
The machine had been sitting in the storage room for so long that even the spiders stopped visiting it. It looked like scrap metal that should’ve been thrown out ages ago.

The machine had been sitting in the storage room for so long that even the spiders stopped visiting it. It looked like scrap metal that should’ve been thrown out ages ago.
The station owner didn’t want to spend a single dollar on new equipment, so when one day he noticed the old unit suddenly glowing and, somehow, working without being plugged in, he decided the problem had solved itself.
Now the BrewMaster has new functions, new buttons and a cool new title – absolute unit.

Classic black coffee.
Regular milk, from a quite regular cow.
Sludge of unknown origin. Judging by its look, that’s probably for the best.
Something like frozen yogurt, but with a hint of a blizzard.
Lava, but if it’s in a cup, it somehow forgets it’s supposed to burn a hole through it.
Fog that seems unusually fond of being in a cup.


This bucket has definitely seen better days. For years, it was used at the station to scoop water out of the flooded basement after every heavy rain. Eventually it ended up abandoned in the back room, rusting away, getting dented, until it wasn’t good for anything anymore. It was thrown in the trash, where it should’ve stayed for good.
This bucket has definitely seen better days. For years, it was used at the station to scoop water out of the flooded basement after every heavy rain. Eventually it ended up abandoned in the back room, rusting away, getting dented, until it wasn’t good for anything anymore. It was thrown in the trash, where it should’ve stayed for good.
But one night, something strange happened.
From deep inside the rusty, misshapen metal, a beam of light burst out so bright it lit up the entire parking lot. No bulb, no battery, nothing inside, yet the bucket glowed like a lighthouse, as if someone had trapped a piece of daytime inside it.
Since that night, this old, useless bucket has become part of my gear. Sounds ridiculous? Probably. But once the clock hits 8 PM at this station, you stop thinking too much about it.
