Prompt: 

"Let's check out table four, where the five guys sit." As we stepped outside into the pouring rain, I told Pipaluk, " I'm curious about why they acted so decisively against the man on the blind date and why they ended up beating him up." To my surprise, my companion held an umbrella over my head. He thought about this this time, and we didn't have to rush, huddled up to avoid getting wet.

I appreciated his thoughtfulness, and as we made our way toward the dark alley where we usually performed the jumps, I thought about how I couldn't recall his ever being so considerate in all the time we had spent together. He had always shown me his grumpy side, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember why I had fallen in love with him in the first place. He seemed deep in thought as we walked in complete silence, the only sound being the pleasant tapping of the rain.

"Would you mind if we took a longer break before our next jump?" I broke the silence when we stopped. "My cat has been acting strangely, almost like she senses I've been jumping through time. Last time, when you only gave me two hours to rest, she went completely crazy when she saw me..."

"Fair enough, sure, take a break. I could use one, too; I've got a few things to look into. How about 24 hours? Is that enough?" Pipaluk agreed.

"That's perfect!" I was thrilled because I hadn't expected to get that much time. The job offer had been friendly, but Pipaluk had managed to secure funding for the project, and as a freelancer, the extra income was welcome. He specialized in researching abnormal time travel—that was his main focus.

That one day flew by quickly. I felt like I had regained my cat's trust, and as my departure neared, she no longer bristled or ran away from me when she saw me. But that took constant attention. To avoid confusing her, I didn't disappear in the room but left through the front door and activated the time travel outside.

Pipaluk was already waiting in the dark alley.

"I hope you had a good day because I broke up with my girlfriend!" Pipaluk greeted me and casually linked her arm with mine.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I quickly replied.

"Don't be; it's for the best. Maybe Mary's part cat or something because she's been acting increasingly irritable. We spent the whole time arguing..."

"You've never been the most patient person," I said. As we walked into the pub and saw the familiar walls, I felt a strange sense of unease, like we didn't belong here. Yet, the Waitress cheerfully greeted us, calling after us that she'd be right with us, just like always.

"It was because of your cat," Pipaluk said as he sat down and pulled out his headphones and the little device he used to monitor table four. "That pink cat of yours is pretty unnatural. It was your dream as a little girl, but as a grown woman, it's more of a silly whim..."

"So, it took me ten years to discover that Flamingo was why you were always so grumpy?"

"Is it still the same cat?" he asked, and after I nodded, he continued, "How long do cats live? That would make it about thirty years old now."

"Something like that, yes. Flamingo has a few quirks, sure. But she's a sweet little beast!"

Pipaluk remained silent. The boys had come and seated at their table, so he merely shook his head disapprovingly and put his finger to his lips, signaling me to shut up.

Someone else arrived, too—the Waitress with two beers. As I took a sip, I gave Pipaluk a significant look. "Don't you think it's strange that the waitress didn't even ask if we wanted beer?"

Pipaluk stared at me with wide eyes. "Are you sure we didn't order beer?"

I shook my head no. He was deep in thought, jotting something down in his little notebook.

Meanwhile, the five boys ordered shots and stood up to toast. I didn't quite understand why they stood so theatrically, staring at each other.

"Gentlemen, let's get to the point!" one rushed in a deep baritone voice. "It's here."

We heard something being unwrapped and placed heavily on the table before them, making a loud thud. We couldn't see what it was because four of them sat on either side, and the one sitting with his back to us, the one speaking, blocked everything with his broad shoulders.

"This is the mask. Please don't touch it!" I saw the others lean closer to the mysterious object, examining it intently. "And this is the picture. Just a simple Rorschach image, but the key is, whoever can guess what the picture represents, the mask will grant their wish."

"That's nonsense!" one of them replied. "You didn't mention that before! The point of Rorschach's images is that everyone sees something different. Psychologists use them. Everyone interprets the inkblot differently. I already didn't believe in this, but I'm sure it's all a scam!"

"Come on!" the deep-voiced one retorted. "But what if it's real? Can't we give it a try? Just think about it! You could have a wish granted!"

"Peter! Where did you even get this mask from? If it were real, would someone part with it like that?" another boy asked.

"Everyone only gets one chance; that's probably why they gave it up. And I paid a lot for it," Peter replied.

"You paid for it?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point. You face the mask, look it straight in the eyes, think about the image and what it represents, and then focus on your wish, and that's it! Whoever gets it right, their wish—whatever it is—will come true."

Pipaluk fidgeted and signaled that he was going to take a closer look. He stood up and headed toward the restroom but went dangerously close to the boys' table to sneak a peek at what was in front of them. I held my head, thinking he was being too bold, but fortunately, they didn't notice because they were too absorbed in debating whether or not the mask had magical powers.

