Salted Tea

Jacob met Patrick at a party.

Jacob was good looking and there were many guys oogling at his stunning features during the party to validate his godliness. On the other hand, Patrick was a commoner and he might as well be invisible as nobody bothered to notice him.

At the end of the party, Patrick, drunk, invited him to have coffee with him. Jacob was surprised but Patrick was very polite and unlike, the other stunning guys on the party, he felt Patrick's sincerity and accepted the offer. They went in a nearby coffee shop and sat at one of the table set outside. He ordered tea while Jacob paid for a tall espresso. In front of royalty, the commoner was too nervous to say anything.

Uncomfortable and bored, Jacob is starting to regret that he accepted Patrick's offer. 

Suddenly, Patrick asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my tea."

Jacob at him for his strange request! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his tea and drank it.

Curious, Jacob asked,  "Why do you add salt to your tea?"

He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea. I liked playing in the sea where I could feel the taste of the sea which is just like the taste of the salty tea. Now every time I have the salty tea, I always think of my childhood and my hometown. I miss my hometown so much. I miss my parents who are still living there."

While saying that, tears filled his eyes. Jacob was deeply touched. That must have been his true feelings from the bottom of his heart. A man who can express his homesickness must be a man who loves home, cares about home and takes responsibility of his home... Then Jacob also started to talk about his faraway hometown, his childhood and his family.

That was a really nice talk and also a beautiful beginning to their story. They continued to date. Jacob found that Patrick was actually a man who meets all his criteria of a good partner; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm and careful. He was such a good person and Jacob almost missed him! Luckily, his salty tea brought them together! and they lived a happy life together... And every time Jacob made tea for him, he put some salt in it as he knew that's the way he liked it.

After more than half a decade, tragedy struck the loving couple. Patrick was killed in an accident weeks before their seventh anniversary and while cleaning the condominium they shared, Jacob saw a letter addressed to him which has a date of what could have been their 7th anniversary.

The letter said,

"My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's lie. This was the only lie I said to you - the salty tea. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous that I actually wanted some sugar but I said salt. It was hard for me to change what I said so I just went ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many times, but I was too afraid to do that as I have promised not to lie to you about anything… I'm writing this letter to you to tell you how much I love you and how much I am ashamed of keeping this lie to you.

To tell you the truth my love, I don't like the strange bad taste of salty tea... But I have had salty tea for since I knew you, I never felt sorry for anything I had ever done for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness throughout my whole life. If I can live for the second time, I would still want to know you and be with you for my whole life even though I would have to drink the salty tea everyday."

Jacob tears made the letter totally wet.

One day, someone asked him, "What's the taste of salty tea?"

He replied, "It's sweet."