Life With(out) Archie

Source: www.departmentofuseless.blogspot.com

It was a quiet day at the Chok’lit Shoppe. The place seemed empty except for the lone figure of Pop Tate hunched behind the already gleaming kitchen counter, swabbing away the tiny salty drops that kept trickling down onto it. He would have been at it all day had he not heard the main door creak open and silent footsteps make way to the farthest table in the room. Their favourite corner, the table they sat at, sometimes all day; taking his advice or driving him up the wall. 

But today was different. One of the chairs would be empty. He had spent hours standing at the table that morning wondering whether to remove the chair but then it had always been there. It would always be there. 

He glanced outside straining his teary eyes, catching a glimpse of blonde and long black hair as he turned back to his cleaning. The door had opened again, this time it didn't take him long to recognize the heaviness in the footstep; he immediately turned towards the stove to grill an enormous hamburger for the latest entry. But the footsteps had stopped, not as usual near his counter, sloppily calling out the order, but at that corner table. A routine of decades had just been broken by his hungriest customer. The crown like beanie hat which he abhorred was missing from the boy’s head; it was a day of firsts as far as this fella was concerned he thought, tears now flowing down his cheeks, wetting his perfectly maintained mustache.  

Source: www.rollingstone.com

Pop wondered if he should go say hello to his favourite people but for once his feet wouldn't move. The door opened again, but not with the brashness or the force the folks entering usually opened it with. With drooped shoulders, the three trudged in. Trio, they were today- The big “Duh” boy, his long time girlfriend and the conceited guy who always chased her around. The door had almost closed shut when the tiny little nerd walked in with their athlete friend and his girl friend. All trooped towards the corner table, joining the rest of the gang. He looked at the door waiting for it to open one last time and he wasn't disappointed. In walked a tall lanky girl and went straight to the boy she had adored years before but had never been with. Before anyone could react, they had engulfed in a hug and burst into tears.

He couldn't believe his eyes anymore. For years he had watched his favourite group of people and the relationships they shared. The brawls that took place and the brickbats that flew. The friendship that developed and the love that bloomed. The animosity between rivals and their patch ups too. He had seen them bitch and later cry on each others shoulders, sometimes even lending his own. But never had he seen them all so quiet and silent. 

He closed his eyes hoping it was all a bad dream. Slowly he opened them, praying fervently to see what he had seen all these years, them laughing and joking at their favourite table in the farthest corner of his cafe. But that was not to be. Amid the stillness, all his eyes could see was the empty chair where once sat their red haired freckled friend, the one whose absence had destroyed the world as they had all always known it to be.

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This post is a small tribute to Archie, the lovable yet accident prone and confused boy we all grew up with. Come July 2014, Archie will be dying a heroic death while saving a friend.