The seat facing the yard
The best view belongs to a seat that is uncomfortable after a while. People choose it anyway because they can see a vehicle approach without standing up. A reflection in the glass can obscure the gate, so the person waiting cups a hand beside their face and looks past their own table.
An order held open
The order pad includes small instructions that are not really orders: keep this warm, call when the van arrives, leave a message if the driver returns. The staff distinguish these promises from food requests by folding the corner of the page. Their informal system works until two people exchange tables.
A message beneath a cup
The county story ends with a note weighted down at an empty place. The recipient has left to check the yard just as the person carrying the message arrives. Nothing terrible happens. Two ordinary movements fail to coincide, leaving a sentence to do the work that a brief conversation would have done.
From the fictional county archive
The repair is finished. We moved the van beside the office so you would see it from your table.
Original world fiction published by Somatry. These location stories expand the setting for readers; they are not case evidence, walkthroughs or a list of confirmed playable DLC missions.