Black as Midnight

"That's very kind of you." A hand was extended, hoping the other would take it in a hand shake. "Special Agent Dale Cooper, but most just call me Cooper. I'm in town on an investigation." He held up his other hand, once again offering a little smile. "Not to worry, I should be back just in time to make that hour window."

the fallen had gone back to washing the dishes, hands moving in familiar motions his eyes keeping control but occasionally his gaze does skip to the other still. not that he would be so concerned what happens to a bag of coffee beans, but rather the peculiarities of this man were a sight for sore eyes. he'd seen plenty of weird people throughout his life but few were as odd and yet as positive as this man.

speaking into a tape recorder... well, why not? securing a bag of coffee beans... that was a funny way to put it but if anything, the poet could appreciate bringing a little drama and excitement into the ordinary. there was something perfectly reliable about the other, too. perhaps it had to do with the fact that antoine managed to serve two more customers and when he got back to his post, the man was still talking, ever so patiently describing what felt like all the creases and crevices of this particular bag. he'd almost felt bad taking it back from him.

"... You mean, I could purchase that from you?" Cooper extended a finger and gestured towards the object in question. The idea of coming back was incredibly alluring, and the agent figured that he could get what he needed done and easily return before closing time. He held up his hand, quietly asking the other to give him a moment as he checked his watch and did the math.

his hands remained busy while listening to the other's utmost polite interruption, his eyes a question mark until he'd figured out what the other was stumbling over himself to ask. he smiled, wiping his hands upon a washcloth and reaching over to grab the same brand bag as the one he was using to prepare the coffee.

“Diane, I managed to secure the bag that the coffee grounds came from.” He said, attempting to keep his boyish glee in check, “It’s a Canadian brand. Relatively new. Bridgehead is the name. I find the packaging rather charming. It’s a simple design: tan front with the company’s logo printed at the top. It appears to be someone on a bicycle, perhaps toting along bags of fine coffee beans.” He continued like this, practically describing in almost excruciating detail what he held in his hand before carefully handing the item in question back to Antoine.

“Coincidence and fate figure largely in our lives.”

“How’s _____?”

“I need to brush my teeth.”

“Black as midnight on a moonless night.”

“I have no idea where this will lead us. But I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.”

“Secrets are dangerous things.”

“There’s nothing quite like urinating in the open air.”

“Every day, once a day, give yourself a present.”

“They’ve got a cherry pie there that’ll kill you.”

“I only have time for coffee.”

“I never liked the name _____. Always wish I had been born an Apache and named Ten Sticks. Why, I do not know.”

“Now I’m going to go down and get us two malts and some fries downstairs. Then I want you to tell me all your troubles.”

“I’m holding in my hands a small box of chocolate bunnies.”

“I have become deeply moved by the plight of the Tibetan people.”

“Surprisingly, I met three people on the dance floor who were also Eagle Scouts. One of them still seemed particularly interested in the tying and use of knots.”

“I am honoured beyond my ability to express myself.”

“Give me a doughnut.”

“What kind of fantastic trees have you got growing around here?”

“Are you still seeing this… Dick?”

“The feel of leather against skin is a surprisingly sensual experience.”

“File it under ‘F,’ for ‘forget it.’”

“Surefire cure for a hangover. You take a glass of nearly frozen, unstrained tomato juice. You plop a couple of oysters in there and you drink it down. Breathe deeply. Next you take a mound, and I mean a mound, of sweetbreads sautéed with some Canadian bacon and chestnuts. Finally, some biscuits, big biscuits, smothered in gravy. Now here’s where it gets tricky. You’re going to need some anchovies. You take…”

*thumbs up*

“I’m talking about seeing beyond fear. About looking at the world with love.”

“I could bury you in a building so deep in Washington, you’d never see the sun.”

“I work for you now. You say drink coffee, I’ll drink coffee.”

“I believe I was visited by a giant last night. Twice.”

“Nothing beats the taste sensation when maple syrup collides with ham.”

“Think I have made a terrible mistake going to college. Have decided to become a shepherd and spend my days tending to flocks of goats.”

“You know why I’m whittling?”

“Is that bag smiling?”

“Gentlemen, when two separate events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object in inquiry we must always pay strict attention.”

“Never drink coffee that has been anywhere near a fish.”

“Without a doubt, I am a-okay.”

“All things considered, being shot is not as bad as I always thought it might be.”

“Urination lasted a full two minutes. Can safely say that they were the two most satisfying minutes I have ever spent in my short life.”

“Find the attraction of academics pales in comparison to sex, particularly when one is not getting any.”

“You know, this is—excuse me—a damn fine cup of coffee.”

“I would highly recommend it as a substitute for sex.”

“I believe for the first time in my life I know what love is, because I have lost it.”

“_____, you’re alright.”

“Sleep deprivation is a one-way ticket to temporary psychosis.”

“I became a public health threat at about the forty-four-hour mark of sleep deprivation.”

“Could you call a doctor?”

“This must be where pies go when they die.”

“My symptoms suggest the onset of malaria, but I’ve never felt better in my life.”

“Now I find myself in need of something new, which, for lack of a better word, we shall call ‘magic.’”

“It’s not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind.”

“Well, I’m sure he meant to do that.”

"Did you hear that noise? It sounded like it came from the basement."

"I told you we should have never entered this house. We need to get out of here."

"What was that figure we saw in the woods?"

"It didn't look human."

"We should stay together and find a way to escape."

"This place gives me the creeps. It feels like we're being watched."

"I have the same eerie feeling."

"We need to find a way to uncover the truth behind this."

"Did you see that? The painting just moved!"

"I don't think we're alone in this house."

"We have to find a way to break this curse."

"There's something strange about this town. People seem to disappear without a trace."

"We need to uncover the secrets that lie beneath the surface. It's the only way to stop this horror."

"What's that sound coming from the attic?"

"Let's stick together and search for a way to escape this nightmare."

"I can't shake off this feeling that we're trapped in a never-ending loop."

"It's like we're caught in a time warp. We must find the key to break free from this cycle."

"I just found an old diary with disturbing entries."

"It seems this place has a dark history."

"We need to piece together the puzzle and uncover the truth before it consumes us."

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"We need to find a way to appease the spirits."

"We should have never opened that cursed artifact."

"Now we're trapped in a nightmare of our own making. We have to find a way to reverse the curse."

"This fog is getting thicker, and I can't see anything."

"It's like we're trapped in a labyrinth. We must stay together and find a way out."

"The shadows are moving."

"I think something evil lurks in this house."

"We have to find a way to banish the darkness and reclaim this place from its malevolent grip."

"I found an old book that contains dark rituals and incantations."

"We must destroy that book and put an end to the dark forces it has awakened."

"This place is cursed. We need to perform a ritual to break the curse."