Storm in a Cup of Coffee

by Keren Or

  Storm in a cup of coffee

  Keren Or

  Copyright © 2018 Keren Or

  All rights reserved; No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, of the author.

  Translation to English: Claudette Williams

  Proof Reading: Miriam Ball

  Graphic Design: Gam ve Gam Design

  Contact: rafael.sason.s@gmail.com

  Contents

  PART ONE

  My Lost Diamond

  About to start

  All is fair

  Countdown

  Shuffle the Cards

  PART TWO

  Fulfilling a wish

  A Window

  The perfect key

  I will always love you

  A casual encounter

  All roads

  A bubble of illusions

  Under her skin

  PART THREE

  Eyes that see… heart that feels

  Be Born again

  In her hands

  A look is worth… a thousand words

  Despite the storms…

  To the love of my soul, my “Lucas”,

  Thank you for listening to your heart.

  Beside you I learned that together

  There is no mountain too high.

  To my children, the greatest treasure that life has given me,

  Thank you for being there and filling my lungs with air.

  This magical story is dedicated to you...

  Reflection

  Life is full of ups and downs. Of surprising miracles, on the one hand, and of storms that rock our soul from time to time, on the other.

  We can live every moment intensely or pass through doors of opportunity without touching or even opening them, missing chances to connect completely with our roots, without which it would be difficult for us to grow...

  It is up to us to decide how we will look at those clouds floating above. Some will see them as part of a great universe of different shades. Amazing, harmless, fleeting. While others will turn them into a paralyzing thunderstorm, a potentially threatening hurricane, or an absorbing storm in a small cup of tea or, as in Eli’s case, in a cup of coffee...

  The solution will always be in our own hands, yet opening them to see it will require reaching a delicate degree of internal balance, between love, trust and faith...

  If we have luck, patience or conviction, we’ll get there sooner or later. For Eli, however, it seems a long journey awaits...

  Based on a true story…

  PART ONE

  1

  My Lost Diamond

  Eli woke up earlier than usual. Outside, it was still dark and the rest of the household was still asleep. At another time, it would have been difficult for her to wake up or she would have been annoyed, since she was a very good sleeper. Nevertheless, that day was a special one... Eli was actually eager to get to work. It wasn’t that she was anxious to work, but rather she needed to verify something crucial. Something... that could change her life.

  Her outfit was ready, ironed and folded on her night table. Eli had prepared it the night before so as not to waste valuable time in the morning. Putting her plan into action, she dressed elegantly, adding a provocative touch; she smoothed her hair and put on some natural makeup, only enough to highlight her green eyes and her lips, which seemed as if they were drawn.

  Eli was a lovely, attractive young woman, but at the same time she was simple. Normally she wore a pair of jeans or some other cotton slacks, and she would throw on a matching blouse. She would fix her wavy chestnut hair with just a touch of styling cream, so she wouldn’t look like a crazy woman on her worst day, and she rarely wore any makeup at all. However, whenever she wanted and set her mind to it, her transformation was remarkable, and she created a sensation. And that was precisely what she had in mind that morning—to attract attention from someone in particular.

  She still lived with her parents in a spacious, comfortable apartment in a central but quiet neighborhood close to the sea. Leaving her building, she walked quickly, trying not to trip, and she set out for work in her “new” white car. Although it looked more like a matchbox and was a used car, Eli was very proud of it, especially because she had managed to buy it with years of hard work and saving.

  The drive to work on any other day lasted fifteen minutes, but that morning it seemed to have lasted much longer. As she drove along, the memory of the day before made Eli feel anxious and tense. She could not get out of her mind all that she’d been told by Lena, a warm, humble woman of about fifty, who welcomed people seeking help with their love life, their work, or other areas of their life into her home. Despite not being a psychologist or a doctor, her waiting list was long and people even travelled long distances to consult her, particularly those who, after trying to get cured using all the conventional methods, had been disappointed and were searching for a spiritual answer.

  The first thing Lena did was offer her client a cup of thick black coffee, which the client would drink even if they didn’t like it. Turning the cup over on a saucer, Lena would begin to explain the meaning of the traces left by the coffee. Only after the client expressed amazement at all she could know by just observing what looked more like a mud stain would Lena reveal the truth about how she got the information: she could hear the souls who were coming to help them. Usually they were the souls of loved ones and, from time to time, masters who had something important to say.

  At first, Eli had a hard time believing in something so powerful and out of the ordinary, and it even made her feel scared. However, she had to admit that Lena had told her things she would not have known otherwise. And that wasn’t the first time. Eli had gone to see Lena three months earlier after an inevitable and disastrous breakup, a time when she had hit rock bottom. It was without a doubt... the lowest point in her life. That’s how Eli had come to see Lena, and, little by little, she became convinced that the “coffee witch” had a special gift.

