He'd seen them all: lovers, liars, dreamers, and pretenders. He'd seen the lucky and those whom luck had forsaken; winners and losers... and cheaters.
Some were here to "go somewhere"; some were here because they had nowhere to go. Some came to nourish the soul; some came to forget they had one.
Most were as ordinary as the summer day is long; a few seemed to have stepped in from another world.
This was the place where deals were struck, promises were made, and broken; where one might find a soul mate or a bed mate, or may take in the flow and tangle of voices, melodies, and bodies from a lonely corner.
None of them stayed for long, though. Dreams faded, plans faltered; the appeal lost its luster in the light of day, with strong coffee in the mug rather than ale. Perhaps some of the ambitious ones, or the lucky ones, moved on to pursue those plans and dreams. He didn't know... none ever stayed for long -- except for one, and she curled into the crook of his arm every night after cleaning up the messes.