When Pipaluk returned, he leaned in closer and whispered what he had seen. "It's a snake-like skeleton head with big bulging eyes, and it seems to shimmer in purple or maybe smoke; I'm not sure—it's weird. Then there's the picture, which is a Rorschach image. I think it shows the root structure or a bare branch of a tree."

I didn't respond; I just smiled and could see that the whole thing also amused Pipaluk. As a scientist, it was hard enough for him to digest the previous witchcraft story, let alone this one!

The boys ordered another round of drinks, and when the Waitress brought them, to our surprise, Peter asked her, "What do you think the picture represents?"

The bald Waitress studied the drawing for a long time, even lifted it, giving me a chance to see it too. When she put it down, she thought it looked like a raccoon. Then she hurried off because Lily had just ordered her second cocktail.

The boys laughed a lot, and so did we. "A tree and a raccoon are pretty far apart," I whispered to Pipaluk.

"At least in terms of imagery," he agreed.

The boys at table four also laughed it off, but then Peter turned severe.

"Gentlemen, I'll go first. Then let's take turns in order. Let's be serious—this is important to someone!"

They passed the mask around, each taking it in their hands, though some were still chuckling.

"Your eyes are so deep, I could get lost in their beauty!" one of them teased, to which Peter angrily hushed him, telling him to be serious.

Then the incident with the blind date man happened—or at least, Pipaluk and I had thought until now that the mysterious stranger who tried to climb out of the window did so because Lily had locked the door.

However, when that figure leaned out of the window and shouted that he wanted to come down, Peter was the first to jump up, hissing angrily through his teeth, "He's wearing a raccoon hat! Did you see that?"

But by then, his head was no longer visible—just his legs, moving downwards.

"Do you think this has something to do with the mask?" another boy asked, and that's when the whole scuffle began. They tried to push him back in while Peter and the boy sitting to his right ran outside.

I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face while Pipaluk stared at me in confusion.

"I don't get it at all," I explained. "It's like this place is deliberately messing with us."

"And that's why you're laughing?" Pipaluk shook his head, but he was just as puzzled.

"I'm laughing out of frustration. We'd finally learn something about our time traveler today. Still, the plot keeps getting more convoluted—now with this seemingly irrelevant side story about the man whose legs we keep seeing."

"I'll note it—we should look into this too. We still have three tables to listen to, and now we have this raccoon hat guy," Pipaluk scribbled in her notes.

Meanwhile, the remaining boys grumbled to themselves about not taking the wish too seriously and speculated about who the stranger could be. The Waitress closed the window, and as she put the long rod back in place, which she used to reach the window latch, she stopped in front of the jukebox and fiddled with something there.

I watched what she was doing, and as if she sensed it, she looked back into my eyes. That's when that Depeche Mode song started playing over and over. The Waitress's gaze stuck with me because it was the first time I noticed what she was doing.

"Write down the Waitress too. I find her strange as well. Oh, and note that we should order something other than beer next time—maybe a cocktail."

"Cocktail?" Pipaluk asked, surprised.

"Yes, just to be sure whether we ordered or not, " I said, starting to flip through the drink menu.

Peter and the other boy came back, swearing, and sat down. "It was a raccoon hat, look." He tossed something onto the table. "We gave him a good beating and chased him off."

"Is that real? Is this a raccoon's preserved skin and head?" another boy asked, disgusted.

"He said the snake head sent him to fulfill a wish," Peter said seriously. "I told you it works, but you didn't believe me. You joked around and laughed at me."

"Did everyone make a wish?"

Nods followed. "Did anyone's wish come true?" They shook their heads and then started listing what they wished for—some wanted money, fame, and health, and one guy specifically wished to pass his exams, while Peter wanted to get together with some girl.

"What if this guy managed to steal the snakehead's power? What if his wish comes true?"

"No, that's impossible. The raccoon hat man didn't even touch it or have the chance because we intervened, and he couldn't even face it."

The boys at table four continued debating, trying to figure out what had happened. Above our heads, that black, orb-like thing started swirling. I noticed two things: first, no one else seemed to see the orb, and second, the tall girl sitting with the boy turned around once after the orb popped as if to get a better look at the jukebox, and for a moment, she seemed confused. But it happened so fast that I needed to see if I had seen it right.

"Next time, I'll choose!" Pipaluk said as he took out his earpiece, signaling that he thought nothing of interest would happen at table four anymore.

"So, can we conclude they have no connection to time travel?" I asked.

"It seems that way. Of course, if one of them had said they wished for time travel, that would be suspicious... but there's nothing here."

Outside, as usual, the rain was drizzling, and Pipaluk held the umbrella over my head.