all.
He turned our way and walked by us while we stared at him.
“Ladies,” he said in a gravelly voice.
After he left, Grace whispered, “He is Batman.”
Prompt used: You walk into a coffee shop and see Batman sitting in the corner booth.
A Journey of Words 