Loveday Writing

Describe an ordinary, everyday scene that has, however, one disturbing element**

Last Meal

Who had the bright idea to open a restaurant where you dine in the dark?

Silhouette was the latest trendy restaurant where you’d walk in and greet the maitre d’ in a well-lit room, almost like any other restaurant, except that the maitre d’ stood in front of two closed, heavy velvet curtains that kept the dining area hidden.

Walking through the curtains into complete darkness was crazy and oddly, a little scary. It’s amazing how an ordinary, everyday place can become scary by just turning the lights off. Think about it, the breakable plates and glasses, the knives by the plates, the tables and chairs becoming more of a trip hazard, not to mention the possibility of hot food being thrown at you if a waiter or waitress slips or trips as they serve you. Not knowing where you’re going transforms it into a dark labyrinth.

It’s also amazing how quickly your hearing compensates for your vision. I could hear a group of what sounded like twenty-somethings talking about how shocking the latest episode of Euphoria was at one table, what sounded like a married couple in the middle of a ‘very different’ date night at another table, and a woman dining alone reassuring her mother on the phone that she was still happy as a 30-something single woman.

It’s also amazing what you can get away with in the dark. No-one could see me steal the bottle of vodka from the bar, using some of it to dampen the napkin and lighting the match. The patrons could see the glow from the fire briefly before I smashed the bottle on the ground and walked out.

After this disaster, no-one will go with this stupid idea for a restaurant again.

**Reference: Marsden J 1998, Everything I Know About Writing, Pan Macmillan, Australia.