You’re sitting in a comfortable chair in the backyard, enjoying the warm sun laying on your skin, listening to soft jazz with your headphones on.
You close your eyes and listen. There are the serene sound of birds singing and the fading noise of cars on the street in the background. Feeling your skin and taking a deep breath, a nice summer breeze. Online class doesn’t start for two more hours. You’ve got time.
On a small coffee table on your right is a cup of black coffee that you just made. You take a sip. It’s bitter.
***
Your mind is let wander freely with such ease. And now you’re sitting at your favorite spot at your favorite cafe, as a byproduct of social distancing.
The old lady owner smiles at you, “As usual, my boy?” “Yes, please” She’s learned the order of her frequent young guest, a nice iced espresso.
This cafe is one of the oldest places in Ho Chi Minh City. It still keeps the vibe of the old Sai Gon. A homely, humanely, simple Sai Gon. It’s one of those places that make you nostalgic and feel like at home at the same time.
The loud CD music played by the most famous bands of the 80’s and 90’s gives privacy to conversations of the guests. Some that by themselves have their own space as well. They don’t need to hear what others are talking about.
This is where young people, adults who are turning seniors and foreign tourists stop by. Two completely different generations and one group of people who are from a different culture have a common place. This is where tired, nostalgic people get a ticket away from the busy, suffocating city. To travel to the past, to when Ho Chi Minh City was Sai Gon, to when industrialization hasn’t turned it all into a rat race.
The drink is ready and brought to your table. “20.000 dong, my son” (around $1.25 CAD). Pay for the coffee. You take a sip. It’s bitter.
***
An Iced Black Coffee is a visit to your peaceful, personal space. It reminds you of how fortunate your life is. It takes you to where the people you love, family and friends, who love you are gathering. It shows you that it is never late to change. It tells you that things might be tough right now but, slow down, you’ll get through it. The more bitter it tastes, the calmer you feel.
Open your eyes, you’re back to the backyard again. Looking out the street under the soothing shade. Not thinking much. You take another sip. It’s bitter, just how you like it.
Brampton, 28 May 2020