I stared at the ‘M’ and it stared back at me. The glistening golden arches: a beacon of light amidst the darkness. A lighthouse in the fog. There was no greater blessing in life than a McDonald’s down the road. It was a reminder—a routine—that no matter how bad life got happiness was but a happy meal away. It was especially wet that miserable Monday morning. I was cold, knackered, and soaked to the skin. I was also disappointed that I still hadn’t managed to get enough diamonds despite mining all night.  Ten minutes.  I checked the timetable again just to be sure. Ten minutes until the bus arrived. I slumped onto the bench, sighed. I looked over at the McDonald’s down the street. They had posters advertising their new Caramel Cappuccino. In that moment freshly ground, roasted, steaming coffee smelled like heaven’s nectar to me and I had found myself in the McDonald’s before you could say ‘Bada da da da daaa.’ It was the same as always. The tiled floors. The rows of seats, some lofi-beats. The abstract walls, placed between dining areas. The laminated wood counter. Some ginger who looked like he had been getting high in the back alley. The store was barren, not another customer in sight – which was rare. It was always busy. I made my way up to the register. The order was simple. Americano. Been a while since I last had one (was more of a Monster Energy person). I found an empty seat, sat down and waited. A black tray had slid itself onto my table and with it my coffee plus a thin wooden popsicle and packets of milk and sugar. I looked up at the waitress. “Order number one?”  And that was...