Coffee Stained Napkin

"What would you like to order ma'am"?
"Just a dark coffee, thanks!" I placed the same order as I had five years ago. I looked at the setup of the coffee house, a lot has changed. From the light shades of the curtains to the flower vases, almost everything was revamped. The once fresh flowers were now replaced with fake plastic ones just like my life. But one thing remained unchanged, it's the napkin papers they used to have on the tables.

It seems like it was just yesterday when we had our first coffee here. We both were in twelfth grade and went to the same school but started talking only when we happened to join the same coaching institute. We barely ever had a real conversation except for the times when I would lend him my notes. I remember the time he went for a holiday during the weekend and asked me for the notes when he got back. On our next class together he came up to me and asked if I would have a cup of coffee with him in the canteen during break. I could totally sense his shyness and replied with a prompt yes!

From the beginning I was always a fan of dark chocolate, dark coffee even dark colored dresses, I always loved wearing black until today. And he was devoted to sugar as he always wanted his coffee with extra sugar in it. It still makes me smile when I remember how parallel yet converging we were. In between our talk that day he cracked a joke and spilled some coffee on the napkin paper lying just by the side of his cup as he wasn't able to control his laugh. I laughed along, not at his joke but at his child like act of spilling coffee. The bell rang and the break was over. As he hurried to the class I stole the napkin and hid it in my pocket, at that time I barely had a clue of why I did it. I was one careless girl but somehow I have safely kept the napkin till date, it is still in my purse today. This coffee house became the witness of our infinite laughs together, petty fights and secrets and most importantly the time when I first touched his hand. This might seem old school but nothing can compare to the elephant marathon I felt inside my stomach.

Unlike other couples, we never asked for a picture perfect future like the ones in Ed Sheeran songs. We just wanted us to be together always, that's all. We never wanted to run away from the couple fights, arguments, ups and downs but only wished to have each other by our sides. I had fantasised us to be in a wonderland bit like Alice, for me too it never came true. In my plans there are still signs of the soil I threw on his coffin today. His parents, who were soon going to be my in-laws wanted to get a dark brown coffin but I requested to get one with light coffee color. Remembering all those times a tiny drop of saline water trickled down my cheek and I used the same coffee stained napkin to wipe it off.

"Here is your dark coffee ma'am. Would you like anything else?"
"Yes, get another coffee with extra sugar please."
Sitting on this chair alone today, I feel like an empty vase whose essence has gone away with the dead flowers but no one has ever thrown a vase away just because the flowers dried, but also nothing makes it more complete and beautiful like the first set of flowers who engraved its existence on the vase.