A Bullish Dream

“I feel my hooves hit the mildew-covered grass. Brrmm, brrmm, brrmm, I feel my leg muscles push against the ground, propelling me through the crisp air. Brrmm, brrmm, brrmm, my head sways from side to side taking in the night sky awash with stars. Brrm, brrm, brrm, I inhale feeling the cold air through my long snout; my gait setting the rhythm for my breaths, brrrm, brrm, brrm, I feel fre-”

“ENRIQUE WAKE UP YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE”

He quickly dressed, leaving a shower for another date and time. He had to be at work at 6 and it was now 5:45. He grabbed his apron, khakis, and t-shirt, the uniform for most baristas, before running downstairs to get a ride from his father. “Why are you always late? Why can’t you take anything seriously?” His father said, through pursed lips and a furrowed brow. “I don’t know, I don’t care that much papa” Enrique responded, through defeated sighs. He arrived at 6:01, “Wow you were on time for once” his co-worker, Amber, quipped through her bright youthful smile, partially hidden by her chestnut hair. At once he heard the bell of the front door ring. “Here we go…” he thought to himself.

“I’ll have a latte with almond milk”

“I’ll have an americano with honey”

“I’ll have a vanilla latte, half the sugar” “How much sugar?” “Just half” “okay”

“Black coffee”

“ Coffee of the day”

“Latte with soy milk”

“A breakfast sandwich with half the meat” “They are pre-made” “Could you just pick out half the meat?”

And so on, went his life; a monotonous movement of constant coffee, standing at the register, and shuffling back and forth between coffee machines. He knew this isn’t what he wanted, he could feel his life slipping away, being sold to a culture of early-morning hustle fueled by caffeine. He desperately waited for his shift to end so he could go home, where he could once again escape into his dreams; where money didn’t limit his ability to exist. A reality whose only limit was the boundary of his imagination, a vast plane of opportunities for him, to experience life to its boundless extent.

“ Brrmm, brrmm, brrmm, I feel my hooves hitting the grass again. Brrmm, brrmm, brrmm, I look to my left and see the monumental mountains, still guardians of their lands. Brrmm, brrmm, brrmm, my legs brush along the thick grassy field. Brrmm, brrmm, brrm, my horns sway back and forth with a robust grace. Brrmm, I spot something at a distance. I move towards it; a patch of yellow. A patch of yellow what? Brrm, brrm, brrm, I rush toward this patch of yellow, excitingly increasing my speed. I’m intrigued by the vivid beauty. I stop my tenacious sprint with an abrupt stop. I feel my long torso reeling behind the sudden stop, huff, huff, huff, my breath is still catching up with me. However, it is now taken away by the beauty of these rare golden-yellow flowers, a bright patch amongst the long deep-green grass. As I take in the depth of this field a light begins to rise and I move my heavy head upwards to take in the rising sun’s blanket of resplendent sunshine laying on the landscape”

“ENRIQUE WAKE UP YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE”

“ Almond latte please”

“ Americano with stevia”

“I’ll have a vanilla latte, half the sugar” “How much sugar?” “Just half” “okay”

“ Coffee of the day”

“A breakfast sandwich with half the meat” “They are pre-made” “Could you just pick out half the meat?”

“My god when will this be over” he desperately thought while he went to look at the clock above the kitchen door. “Fuck it’s only 6:45 I’ve been here 45 minutes.” He desperately thought as he bowed his head to clean some spilled coffee on the counter.

He then heard the chime of the bell on the front door. As he slowly turned around to greet this unknown customer, in walked a woman, with thick bouncing curls of golden-yellow hair, draping down her head and resting on a deep-green turtleneck. He stood still, shocked by the depth of her green eyes. “I'll have a medium chai latte with cinnamon,” she said to him, her smile framed by pink lips sprinkled with a few freckles. “I- yeah- yes- okay” he nervously stammered, trying to hide his blush and the sweat developing on his brow. As he rang her up, stumbling around the tablet, he noticed she was holding a white box.

“Okay…. one uh second,” he said. Enrique turned around to make the drink, trying to sneak a peek out of the corner of his eyes, at this big white box when out of the kitchen came his co-worker, Amber. “Hello! Alina! How are you?” she excitingly squealed. “ I’m doing great! How are you?! It’s been so long I’m so glad you are back in town!” Alina enthusiastically replied. “Aw thank you! It’s good to be back” she said with a beaming smile on her face. “Hey, what’s in the box?” Amber asked. “Well, because you are back, and I haven’t seen you in so long, I made you a cake!” Alina replied. “Oh my god! Thank you! Let me see!” Amber eagerly said. By now, Enrique had finished making the chai latte with cinnamon and was turning to hand it to Alina when she opened the box and he saw… that inside was a cake decorated with golden-yellow flowers, great mountains, and a large grass field. “It’s a vanilla cake, I based the decoration on our favorite place to take pictures!” Alina said and as she finished her sentence, the morning sun began to rise and lay a sweeping rich layer of light into the coffee.

Enrique immediately recognized the scene from his dream and was standing in confusion when Alina said, “Would you like a piece?” “Yes of course,” replied Enrique. He took the plate and leaned his back against the counter. As the fork went smoothly through the tip of the piece of cake his mouth began to water and his heart, oddly, began to flutter. He raised the small piece closer to his mouth, taking in the fluffy white texture contrasted by the solid green-sugar decoration. He took his first bite and thought to himself, “Oh. Fuck yeah. This is what I’ve been fantasizing about.”