Every day he saw her from a distance. Behind the counter, she was always busy brewing coffee and humming. She is a lively and happy person, active with her earphones glued to her ears. David got attracted to her more and more every day. She came as a bright sunshine in his otherwise barren life.
Mathilda could sense and feel his eyes on her. He came every day and sat at the corner table. He was sitting for hours writing or sketching something. When the hustle and bustle died down in the cafe, Matilda took a break. She brewed two cappuccinos the way he liked and walked towards the corner table with two freshly brewed coffee mugs.
She sat down next to David and admired his sketches. Yet again, he sketched a little girl sitting in a garden full of blooming flowers and playing with her pets.
She was laughing, and her carefree innocence could light hearts. Mathilda said, “David, Tia looks beautiful in this sketch.”
David smiled and patted her hand. Isn’t she? My little girl was an angel who came for a short time silently into my life and left without a trace.
Five years ago, Mathilda was opening her cafe when it started raining heavily. David got all drenched in the heavy download and took refuge in her restaurant. He sat down at the corner table and opened his sketch file. It all got wet. To dry them, he spread the sheets on the table. Due to the lousy weather, the cafe was empty. Mathilda offered him a cup of coffee, and David accepted. She sat down with a cup and a plate of her delicious brownies. She admired his sketches and complimented him by saying you are an incredible artist.
But she was surprised to notice all the sketches were of a little girl. She wanted to ask David, “But decided to stay mum because it was not her business.” After the day, David started coming to the cafe regularly. David and Mathilda shared a cup of coffee regularly.
Their friendship strengthened, and they started sharing information about each other. David was a widower. His only son severed all ties with him and got settled in Canada. The sketches he made were of his granddaughter Tia. Mathilda, too, was all alone in this world. Her husband passed away six years ago. She had no children. To keep herself busy and for financial support, she ran this cafe.
The friendship strengthened, and they both felt an urge, a need for each other’s company. David shared his guilt with Mathilda “How one mishap changed his life. I had a loving family. My granddaughter was my happiness.
One day we both went to the park. She was busy playing with Bruno ( her dog). I do not know what happened: they started running towards the main road, and I shouted for them to stop. By the time I could get hold of them, a speeding car hit them, and my granddaughter died.
My son and DIL blamed me for her death. They severed all toes with me and left me for good and never looked back. I love that child more than my life. It was fate. I had no hand in her death, but my punishment refused to end. Saying this, David started sobbing like a child. Mathilda hugged David and let him pour all the grief he had stored in his heart in the form of tears.
Matilda and David realised they held a special place in each other’s life. David proposed to Matilda over a cup of cappuccino brewed; by him this time. Their life took a miraculous turn over a hot cup of coffee.
But now I remember her with happiness, not with guilt. Thank you, Mathilda, for turning the wheels of my life and helping me come out of my blues.
Cheers, Darling A Very Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart. 
The Momma Clan 
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