He
met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after
her, while he was so normal, nobody paid attention to
him.
At the end of the party, he
invited her to have coffee with him, she was
surprised but due to being polite,
she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to
say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself,
"Please, let me go home..."
Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some
salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared
at him, so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt
in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why you
have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I
lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the
taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now
every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood,
think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents
who are still living there." While saying that tears filled
his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from
the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness,
he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has
responsibility of home... Then she also started to speak, spoke
about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.
That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their
story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man
who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted,
warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him!
Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every
beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, and then
they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee
for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's
the way he liked it.
After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said,
"My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's
lie. This was the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee.
Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time,
actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me
to change so I just went ahead. I never thought that could be the
start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many
times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have
promised not to lie to you for anything... Now I'm dying, I
afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth, I don't like the
salty coffee, what a strange bad taste... But I have had the salty
coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for
anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness
for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to
know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to
drink the salty coffee again."
Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her,
"What's the taste of salty coffee?" She replied,
"It's sweet."