He met her on a party. She was so outstanding, many guys were chasing 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 accepted. They sat in a nice coffee shop. He was too nervous to say anything. She felt uncomfortable. She thought, 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 do you have this strange taste?”
He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea and 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. She spoke about her far away hometown, her childhood, and 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 met all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person. Thanks to his salty coffee!
Then the story was just like every beautiful love story. The princess married the prince, and they lived happily ever after. 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.
Forty years later, he passed away, leaving behind a handwritten letter which said:
“My dearest, please forgive me, forgive me for having lied to you. This was the only lie I have told 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 with the salt.
I never thought that would be the start of our relationship. I tried to tell you the truth many times, but I was too afraid to do that, as I had promised not to lie to you for anything.
Now I’m dying, I’m afraid of nothing, so I’ll you the whole truth. I don’t like salty coffee,—what a strange bad taste. But I have had the salty coffee during my whole life since I met you. I never feel sorry for anything I did for you. Having you beside me was the biggest happiness of my whole life. If I could live again, I would still want to share my life with you, even if I have to drink the salty coffee again.”
Her tears made the letter totally wet.
Some days later, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?”
“It’s sweet,” she replied gently.
