SALTY COFFEE

Final Chapter – The End Marks A New Beginning

Soujirou stared blankly at the ceiling above him as he plopped himself into his bed, which he had not touched for the past three days. He was a tired man, both mentally and physically. Yuuki's funeral was a simple one, but everyone who attended the funeral had left his place, having a heavy heart.

" Doushite?" Soujirou muttered out flatly, blaming himself for not taking the trouble to question Yuuki further when he realized all those unusual heavy panting she had during her pregnancy. To think he had loved her so much and yet he was helping her with the digging of her grave without realizing it.

" Baka!" Soujirou cried out hysterically as tears gushed out freely from his already swollen eyes. Suddenly, Soujirou stopped his tears when he somehow remembered Yuuki's last words during that fatal day.

*****

" Don't speak. Save your breath for later." Soujirou pleaded as he tried to position the oxygen mask back onto Yuuki's face, but Yuuki stopped him. Despite herself, she managed to force out a serene smile.

" I…have…seen…our…baby." Yuuki stammered, with much difficulty.

" Yes. She is a beautiful baby." Soujirou commented in a melancholy voice.

" Give…her…the…most…beautiful…name…you…can…think…of." Yuuki requested and Soujirou nodded profusely.

" You have exerted too much energy just now. Don't strain yourself. We can discuss about our baby after you have recovered. We will chat all nights and don't you dare to fall asleep during the chats." Soujirou warned in a teasing voice, despite it sounded like it was going to break in any moment.

Yuuki smiled again and nodded weakly. " Don't…worry…I won't…" Yuuki assured, but her panting was getting heavier and heavier and her face became dreadfully paler than before.

With that, Soujirou quickly placed the oxygen mask back as he continued holding on to her hand, which was icy cold. Yuuki! Fight for the sake of the baby and for our undying love! Soujirou screamed from inside. Then, he felt an icy touch on his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Yuuki's intense gaze. He covered the hand on his cheeks with his. She mouthed a few words before she had her eyes closed and never to have them opened again.

" Under the pillow!" Soujirou suddenly cried out as he managed to pull himself back from those hurting reminiscences. Then, he quickly flung the pillows on the bed. Indeed, he found one envelope lying intact underneath one of them.

*****

My dearest Soujirou,

The first time we've met, you took my breath away. I was flattered and yet uncertain. My heart began beating like it had never beaten before.

The second time we've met, you took my nerve away. I was surprised and yet angry when you loosen your grip and said, " Happy working." My heart began skipping like it had never skipped before.

The third time we've met, you took my mind away. I was both puzzled and confused. Puzzled by your strange taste bud and confused by your character. My heart jumped like it had never jumped before.

The fourth time we've met, you finally took my heart away when you were waiting under that heavy rain without an umbrella and asked if we could be friends. I was so overwhelmed that my heart thumped like it had never thumped before.

My heart had been beating; skipping, jumping and thumping so much since the day you entered my life and it had never failed to do so even after we have been married for so many years. I am still the shy sixteen-year-old Yuuki who had met THE Nishikado Soujirou on that very first night.  

Please forgive me, forgive my carelessness for I have failed to see all those little signs my heart had been giving me before I finally had our first baby. This was the only lie I said to you --- MY HEART CONDITION.

I tried to tell you the truth many times during the past nine months, but I was too afraid to do that as I am afraid that you would want to me give up our baby, a baby, which we had been trying so hard to have. Please forgive the doctor and Tsukushi for not telling you my condition for I have so selfishly forced them into keeping it to themselves.

I really wanted my fairy tale to have a happy ending, but l guess I cannot be that greedy, can't I? So, here I am penning down this letter, a letter I hope you would never get to read, that is, if I were to come out from that delivery ward together with our first born and to see your smiling face.

In any case, should you be reading this letter now, please don't cry, for I have managed to leave you with something precious before I go. Our baby.

Now I'm dying, I'm afraid of nothing so I have to ask you one question which had been buried deep within my heart: WHY THE SALTY COFFEE?

I have once tried putting salt in my coffee, what a strange bad taste and it was definitely a taste that one would never get used to. But I have seen you drunk the SALTY COFFEE my whole life since I knew you. Maybe now I might never get to hear the answer from you, but I know you drank it just simply because I had added it in your coffee during each and every morning, naively thinking that you have such unique taste bud.

Until one day, the grimacing expression on your face, which you thought it was oblivious, had gotten my attention when you had the coffee washed down your throat. It was then I understood that it wasn't your unique taste bud at all. Silly me. Aren't I?

In fact, do you know that I was waiting patiently for you to tell me to get you sugar instead of salt whenever I was serving it to you? But you never requested for it. Just for this, you made me loved you more and more with each passing day.  

Having you with me is my happiness and no other man can give it to me. If I can live for the second time, I still want to be your wife, even though my heart would have to beat, skip, jump and thump extra hard again.

My dear, I have to go now for you are waiting anxiously in the living room for me to get dressed when I told you about my first contraction. Our baby is on its way out.

After my delivery, I would make sure that sugar is added in your coffee if I manage to come back and burn this letter. If not, do me favour, will you? STOP DRINKING SALTY COFFEE BECAUSE IT TASTED REALLY BAD!

Your love,

Yuuki

*****

Soujirou wanted to stop crying because he knew Yuuki did not want him to, unfortunately, his tears already made the letter totally wet before he could stopped himself from doing so.

*****

" Akira, tell me. When are you going find yourself a lady with the word 'single' indicated for her marital status?" Tsukushi questioned out disgustingly after Akira had finished his revelation of yet another lucky escape from his lover's antagonized husband.