  In that first consultation, the man who was about to become Eli’s husband, and whom Eli loved with her heart and soul, had decided to cancel everything—overnight! Eli never received a logical explanation or any sensitive treatment. Both love and compassion had abandoned her. She needed answers. She wanted to know the reason why she had to go through something so cruel. She wanted to find a meaning that would ease all that pain, at least partially.

  As if that was not enough, as a result of this unexpected and unfortunate situation, Eli had given up her job at that same time. The weight on her broken soul was growing heavier, and, when combined with the enormous responsibility that her position demanded, it ended up as nothing more than another source of stress. She had been left without any energy. Her body and spirit needed rest.

  The decision to resign was not an easy one to make. Eli was aware of the extraordinary opportunity she had in her hands. As if making that decision on her own was not complicated enough, her own father criticized her, telling her it was the dumbest step she could ever take. At the time, she had a perfect and prestigious position, which she had earned through her own merit and effort, a good salary and many opportunities for promotion in an excellent, growing company. Certainly, a difficult dilemma to resolve. But Eli, as always, chose to follow the voice of her intuition: what she desired at that precise moment was to get away from everything around her and start a new life with new opportunities.

  Sitting in front of Lena, Eli
listened with great amazement to a precise account of her recent breakup. Lena knew it all. She could even describe in great detail her then-future husband, his way of being, his physical appearance, and certain aspects of her short but intense relationship with him. However, one phrase in particular was etched in her memory: that the man was nothing more than “a pretty, perfumed envelope, creating an illusion of something wonderful to come, but when you open it you’ll find absolutely nothing...”

  Lena tried to make her see how lucky she was to no longer be with him; she told her their relationship was harmful and destructive and that she should thank God that it had come to an end.

  Eli felt that Lena really understood the intensity of her feelings: the suffocating sensation of being tied up in a cold, dark pit, without the strength to free herself, to climb up and get out. And suddenly she did not feel so alone. That woman’s words finally managed to lift her spirits, which was something no other advice or encouragement had ever managed to do before.

  At the end of that consultation, Eli was able to breathe deeply and with great relief. Near the end of the session, Lena had told her something else that would change the course of her life:

  “In a couple of months you’ll find a new job where you’ll meet your future husband. He’ll be working in the area of sales in the company, and he’ll have a flair for other languages, having lived in different parts of the world.”

  Eli could not be sure all that would really happen, but at least she felt that a little spark of hope was about to blossom within her, giving her sufficient reason to carry on.

  As Eli pulled into the underground parking lot, she noted that it was still empty. At that hour of the morning not a soul was wandering around.

  Eli had only been in her new job for two months. She was happy and at peace with her decision to give up her successful old job, and even though she had chosen one with fewer demands and a lower salary, she felt fulfilled, relaxed, and that was very good for her. She had new friends, fewer problems to solve and more opportunities to meet new people. But still, she had to find out who was the man Lena had told her about. The thought that maybe she already knew him and that he’d been in front of her all that time... wouldn’t go away.

  She turned off the engine and took a deep breath before getting out of the car. Her mind was hooked on the day before, recreating the conversation from her second consultation with Lena:

  “Congratulations! I see that you’re already in a relationship, that you’ve found love...,” she had said with confidence.

  “No, Lena, I’m still alone. That’s why I came back to see you. I’m desperate.”

  “Eli, sweetheart, you already know him. It’s already written. Love is knocking on your door.”

  “Lena, what are you talking about? I work sitting down, right next to the door, and trust me, no one is knocking on it.”

  “Don’t lose heart, Eli,” Lena went on. “Now it’s only a matter of time. The die is already cast. And I’ll tell you more. He has the letter L and then C in his name. Does anyone come to mind?”

  “No, no one. I don’t know anyone with those letters in his name,” Eli replied firmly, though perhaps she was not being completely truthful.

  In fact, she did know a person whose name had those letters. It was Lucas. But Eli had dismissed her feelings for him from day one. So, she was hopeful that Lena would tell her that her future was to be at the side of another man, one less complicated than Lucas…

  “Do you know any Lucian? Luciano?” Lena persisted.

  Eli looked at her, shaking her head, but Lena kept insisting, “It’s a name that sounds like Luca... no! I got it! Lucas! That’s it, his name is Lucas.”

  Eli, who had frozen, took a few long seconds to respond.

  “I do know a Lucas, but I don’t accept that he’s the one. He’s divorced, lives with his son, and that’s too much for me. I could never cope with those problems after all I’ve been through already. I need a quiet, uncomplicated relationship this time around.”

  “Eli, my dear, do not resist fate. He’s the one! He’s a sweet and tender man. Not every man takes on the responsibility of raising his son. That speaks volumes about him as a person, and together you will have a beautiful life, a life filled with love. Don’t be afraid. His son will end up loving you more than his own mother. Try to open your mind and your heart and... release yourself from your prejudices, which do not help you at all.”

