The Watcher by Bogdan Dragos

the bartender was displeased
with him
and the patrons
didn't like him
much either

He was the
sickly,
slender man who
came at opening time and
sat at the table by the window,
watching the people
outside

he sat there
until closing time

problem
was, he
occupied that
seat for so many hours
in a row
with only one drink

usually
a cognac

sometimes he would
mix all sorts of
pills in it
and wait for them to
dissolve

some did
others didn't

Regardless,
he sipped at his
drink
and watched the people
outside
and spoke to nobody
and seemed never to
be bothered by noise, like
he was deaf

and the days passed
and the weeks
went by
and he'd show up without fail

When they did talk
about him
they called him
The Watcher
and speculated about his
mental illness

However,
when I went to the bar
myself
to look for him,
he was simply not there

And I asked around for
The Watcher
and the patrons
and bartender alike knew not
what I was talking about

Dammit, I've been played.

I sat down
by the window
and ordered a cognac

Didn't feel like
talking to anyone anymore