A Spoonful of Salt

submitted by Alan Maley, UK

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, all the guys were chasing after her. As for him, he felt so ordinary and nobody paid attention to him. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised, but being polite, she agreed. They sat in a nice coffee shop, but he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and thought, please, let me go home.... when 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 salt? Why not sugar?” He replied,”When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea and the taste of the salty sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have salty coffee, I think of my childhood, think of my hometown. I miss my hometown so much, and I miss my parents who are still living there".

Tears suddenly filled his eyes. She was deeply touched by his words. A man who can reveal his homesickness, must be a man who loves home, cares about home, feels the responsibility of home. Then she also started to speak, about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family….her life. And that was the beautiful beginning of their story. Later, after their marriage, every time she made coffee for him, she put a spoonful of salt in it as she knew that was how he liked it.

40 years later, he passed away, leaving her a letter which said:
“My dearest, please forgive me. My whole Life has been based on a lie. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time. I 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 would be the start of our life together! I wanted to tell you the truth many times in but I was too afraid to do that. Now I'm dying, I’m afraid of nothing so here is the truth: I don't like salty coffee – I hate the taste… But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!”