Episode: Cafe (English Version) } #Wattys2016

Episode: Cafe

I arrived at table 16. A steward guided me to here, then he went.

There was a girl that I very knew, and she knew me. But her face was palm at that moment. I thought that she wanted me here to tell her own story, as usual, whenever she had problems. And no problem for me, because I was such a good-listener.

That time was morning, but she was cloudy. The cafe had just opened, so I couldn't see visitors except us. Wood tables dazzled warmly. The coffee's aroma smelled so good, it made my day. I remembered, it was espresso, my best friend that would always stand by me when I'm alone.

Not that time - I was with my close friend.

"What's wrong, Alicia? I've lost your shining eyes," I told her. "This world won't start crumbling because of existence of only one problem."

Alicia, that girl, ignored my words. Her dejected eyes just looked at her phone screen. Her finger scrolled up and down, and sometimes scrolled to right and left.

"Come on, this is still morning. Today is too delightful for sadness." Alicia still didn't answer me. Her tears were fallen to the table. He looked so bad and couldn't tell any word. But, was my shoulder openly for being a place to cry on, wasn't it?

Her tears flooded, her eyes are swollen. Then she looked here and there, and went into the toilet to wash her face.

I actually had known what she browsed on her smartphone. There were short messages. There were chats. There were photos of a man. I realized that this time was different like what I used to listen. Before this, Alicia had told me about her 'poisonous' parents. Yes, 'poisonous'. They like to interrogate. They love to interrupt. As a child, Alicia didn't get what she deserved on. She wasn't listened. All she told was meaningless for them, because they convinced that they had so many experiences than she had, whereas the age is not a guarantee to be mature for real. Look around, there are parents who act like children, and their children think maturely than their parents - hey, and they don't realize and don't ever accept that reality. In my mind, they won't ever change until the death comes.

I actually satiated with Alicia's story about her parents. My tongue would ask out loud, "Can we talk about another topic?" But, no. I couldn't bear herself to get that kind of response. I just wanted to be a good-listener. I knew that the only thing she wanted was a friend to express her soothes.

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15 minutes later.

Alicia went back to the table. I spoke to her, expecting her response.

"How do you feel now, Alicia? Are you getting calm now?" I asked. How poor I am, she didn't answer.

I'm here for you, but why don't you tell me what's on your mind?

I began to be restless. I was waiting for hours, in front of her, but seemed as nothing. She was still busy with her phone, and sometimes wiped her tears when it appeared. Sigh, why should I be here, on your eyes?

Am I just a coffee cup?

"Alicia, your coffee isn't warm anymore. She didn't tell any word. But finally she realized that I'm right. She then slurped her cold coffee.

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30 minutes later.

The situation wasn't changed. She couldn't tell. The thing she could do is crying. And I still don't get any point.

At final minutes, Alicia dropped her phone on the table. Her finger swiped up and down on the screen. I read some rude chats and messages which made me didn't bear with her. I then couldn't say any word - as she did to me.

She clapped her hands twice. She called the steward to pay a cup of coffee that she'd ordered. The steward gave her a book for tips, the price was only 1.8 bucks. She nodded after put 2 bucks inside the book. As usual: no change. The steward smiled, and left us alone. Afterwhile, she prepared to go, still no words -

- even her heart, it didn't tell any. Her heart was too dewy. Even her mouth that was really silent.

She was mute.

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10 minutes later.

Alicia had gone sadly, 5 minutes ago. She left me alone. I was humming Kenny G's song that was dimmed from the speaker. Oh, I was alone.

Tell me, who can lives in loneliness? No one - even an introvert. No one - even like Alicia.

Yes, like Alicia. She just needed to be listened. She didn't need to be interrupted. She was human-being, just like us. She just needed to be treated as others. Human only treat another as a human. They who don't, classified as animals.

Is there a human like me, who understands the language of silence?

The steward then came to my table, table 16. He persuaded me to go. "You must not be alone," he said to me, "Let's make friends."

Ah, my friends are there. They were sitting as a group, close to the sink. They were cups of coffee - like me - who also could fall into loneliness.[]

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