" Ah…I prefer women with experience." Akira quipped and laughed when he noticed Tsukushi disapproving frown. Both Tsukasa and Soujirou laughed along as well.

" A tiger never changes its spot." Tsukasa remarked with a smirk on his face.

" A tiger has stripes, not spots." Tsukushi corrected with a sigh, both her hands up in the air. " It's a good thing our children are not here to witness their father's stupidity." Tsukushi said and succeeded in wiping that smirk off her husband's face.

" Hey, I only had the animals mixed up. Don't be so hard on me. Don't forget I am now your husband." Tsukasa protested out loud. Despite both of them were already in their early thirties and currently parenting two children, they were still seventeen-year-old at heart. Once a while, they would bicker over tiny matters like how they used to do during their courtship days.

Just when Tsukushi was about to overthrow his statement, she spotted two tiny figures running towards them. " Consider yourself lucky, Baka!" Tsukushi snapped before she opened her arms to welcome her second child, Domyouji Rei, who had jumped excitedly into her embrace.

" Kaasan!" The six-year-old greeted and buried her face into Tsukushi's bosoms.

" Hey, don't you want daddy anymore?" Tsukasa frowned, feeling a little jealous that his children would always go to Tsukushi first.

" Go to your daddy now." Tsukushi smiled and put Rei down so that she could go over and comforted her fragile father with her embrace and tiny kisses.

" Tousan!" Another tiny voice echoed out and Soujirou immediately bent down to grab her up and placed her on his lap. Unlike Domyouji Rei, Nishikado Yuuki, who was nine months younger, was a much reserved and quiet little girl, just like her mother.

" Look at you, getting all the dirt on your face. Where have you two been?" Soujirou complained as he wiped off the dirt from his daughter's little face. Both girls just exchanged glances and giggled.

" I am thirsty." Little Yuuki exclaimed and Soujirou took the glass of orange juice from the table, which was meant for the children and passed it to her. As Yuuki was happily sipping her orange juice, she couldn't help but to notice the cup of black substance on the table. She had always seen her father drinking it during breakfast but her nanny once told her only that adult was allowed to drink.

" Do you want to try it?" Soujirou asked. Meekly, Yuuki shifted her glance from the coffee to her father's eyes, " Can I?" Yuuki asked.

" Of course you can." Soujirou replied with a smile and brought the coffee cup near to her lip, where she took a tiny sip. Soon, all her tiny features screwed into a frown as she spat out the content. "YUCKS!" Yuuki stuttered and immediately switched back to her orange juice so that she could get rid of that funny taste that lingered in her tongue.

" Bad! Bad!" Yuuki shook her head vigorously and buried her face into Soujirou's chest as he laughed at his daughter's comical reaction.

" Come on, it isn't that bad." Soujirou said as he gently patted her head. " It is the sweetest thing in this world if you drink it with love." Soujirou said in an almost whispering tone as he fixed his gaze at his daughter's face. Little Yuuki just returned his gaze despite not understanding what her father was talking about.

Little Yuuki had inherited her mother's eyes and hair colour; even those tiny curls had curled in the same way as Yuuki's. Everyone became quiet upon seeing the sudden melancholic expression that Soujirou had displayed until Domyouji Matsu, who was already twelve by now rushed out from the house with a few colour markers in one hand and a Polaroid camera swinging in front of his chest.

" Hey, girls!" Domyouji Matsu called out from far with no intention in stopping. " Let's go. I've got all the things ready." He quickly beckoned.

" DOMYOUJI MASTU! GET YOURSELF OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Tsukushi demanded as she stood up, with both her hands on the side of the hips. Knowing her son like a book read a hundred times, Tsukushi knew he was up to some mischief again.

Reluctantly, Matsu stopped his track and headed to the direction where his mother was standing. "Yes, mother?" Matsu swallowed hard as he stared down his dirt-filled snickers.

" What are you going to do with those things?" Tsukushi questioned pointedly.

" Kaasan!" Rei called out as she jumped down from Tsukasa's lap and coming to her brother's rescue, much to Matsu's relief.

" What?" Tsukushi asked, looking down at her daughter who now stood beside her brother, whom she wanted to protect even when she was shorter than him by three-heads.

" We spotted Hanazawa ojisan dozing off under the big oak tree when-" Rei informed her mother. " When he promised us that he would play with us in the first place." Matsu took the liberty in finishing off the sentence, pouting at the fact that Rui had broken his promise.

" So, we decided to teach him a lesson." Yuuki playfully added in as she muffled her giggles.

" Hmmm…" Tsukushi started fingering her chin as she exchanged glances with the F3.

" Are you all thinking of what I am thinking?" Tsukushi asked, arching her eyebrow.

" Why not?" Soujirou quipped with interest as he allowed Yuuki to climb down from his lap before she rejoined her playmates.

" Well, what can I say? Sometimes I am getting kind of pissed off by that sleeping habit of his." Akira remarked.

" Hanazawa Rui, prepare to meet your doom!" Tsukasa was rubbing his balled fists against each other; feeling delighted that he could finally have the chance to make Rui pay for what he had done to him in the past.

" Matsu, give me the RED MARKER." Tsukasa demanded as he got up from his seat.

" Let's go then." Tsukushi beckoned with a cunning smile flashed across her face.

Happily, tapping a marker against their palm, all the adults and children strode towards the great oak tree where a dozing Hanazawa Rui was still smiling in his sleep, thinking that he had succeeded in pulling himself out from the children's game.

THE END

AN: Well, that's the end of this fiction. Love it or hate it. I hope minnasan would continue to R&R my other HYD fic in the coming days. Thank you! Jaa ne!