  Defeated and exhausted, unable to contain herself, Eli had started to cry, searching in Lena’s words for a seed of peace.

  “Tell me, Eli. That Lucas you know, don’t you like him? Don’t you feel anything for him?”

  “Yes, Lena, I won’t deny it. I liked Lucas from the first moment I saw him. Whenever he smiles, I feel a twinge in my heart, but I can’t take on any more problems with a troubled man and a child who needs a mother. I’m barely twenty-four!”

  “Calm down, sweetie. You can decide to do whatever you want with your life. I’m here just to give you the information I perceive. I’ll tell you this, his last name has something to do with a stone, some type of stone. That’s all I can perceive. Call me tomorrow and tell me what stone it is. If I’m right, then Lucas will be your destiny.”

  Eli left her car thinking of Lena’s last words and ran to the elevator. Still soaring through the clouds, she watched as the numbers kept going up, until finally it reached the tenth floor.

  The dark corridors confirmed that for the moment she was completely alone. When she got to her desk, while waiting eagerly for her slow computer to start up, she remembered her first days at work, when she received a sweet welcome email. In that email she would find her answer, since it had been Lucas who had sent it to her. What was his last name? Eli settled into her chair and the search began.

  A great gasp of amazement rose from her chest: “Diamond...”

  Lucas was none other than Lucas Diamond. Eli froze, though her body was burning inside. Without thinking about the time, she picked up the receiver and anxiously dialed Lena’s number.

  “It’s Eli. The last name is Diamond. That was the stone! I can’t stop shaking.”

  “Well, Eli, now the ball is in your court.” Lena replied warmly, though the call had just awakened her. “If you really like that man, leave your fears behind and remember, if you don’t try, you don’t live.”

  Taking advantage of the few minutes of silence before her co-workers arrived, Eli sat thinking in her chair, remembering the day she had met Lucas. It had been at lunchtime, a week after starting her new job.

  “Shall we go to lunch?” Fran, one of her co-workers, had said. “I’m starving and I was told about a great place that just opened. They offer a good variety of salads, the servings are huge and they’re also very delicious. I don’t want to see any more pasta.”

  “I’ll go with you, Fran, wherever,“ Eli had replied. “My stomach is already glued to my back...”

  From the beginning, there was a strong chemistry between Eli and Fran. They were both the same age, they shared similar interests, both were single and one more than the other was looking for her Prince Charming. Besides, having lived abroad at an early age, both could converse and communicate in other languages that nobody else apart from them could understand.

  They exchanged memories, experiences and jokes that only they understood. And quickly they started developing a strong, beautiful bond that would last forever.

  Fran, to any reasonable eye, was a sexy and, at the same time, always elegant girl. She wore clothes that would awaken the imagination of how perfect her naked body would look, while giving the impression that it would be a waste of time and effort to try to get there. In addition, she was the most serious and conservative of the three friends, who naturally and spontaneously created a trio that was dynamic, harmonious, empathetic and non-judgmental but above all fun. A trio... consisting of Eli, Fran a
nd Gaby.

  As they examined the various salads laid out in the restaurant, Eli suddenly heard Fran greeting someone.

  “Hello, Lucas, how are you?” she said, moving to one side. “Let me introduce you to Eli. She’s new to the company.”

  Their eyes met, and Eli felt as if a magical sensation had just passed through her body.

  “Nice to meet you,” Lucas said, greeting Eli with a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hello,” she replied, smiling shyly.

  Lucas apologized for not being able to stay a while longer, as well as for the embarrassment caused by his impatient friends, who were teasing him for talking to two attractive women. Nevertheless, leaving them with a big smile, Lucas Diamond showed interest in continuing the conversation at another time.

  Eli stiffened. Her eyes had just seen a stranger who, oddly enough, gave her a feeling of someone familiar. Almost... as if they had already seen each other in the past. But Eli knew that had never happened. At least, not in this life....

  “Earth calling Eli… Your salad’s here,” Fran said, bringing Eli back to the real world.

  Eli followed her and they sat down at a table on the terrace where Fran could relax and get her daily dose of nicotine.

  “Who… was that?!” Eli asked, trying to slow down her heartbeat. “What a beautiful smile... and his eyes... they look so pure.”

  “Forget it, Eli!” her friend replied in a military tone. “Lucas is divorced, with a son... who lives with him... Believe me, that man has more trauma and issues than socks.”

  “Forgotten!” Eli declared immediately. “I’ve already been through my share of problems and pain. I’m not looking for another lost cause, nor to complicate my life. But what a shame. I really liked him.”

  Changing the subject and after being away for an hour, they returned to their stacks of paper already waiting on their desks, piling up mercilessly.