50 cent coffee

quoted from: casualcoffee.ning.com/
That was a rainy afternoon. It's raining cats and dogs while I was looking for some data around three buildings. The weather in Malaysia is unexpected. When I was exhausted to move, there was a line leader who was drinking a cup of hot, black coffee invited me to take a rest with him. The rain was pretty heavy, and we could just stood on a corner of factory. He asked me everything about my previous job with a kind smile. I didn't talk too much but listened. He was curious about me and also my future. Will I go to China? Will I go back to Taiwan? Will I ..... Then he said,"You will be an important person." I was shock with silence and returned,"You are the important person." He laughed happily. I said," I will go to have a cup of coffee. You seems enjoy it very much." Ha laughed widely and showed me a gentle gesture. I went out and walked toward a vending machine which I reluctant to use it in Taiwan. It was rest time for all operators meanwhile, so there were full of operators under that shed because of the aweful rain. I was so clumsy to take out my coins while some operators were looking at me directly. A husky but shame and kind line leader who wore a green polo shirt as other labor and a heart shape tatoo which I thought it was for his lovest woman on his left cheek pointed at the blurred instruction and said,"50 cents, 50 cents". I smiled at him gently and put two 20 cents and one 10 cents into the vending machine slowly. There were four choices which were black coffee, coffee with sugar only, coffee with milk only, and coffee with sugar and milke both. But it displayed in Malay what I have learned only "Thank you". :) That made me confused and I raised a question," Could you tell me which one is coffee with sugar?" Another leader said," Gula, Gula." "Sugar? Is it sugar?" I wanted to make sure it."Yes, sugar. Sugar is Gula. Susu is milk." That husky leader explained."You can choose coffee and galu, if you want it sweet." I answered,"Yes, I just want some sugar with it." Then I pressed the "Coffee with Galu" botton and watched the old style vending machine working. It dropped down a paper cup and poured deep brown color coffee few seconds first, then some hot water into the small paper cup. I thought the volume of the paper cup was around 150 ml. When it was done, I took it out carefully as I was afraid to squeeze out the sparse coffee. After sucking a little bit, I explored out,"too sweet" while these operators were watching me with interests. Suddenly they laughed loudly and joyfully. I laughed at myself and laughed with them but without embarrassment. I didn't know why that atmosphere was so easy to make people laugh happily and it was indeed. :))I knew they were not laughing at me(or maybe they did laugh at me?! haha), but what words came out my mouth after I bought a same coffee as they did as usual. So simple and pure happy hour. A cup of Malay coffee, friendship, and a lot of laughs cost 50 cents only. There was no distance in that moment which was short, rare, and I knew it with a little sadness.