The salty coffee

 　　舞会结束后，他邀请她去喝咖啡，她有些惊奇，但，出于礼貌，还是答应了他。他们坐在一家典雅的咖啡厅，他非常紧张，她却并不觉得浪漫，一心在想，“请让我回家吧……”

　　突然他对服务员说，“请给我一点盐好吗? 我要把它加在我的咖啡里。”咖啡厅里每个人都惊奇地看着他。他的脸红了，却很镇静。他把盐放入咖啡中。她好奇地问他，“你怎么有这样的嗜好?”
　　He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing 1 after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid attention to him.
　　At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised but due 2 to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, "Please, let me go home..."
　　Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously 3, "Why you have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there." While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply 4 touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness 5, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility 6 of home... Then she also started to speak, spoke 7 about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.
　　That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance 8, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, and then they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he liked it.
　　After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's lie. This was the only lie I said to you － the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change 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 in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything... Now I'm dying 9, I'm afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth, I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste... But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."
　　Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, "What's the taste of salty coffee?" She replied, "It's sweet."