The Salty Coffee 盐咖啡
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many guys chasing 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 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, “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 touched. That’s his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home... Then she also started to speak, spoke 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, 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, I 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.”
参考译文：
在一个舞会上他遇见她，她那么出众，许多男孩追求她。他却这么普通，没人注意他。
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，并喝咖啡。她好奇地问他，“你怎么有这样的嗜好?” 他回答，“ 小时候我住得离大海很近，我喜欢在海里玩，感觉大海的滋味，就象这盐咖啡的味道。现在，每当我喝盐咖啡，我总是想起我的童年，我的故乡，我思念我依然生活在那里的父母。” 他说到这些，眼泪涌了出来。她深深地感动了，
那是发自他心底的真情一个能够说出思乡病的男人，一定是一个爱家，对家有责任感的人……随后，她也开始说起自己遥远的家乡，她的童年，她的家庭。
那真是一次美好的约会，也是他们故事的一个美丽开端。从那以后，他们继续约会。她发现事实上他是一个能满足她要求的男人：他善良，善于忍受，给人以温暖，又心细。他真是一个好人，她有时非常思念起他来! 真要谢谢他的盐咖啡!
后来，正像每一个美丽的爱情故事，这个公主嫁给了这个王子。他们过着幸福的生活……并且，每次为他煮咖啡，她都加上盐，因为他喜欢。
四十年后他去世了，留给她一封信，信中写道，“亲爱的，请原谅我。原谅我这说了一生的谎言。这是我对你唯一撒谎的一次---就是盐咖啡。记得第一次约会吗，那时我太紧张了，其实我想要一些糖，但却说成了盐。当时我觉得难以改口，只好顺其自然，却怎么也没想到那会是我们交往的开始! 在后来有许多次，我都想告诉你事实真相，但是我有点害怕，因为答应过你事事要说真话。现在我快要去了，我不怕了。所以告诉你，我不喜欢盐咖啡，那味道真是差极了……但是我却喝了一生。自从我认识你，为你做的事，我从不后悔。在我一生中，拥有你是我最大的幸福。如果我能活第二回，我仍想与你结识，并和你在一起，即使再让我喝盐咖啡。”
她的泪水把信纸全弄湿了。后来一天，有人问起她，“盐咖啡味道怎样？”“味道好极了！” 她回答。
