Forty Years of a Lie
Moving stories often happen around us, and maybe they are around you.
Occasionally, I heard such a story and was very moved. I wrote it down in a hurry. Regardless of whether it was good or bad, I hope more people know it, because it is indeed a very special and true story...
He met her at a banquet. At that time, she was young and beautiful, and there were many suitors around her, but he was a very ordinary person. Therefore, when the party was over and he invited her to drink coffee with him, she was surprised, but out of politeness, she agreed.
Sitting in the cafe, the atmosphere between the two of them was very awkward. There was no topic. She just wanted to end it as soon as possible so that she could go back. But when the lady brought the coffee, he suddenly said: "Please bring some salt, I am used to putting some salt in my coffee." At that time, she was stunned, and the lady was also stunned. Everyone's eyes were focused on him, so that his face turned red.
The lady brought the salt over, and he put some in it and drank it slowly. She was a very curious woman, so she asked him curiously: "Why do you add salt?" He was silent for a while, and then said slowly and almost word by word: "When I was a child, my family lived by the sea, and I always soaked in the sea. The waves came over, and the sea water rushed into my mouth, which was bitter and salty. Now, it's been a long time since I've been there. When I go home, adding salt to my coffee is a sign of being homesick, so as to bring the distance closer." She was suddenly moved, because this was the first time she heard a man say he was homesick in front of her. She believed that a man who is homesick must be a man who cares about his family, and a man who cares about his family must be a man who loves his family. She suddenly had a desire to talk and told him about her hometown thousands of miles away. The cold atmosphere gradually became harmonious. The two chatted for a long time, and she did not refuse him to send her home.
Later, when the two dated frequently, she discovered that he was actually a very good man, generous, careful, and considerate, in line with all the characteristics that she admired in a good man. She was secretly glad that thanks to her courtesy at the time, she didn't pass him by. She took him to every cafe in the city, and every time she said, "Can you please bring some salt? My friend likes salt in his coffee." Later, just like what was written in the fairy tale book, "the prince and the princess got married and lived happily ever after." They did live happily, and they lived for more than forty years, until he fell ill and died not long ago.
The story seems to be over, if not for that letter.
The letter was written by him before his death, to her: "Forgive me for lying to you all the time. Do you still remember the first time I invited you to drink coffee? The atmosphere was so bad at that time. I felt very uncomfortable and nervous. I don't know what I thought, but I said to the lady Bring some salt. Actually, I didn't add any salt. Now that I said it, I had to admit it was wrong. Unexpectedly, it aroused your curiosity. This made me drink coffee with salt many times, but I was afraid. You will be angry, and I am even more afraid that you will leave me because of this.
Now I am not afraid anymore, because I am going to die, and dead people are always easy to forgive, right? Getting you in this life is my greatest happiness. If there is an afterlife, I still hope to marry you. To you, it's just that I don't want to drink salted coffee anymore. You don't know how bad it tastes. How did I come up with the idea of adding salt to coffee?” The content of the letter surprised her, and she felt like she was being cheated. However, he didn't know how much she wanted to tell him: "How happy she is that someone can commit such a lifelong deception for her...
