How do you like your coffee?

Every person has that one wish that they want to come true some day. As it turns out she had a plethora of them and she kept making amendments to the wish-list every year. Her major was Computer Science but that wasn't going to hamper her dream to be a story teller; maybe, some day. She never had a clue as to what she would write or speak if given an opportunity; she always thought that she'll know somehow. Maybe the day they were walking around in the mall trying to figure out where to go and eat was the one when lady luck had decided to be in her favor. She wasn't the one normally looking out for eating spots, well mainly because they would do that for her but the name of the cafe was so catchy that she couldn't resist. The name read in very funky letters - "How do you like your coffee?" which was a bit too many words and there was a sign that read, "People who enjoy coffee and like to listen or be listened to are welcome." Now that was the place she had to go and drag them along with her; they like it or not, so off they went and grabbed the seats that were the farthest from the podium. They had agreed to go that particular place of all the other places only because of one sole reason - she had very credibly said, "Of course I am gonna go up there and speak." Little did she know that she would get such cold feet that she would refuse to leave her seat. However, things have a knack of working out when you least expect them to be; the music that had been playing changed to a song which wasn't in the billboard's top 10 but was one her favorites - "Stressed out by twenty one pilots." She took it as her cue and got up and went up to the stage and was grateful to who so ever decided that it would be nice if no one gave their introductions.


Of the million things she could have talked about, of the million things she wanted people to listen, she knew exactly what she was gonna say when her eyes locked with theirs. And so she began.

"To all the people who are expecting a story or a poem of some kind, I am sorry because I am gonna be a disappointment. I am not a writer or a poet, I don't know how to use infallible metaphors or similes or paradoxes that will leave you in awe. I am just an ordinary girl of 25, still figuring out what to do with her life and in the midst of all the uproar and vehemence of life decided to take a break to spend the day with the people who defined friendship for me. I like the music that you people are playing and the current song is one of our favorites. "Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days", yea I am not a singer either."

When the light laughter had conceded she went on,"I have known these people for over 8 years now and I still remember people saying - 'Life is gonna move on hon. Once you leave high school, you'll find new people and then after college yet more people to come.' As silly as it may sound now, this thought left me in a peculiar predicament; I didn't want new people unless they were clones of the existing ones. I won't deny the fact that I met new people but not all of them managed to stick around."

She took a small pause as if trying to put her incoherent thoughts into a proper order but failed so she ended up saying whatever came first to her mind,"It's always nice when we're kids but then life happens and we have to do something to survive; I just didn't understand why does it need to be described as an end of an era or something because it's not the end of anything. Do I wish to go back in time? Sure, I do; give me a time-turner and I'd probably be the happiest person on this planet - no hyperbole intended. I wish a lot many things, I wish we could spend every single day together without a worry under the sun, I wish none of us have to go to work ever and also I wish if we could get an ice cream truck or something but isn't that a bit too delusional?"

She could hear them laughing silently for delusional was probably what we were but she tried hard not to stop and continued instead,"People often ask me if I miss them and the only response I have is a terse 'no'. I am not pretending to be apathetic or anything but that is the truth, I don't miss them. Sure I miss the days we had together because they no longer exist. But these people do, they're still the same people they were 8 years ago, we figure out ways to take a day off the tedium that our life can be if it were not for each other, we don't let go of a single moment to pester each other and they still love food. And I know nothing has changed for I don't need to ask them if they listened to what I was babbling about. I am 100% sure that they were multitasking - listening to me and thinking in the back of their minds where to go next."

The coffee house erupted with a round of applause which she interrupted by saying, "Most people have their own version of the definition of life and friends and love. For me all these add up to them and never listen to any one who says things change as you grow up. Maybe certain things are supposed to - you can't be in the final year forever but not everything has to change." She added something which made them go back in time, "Well, if anyone's interested, I like my coffee not too strong, not too sweet and with a pinch of the secret ingredient." Amidst all the clapping hands she could see their faces laughing and smiling and happy; the song had changed and there was a new face sharing his story when they decided to go some place else.

Circling around a table,she was sipping the chocolate thick shake and they were hogging their burger, when she asked, "So, how was it?" to which they replied, "It was really nice" and went back to chit chatting about this and that. It was as if he was waiting to say, "Well, it was definitely an 8/10." She wanted to shoot him a death glare but somehow she couldn't contain her laughter and all of them burst out laughing so loud that she was sure a few people were staring but she didn't care; people didn't know the joke but they did.