Creating Your Café Self and the Company You Keep
Before you settle into your first full visit, there is one small, lovely thing to do. You get to decide who you are when you step through the door.
Not in a complicated way. Not in a “build a character” way. Just enough to give the story a gentle sense of continuity and comfort, like returning to a favorite place where you are already known.
If you are brand new to The Lamplight Café, you may want to start with How to Play and then come back here. That page walks you through what a visit looks like from beginning to end.
If you are already familiar with the Café, take a seat. This part is meant to feel easy and a little bit fun.
Who You Are in the Café
Your café self is not a fantasy version of you and not a character you have to perform. It is simply you, arriving in a quieter setting where you are allowed to move at your own pace.
To begin, write a few gentle details at the top of a fresh page in your planner or journal.
You might include:
- A name you want to use in the Café, which can be your own or a nickname
- The season you imagine it is when you arrive, whether that is an actual time of year or the season of life you are in right now
- What you are usually wearing when you come in
- One word that describes how you tend to feel when you sit down to write
There is no need to name a time of day unless it feels natural to you. Some people arrive in the quiet of the morning, others late at night, and many somewhere in between. All of those versions belong here.
You do not need to make this clever or poetic. Simple is better. These details are just anchors, and you can change them any time you want.
How You Tend to Arrive
Everyone arrives at the Café a little differently. Some people come in quietly and head straight for their favorite spot. Others arrive carrying a lot and need a few minutes to settle. Neither way is better than the other.
You might want to write a sentence or two about:
- What usually brings you to the Café
- Whether you arrive feeling tired, curious, hopeful, or unsure
- What you are hoping this space will offer you right now
This is not something you need to analyze or explain. Think of it as setting the tone rather than telling a story.
Your Café Companion
Most regulars at The Lamplight Café are not entirely alone. Somewhere in the Café, there is a cat who seems to match your energy. This cat does not speak and does not require attention, but it has a way of appearing exactly where it feels most comforting.
Your companion might:
- Sit nearby while you write
- Curl up in an empty chair
- Appear only on quieter visits
- Wander off and return when you least expect it
You can decide what your cat looks like, where it tends to settle, and how it behaves when you are writing. Or you can leave those details vague and let them emerge over time.
This companion does not have a job to do and does not need to show up every visit. Cats are like that. Their presence is meant to be comforting, familiar, and entirely optional.
Carrying This Forward
Once you have created your café self, you do not need to rewrite these details every time you visit. You simply carry them with you.
When you return to the steps on the How to Play page, you arrive as this version of yourself, choose a room in the Café, and let the prompts guide the scene. Over time, your visits may begin to feel connected, not because you planned a story, but because patterns naturally start to emerge.
Some nights will feel more story-like. Others will feel like straightforward journaling. Both belong here.
A Gentle Reminder
Nothing you write on this page is permanent. You can change your café self with the seasons. You can arrive differently on different nights. Your companion might disappear for a while and come back later.
This page exists to make the experience feel welcoming, not restrictive.
When you are ready to begin a visit, return to How to Play and take a seat in the Café.
And if you ever want to revisit the heart of what this space is meant to feel like, you can always return to The Lamplight Café.
The door stays open.
The lamp stays on.