New World New Life 167 Nudel Monstre Noodle Monster

The signboard had the image of a pile of spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce all over the top with too-large eyes on them. A spaghetti monster that was holding a fork in one hand. Tonight was the night as indicated on the invitation. 

Vy and Lycster had been scouting out possible locations for the entire day. Based on what they had gathered so far, the restaurant they stood before in the present was the place they had been searching for. 

A sniff in the air and you could smell the aromatic fragrance of sizzling onions in oil amongst other fragrances. The signboard looks have opened eyes on spaghetti which looked like hair. The pair of siblings walked up to the entrance of the restaurant. 

While they waited for someone to greet them at the door, they peered into the restaurant to take a look. The decor was colour themed with exposed brick interior and white linen tablecloths on each table. 

The restaurant reminded Lycster of Memory Lane back in the Prism Sector, which only caused his stomach to growl in hunger. It was so loud, that even Vy could hear it. She chuckled as she assured him that they would get some food as soon as they were seated. 

Not before long, a waiter dressed in a white buttoned-up shirt under a black apron came out to greet them. He had short dark brown hair, green eyes and a small name tag pinned on at the top right-hand side of his apron. 

"Good Evening. Welcome to the Nudel Monstre. My name is Kasper and I will be your server for the evening. Table for two?" he asked cheerfully with a smile. 

Lycster and Vy exchanged looks, they must be in the right place! Vy nodded to Kasper and he led them into the restaurant. As soon as they entered, and the door closed behind them, the atmosphere had completely changed. 

Out on the street, there were bustling noises all around. Different restaurants filled with customers on their open-air balconies chatting and merrymaking. Yet within Nudel Monstre the atmosphere was not overfilled with conversation. There was live music playing in the background while the chatter of other tables was kept at a minimum. 

Similar to The Memory Lane, each table seemed to have its own sound bubble. Hence, the overall sound level of the restaurant was under control. Kasper led the siblings to a table near the performance area, where a small band and singer were performing. 

The ambient music paired well with the singer's smooth voice. As Vy and Lycster were seated, Kasper handed each of them a menu and also read them some of the specials they have this evening. 

"Our specials this evening are the carbonara spaghetti with smoked honey bacon, grilled salmon on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes with a side of roasted zucchinis and bread pudding."

"Thank you Kasper, we'll let you know when we're ready to order," Vy replied. 

Kasper nodded and went off to serve the other guests. As Vy and Lycster settled into the restaurant, they were distracted by its impressive detailed decor. The exposed brick walls were lined with many framed photographs and vintage items on display. 

Even the lights in the restaurant were not common pieces you could find elsewhere. Vy looked through the menu and realised that they had lots of options, all of which sounded absolutely delicious. 

But, based on the invitation, it would seem like they needed to order a specific dish. The line of the riddle read. Eat worms, liquid bird and melted cow. Comparing the list of dishes in the menu that would match the description, the answer soon came to her. 

As Vy looked at the cutlery that had been placed on the table, she noticed on their table had a small stand with the symbol of an opened eye. A closer examination on the symbol confirmed that it matched the symbol found on the letter. 

-Keep your invite in eye.- Vy recalled one of the lines of the riddle. 

She placed the invitation in the small stand. 

Looking through the menu one last time, they were ready to order. Vy waved over Kasper who came back to them as soon as he could. Vy had already discussed with Lycster what to order so she had them down on a list. 

"I would like to get two of the carbonara spaghetti and two glasses of iced lemonade carbonated water." Vy read out her orders. 

Kasper recorded down their orders on his notepad. 

"Is there anything else you would like to add, perhaps some dessert?"

"Oh! Can we get the bread pudding? That sounds amazing," Lycster exclaimed with glee. 

"Sure, let's add one of that in then," Vy replied. 

Kasper nodded as he jotted that down on his notepad and repeated their orders back to them. After that, he took back the menus from them and went to hand their orders over to the kitchen. As Kasper left them, Vy and Lycster started to talk. 

The atmosphere in the restaurant helped to lighten their mood, as they spent the time admiring the details in the decor of the restaurant. From the framed photographs and paintings on the walls to the clay pottery on display on the shelves. 

Everything about the restaurant seemed to share a uniformed vibe. Vy also noticed that the patrons in the restaurant were from different backgrounds. Some wore their finest outfits, adorned with jewellery pieces and intricate embroidery while others were more plainly dressed. 

Lycster had been on high alert as well. The invitation they had gotten was from a mysterious source after all. After all that they had been through, he was not willing to take any chances. Looking on at the restaurant patrons enjoying their meal and the light music that played in the background, it soon dawned on him that this was just a regular restaurant. 

Kasper returned to their tableside with their drinks. He placed down around coaster next to each of their cutlery before putting their carbonated lemonades down on the table. 

"Nothing looks out of the ordinary sis," Lycster whispered to his sister as he continued to scan his surroundings. 

Chapter end