The case of the unusual cup of coffee.

There was a house, an old and dusted house, rusted gates, deep down a hill, almost reaching the bottom of it, sharing the narrow space with dead plants and spooky trees. Nothing seen to be living down that foggy place. The sun light would hardly touch the house, only the longest ray would reach it, and just enough to make it barely visible.

although it seem nobody lived there, there was three dogs outside the house, black and big, angry and vicious dogs. Inside there was only one small old weak dog. There was also three sleepy lazy cats, an old lady and her mother, who was much older than her.

Every day, both ladies would follow the same ritual. with no words to be spoken, they would wake up, the old lady would make herself a fresh cup of black coffee with no sugar on it, and make her mother the same amount of the beverage, but with two small spoons of sugar. And there they would sit, in the dusted dark dinner room, in a wooden table with four chair which only two would be empty since two cats would always be sleeping on the other two.

The old lady would have only black coffee while her mother , beside her coffee, would also have a slice of old toasted bread with a spreaded chunk of butter. This scene usually would repeat twice a day, once for breakfast and another after lunch.

But one day all this changed.

The old lady, after lunch, brought her mother the same steamy cup of coffee, sweetened with two small spoons of sugar and a small coffee spoon aside the saucer, resting it right in front of her mother. She then, set on her usual side of the table, rested her head on her arm and felt asleep.

Seem her daughter sleeping, the mother felling forgotten and alone, ran through her mind many thoughts, and stucked with a particular one she had never thought about it.

Time passed and the old lady woke up. She saw her mother with an empty cup of coffee on one hand and a small coffee spoon on the other, looking at her in such excitement she had never seem her mother before.

The mother then, pushed slowly the saucer with the cup towards her daughter, handled her the spoon and, breaking that creepy silence sad:

“- Do you know how many coffee spoons of coffee there are in a coffee cup?”

The old lady, astonished with the mother action, just nodded negatively in doubt, while the mother, catching her breath, answered herself:

” – 83, there are eight three spoons of coffee in a coffee cup!”

the daughter then asked hopeful for the answer:

“- But was the cup half full or hath empty? “

Her mother just looked at her, bent down her head and nothing answered. Both looked at each other and quietly, decided to keep the same routine as usual, no words would be changed from then on.

(Special thanks to my mom (63) and grandma (96) who served of inspiration for this “case”. The case, with nothing of the creepy stuffs, was real, my grandma really did counted how many coffee spoons of coffee there were in a coffee cup, and the result were 83! For further information, the cup was complete, as complete as my grandma happiness and life!)

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