Morning Coffee

Morning Coffee

It was morning. The living room was cold and the old woman pulled on her cover. She heard
the noise coming from the kitchen. There, a
petite woman, probably in her fifties, was
working around the stove. She was putting up the
fire.
“What time is it?”the old woman asked the
younger one.

“It is way past eight,”said the younger
woman.

“It’s cold. My nose is freezing.”

“The room will be warm soon. How did you
sleep?”

“I was awake most of the night. I could not
get my nose and eyes warm at all.”

Both women went silent for the moment. Only
the fire was cracking. The warmth was spreading
around the room making it warm and cozy. The
younger woman kept quiet while working in the
kitchen. She was making coffee while the old
woman was wrapping herself up with the covers
pulling them over her head.

“Your daughter will be here soon,”the
younger woman started again.

No answer came. Instead, the old woman took off
her covers and sat up on the couch. She was
fully dressed, her head covered with a shawl.
Her little eyes were half closed as if the light
was bothering them. Her eyelids were red. Then,
they heard the door opening and a heavy steps. A
short heavy woman came in.

“Here I am. How is everybody?”she asked.

“We are good. And you?”said the other woman.

“Cold. This winter is going to be really
cold. I don’t know if we are going to have
enough wood until spring. We might need to buy
some more in the middle of the winter”

“Is everyone still sleeping in your house?”

“Yes, they are still sleeping.”

The old woman kept quiet while the other
two were talking. She took the corner of her
shawl and covered her nose.

“Mom, are your eyes hurting today?”her
daughter asked worriedly.

“Ah, they always do,”she said. “It feels as
if someone threw a handful of sand in my eyes.”

“Does it help when you put a warm cloth on
your face?”

“It only keeps them warm. My forehead, eyes
and nose are always cold. It hurts more when
it’s cold.”

“Can you see anything?”

“Yes, a little. Sometimes I can’t recognize
people around me.”

“Can you see now?”

“Yeah. I see a beautiful flowers.”

“Flowers? Are you sure, mom?”

“Yes,”her face lightened up. “They are
beautiful.”

Her daughter stared at her, with mixed
expressions on her face. Then she turned to the
other woman. Unable to speak they just looked at
each other.

Then, the old woman started getting up,
supporting herself with her hands.

“I have to go to the bathroom,”she said.

“Can you get there by yourself?”both women
asked at the same time.

“Of course I can,” the old woman answered
curtly. “I can see enough”

When she was gone from the room, her
daughter broke into tears.

“Maybe she is going to die,”she said
weeping. “She is probably already seeing her
place.

“Well,”the other woman said, “it should not
be surprising you. This is something you should
be expecting and prepared for. You have to be
strong, we both do. She is 85 years old and she
has been sick most of her life. Ever since I got
married and came to the family she has not been
feeling good. I am surprised she has lived this
long. But, you know when I loose her I am going
to be all alone, and you will still have your
family. She is all I’ve got, and when she
dies...”her voice started trembling and she
covered her face with her hands.

Another morning that ended up with tears.
There has been many and this was probably not
the last one.