Nothing in the morning makes sense before a cup of coffee. It's like his brain doesn't even turn on until the smell of coffee reaches his nose. Mughizh's parents always complain about his caffeine addiction, but there is no life when you keep the source of happiness away. Besides, it's not like he is addicted. He can survive without coffee; Mugizh just doesn't want to.

Not able to contain his desire for that rich cup, he rushes to the office canteen. Because his mind was only focused on the caffeine, Mughizh didn't notice the girl walking towards him with her own cup. By the time he did see her, it was too late. His shoulder had bumped into her, pushing her sideways and causing the cup to fall. 

Luckily, both of their outfits survived the encounter, but the same couldn't be said for her coffee. The cup was broken into pieces, and the heavenly drink splattered around the shards. The girl looks with a sad pout at the pitiful state of her coffee. 

"I'm so so so so so so sorry!" Mugizh apologizes fervently. 

"It's ok," she says in a softly sad voice. Looking at the watch, she turns to her friends nearby, informing them, "Oru 10 minutes la meeting ah join panniren."

"Jashika, innoru cup coffee vaanga poriya?" Her friend asks.

"Athuku time illa ippo. Itha clean pannitu vanthuren." Taking one last look at her coffee sadly, Jashika heads to grab a mop.

Mugizh looks at the retreating girl guiltily. As a huge coffee lover, he knew how awful it is to drop your cup and not have any time to get the morning fix. To correct the crime he committed, Mugizh rushes to the counter and orders two cups of coffee. Once the attendant gives him the cups, he calls his friend Satish. Ever the charmer, Satish knows almost everyone in the office, especially the girls.

"Hello machi! Namma office la Jashika nu yaarachu irukuraangala?" Mugizh asks his friend.

"Jashika va? En team than. Pona varam than seranthanga. Yen machi kekura?"

"Aprom solluren. Avanga desk enga iruku?"

"En pakathula than. Oru rendu seat thalli."

Immediately cutting the call, Mugizh rushes to Satish's desk. Surprised, Satish takes a look at the two cups in his friend's hands, then asks dramatically, "En mela avlo paasama? Ennaku coffee vaangitu vanthuruka?"

Without replying, Mugizh takes a pen and a sticky note from Satish's desk and quickly scribbles a message on it. 

Unga cup ah thattivitathuku sorry
Ungalukaaga
Oru Cup Coffee

Satish observes his friend take one of the cups to Jashika's desk with the note. Apo nammaku illaiya antha coffee.

"Enna machi nadukuthu?" Satish asks with slight irritation. 

"Iru iru..." Mugizh says distractedly as he sees Jashika approach her desk. Her sad pout turns into a smile when she notices the cup on her desk. After reading the note, she looks around and catches Mughizh's eyes. Realizing he was caught, Mughizh immediately turns around.

"Dai... enna da ithu!" Satish asks a little louder.

"Onnu illa. Theriyaama avanga coffee ah thatti vitten canteen la. Meeting ku time aichu naala thirupi coffee vanga mudila pola. Romba paavama irunthuchu. Athan..." Mughizh explains. 

"Oru ponnu naala paavama iruku la?" Satish asks sarcastically. 

"Cha cha... apidi lam onnum illaiyae."

"Apidiya? Nethu en coffee ah thatti vittu, olanga nadakka theriyaatha nu naaku pudika maathiri keta. Nyabagam iruka?" He reminds with a knowing look. 

"Athu... athu naala than unnakum oru cup vaangitu vanthen! Theriyaatha ponnukae vaangi tharen, en uyir nanban ku vaangi thara maatena?" Mughizh tries to manage, handing his cup to Satish.

"Uyira vaangama odi poidu," Satish scolds, sending his friend away without his coffee. Mughizh looks longingly at Satish enjoying the rich caffeine before heading to his own meeting. 

The meeting finally ended after an hour, but there was no time for him to buy another cup before the next meeting. Sadly, Mughizh heads to his desk, only to be greeted by a steaming cup of coffee sitting next to a note.

