The first days at Uri Story were nice and quiet. Customers flooded and trickled at different times of the day and never at the same time except for the regulars. Vera had warned me about this, but since I had never worked at such a low-profile cafe, I didn't really know what to expect exactly.

   I followed Vera around for much of the hours, learning the ins and outs of the place, how certain knobs needed a bit more strength to turn, or how the restrooms are surprisingly clean- all the time. They were almost to the point that I questioned whether they'd ever been in use. I would’ve continued to question it if I hadn’t seen customers coming in and out.

   Speaking of customers, they did order at different times and never when they entered unless they were young newcomers. For some reason, the older folks never ordered at the counter. Instead, they waited to be sat before calling on us to take their order. And for reasons I don't know, Vera never corrects them.

   As far as I knew, it wasn’t a sit-in cafe. Orders had to be made at the counter like a coffee shop. Though, it didn’t matter much. The older customers knew the cafe better than I did, and I haven't seen these newcomers return for it to make a difference.

   "Aren't you afraid you're not retaining enough customers?" I asked Vera while we checked the kitchen inventory.

   "What do you mean?"

   I raised a brow, "the new people that come, they don't return."

   She seemed to think this was funny as she laughed. She didn't answer right away, keeping to stocking the fridge and finishing first before turning to me.

   "They return, you just don't remember."

   So, when my next shift arrived, I took note of all the new people I hadn't seen before.

   The door chimed open, but no one came in. I saw a foot and part of a leg.

   "You coming in?" By reflex, I asked.

   "Sorry, I was just making sure this is the right place." Black bookbag, black jacket, black boots, and black everything else.

   I would remember if she were a repeat customer.

   "I came here last time, but I got lost trying to find it again. I got the trees all wrong."

   When had she come? And trees?

   She smiled and then frowned as soon as I asked if she'd like to order a drink and or food.

   "Right," she rocked back and forth, leaning on the counter, "so, I had this drink that the lady made, but I can't remember what it was."

   We stared at each other for some time.

   "Guess, you don't either. Right. Not that I think that you should have remembered because you guys probably get tons of people coming in here."

   "Hibiscus berry tea. Iced." Vera stepped behind the counter, giving me a nudge. "Good to see you're back. Kristina, right?"

   The girl nodded in amazement. “Oh my god, you guys do remember!”

   I wanted to applaud. I had a particularly good memory, but I couldn't remember this girl at all.

   "What's with the look, it's so different from before." Vera got busy with making the drink as I registered the order.

   "Oh yeah. Remember that book you recommended me last time; it was a total eye-opener. Well, after coming here that day, I went home to tell my mom how I hated the dresses she bought for me. They're just so brightly colored. So not me."

   I tilted my head, finally remembering her.

   "The girl in the turquoise skirt."

   Both Kristina and Vera laughed.

   "Damn. You both have really good memories."

   "I don't know about me, but he definitely has good recall." Vera put a lid on the drink and slid it towards Kristina.

   That was only one of the many other encounters I started to have with the newcomers I thought never returned. Some were just like Kristina, who changed up their looks either permanently or so often, that recognizing them by voice became the constant. While others kinda blended with their surroundings so well, that the brief moment I usually got with them at the counter was not enough time to register their presence in my brain.

   Vera called it selective attention.

   She told me how most people function with selective attention. We hone in on details we think are important and blur out other information we think is irrelevant. It made perfect sense.

   "So, what, you trained not to have selective attention?"

   "I'm actually practiced in alternating, depending on what I think I should be using. At times, I'll be completely honed in on something, and other times, I notice everything. And of course anything in between those."

   I let the questioning end there.