Thank you for the coffee
Unga cup ah senior kitta koduthatha paarthen, so ungalukaaga
Oru Cup Coffee

Mughizh looks around and catches a glimpse of Jashika's doe-like eyes gazing at him before walking away in a hurry. Smiling internally, he inhales the alluring smell and relishes the taste of the coffee. For some reason, it was a little sweeter today.

For the next 3 months, Jashika and Mugizh would leave a cup of coffee on each other's desk, writing some excuse on the note to justify the oru cup coffee. Satish would observe this as a silent spectator, wondering if the duo will ever talk to each other.

"Ippadiyae oru cup coffe, oru cup coffee nu iruntha eppadi... next step poga vendam?" Satish asks his friend finally.

"Next step ah?" Mughizh asks confused.

"Pinna? Ipo lam ellarum Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp nu start panni, live-in, kalyanam, kids nu poitu irukuraanga. Nee enna na innu coffee letter nu irukura. Konja speed up pannu machi."

"Machan... intha high speed life la konja slow panni paaru, semmaiya irukkum. Ithulam oru feeling. Sonnalaam puriyaathu."

"Ippadiyae slow va iru... Anga unga amma ennaiya dhinamum thitturanga. Etho nee kalyanam panna kuda naa sonna maathiri. Poraka mudiyaama, avangala unnaku ponnu paathutanga," Satish informs the breaking news. Satish and Mughizh knew each other from childhood, so Satish was close with Mugizh's mother.

Mughizh looks at his friend shocked. "Unnaku eppadi theriyum?"

"Amma than sonnanga. Ponnu family kuda en kitta unnaiya pathi kettanga. Kavala padaatha, unnaiya pathi ellam nallathu than sonna. Nee ponnu paathu ok sonna mattum pothum... adutha nalla naal la unnaku kalyanam."

Mugizh looks at Satish in irritation as he takes a sip of the coffee he got from Jashika. It was clear to him that even though he wasn't in love with Jashika, he felt something for her. On the first day, when Jashika stayed back to clean up the mess and sacrificed her caffeine fix, he felt some respect towards her. That respect slowly turned into attraction when they started exchanging coffee and notes. He hoped that she felt the same way.

But his mother had to snip the budding feelings before they could blook with this marriage proposal. As if she knew he was thinking about her, Mughizh's mother calls him. 

"Amma! Ponnu paakura vishayam en sollala?" Mugizh asks the second he attends the call.

"Solla than koopten, athu kula antha Satish paiyen ollaritan pola. Neeyum yaarachu love pannuva paatha pannala, athan naanae paathen. Unga office pakathula etho Java Beanz nu oru coffee shop iruku la? Anga nalaiki morning 8 manikku antha ponna meet pannu. Pesi pudicha mattum than kalyanam, seri ah?" 

"Seri seri!" He answers, knowing that he can't dissuade his mother from this, with her already to combat his complaints. "Seri antha ponnu per photo lam thara maatingala?"

"Yen? Antha ponna Facebook la kandupudichu, reject panna sollathuka?" Well, that plan was a failure. "Naa un Amma. Nee enna lam seiva nu ennaku theriyaathu? Olangu mariyaathaiya antha ponna nalaiki meet pannura." With that warning, his mother cuts the calls, leaving an annoyed Mughizh whose mood couldn't even be lifted by his coffee.

The next morning, Mughizh wore his crisp navy blue shirt with a clean pair of jeans for the meeting. A part of him felt like he was cheating on Jashika even though they aren't together. Even the excitement of getting coffee couldn't lift up his mood.

Exactly five minutes before the arranged meeting time, Mugizh was sitting at the table near the entrance of the cafe, waiting for the girl to show up. His leg was constantly bouncing under the table, indicating his nervousness. 

"Excuse me, sir, what would you like?" A waiter asks him.

Before he could answer, a soft familiar voice answers, "Rendu cup coffee?" 

Mugizh looks towards the sound of the voice in shock, unable to believe that Jashika was standing in front of him with a shy smile. He could feel his own lips beaming in response. Who said coffee is bitter? It was the sweetest thing for him right now.

How did you like this short story? I literally wrote this during work so it's not perfect 😅

I think I conveyed my love for coffee in this really well.