Cafe Lucinda

In a quiet neighborhood of Northern Italy, there was a lady that I never saw as a customer before. She approximately at around her mid-forty, wears quirky yet good-looking outfit, and ordered a hot cup of mocha with almond milk. I gave her the drink personally so I can get close to her. She has a very nice fragrance scent on her, fruity yet floral as if I was in a garden somewhere in France. She sat in the corner of the café where the natural lights are, opened her black little notebook, and started writing there. I gaze up upon her when it’s not as busy in the café, something about her attracts me in a respectful way. In my mind, I said: “I want to be like her when I grow up, she knows what she wants and her outfit is unusually stylish, not in a trendy way but in her own way.”

The café got a little quiet so I was told by my boss to paint some window display outside. Hours go by as I was peeling the old paint and turning it into the new one to match for the upcoming summer season. I was so in the zone where I didn’t notice customers come in and out. As I returned inside the café, another customer came to me and told me that somebody dropped this book at the desk he was at. I instantly realized that the little black book belongs to the mysterious lady. I thanked the man and ensure to keep the book at the café until the lady comes back. I opened the front to check if there’s any contact information to reach out to her, couldn't find any information about her.

A month later came by, summer break is on, more people came outside to hang out by the sun. I was working my day shift at the café, which coincidentally the lady comes back. She ordered the same mocha and sat on the same spot. After she placed her order, I decided to gather my courage to talk to her and returned her little black book. I gave her a mocha, she looked at me with her friendly smile and thanked me.

I appreciate Lucinda because I feel the importance of my existent in her life. I feel alive when I’m with her, not needing to dress based on the current trend, not having to hold myself back, I feel like I’m finally living life in my own phase. With so much information given to us, life moves so fast but relationships and career feels so slow. We got distracted constantly because there’s always new information given to us, where we ended up feeling lost living life and fell into the circle of constant validation.

Turns out, Lucinda is a writer in a big magazine publication and was planning to quit and launch her own book. She told me the amount of burnout and craziness that the job drained her nobody talks about. She wanted everyone to feel vulnerable through her fashion journal. Over the summer, Lucinda took a summer vacation. She and I started hanging out as friends. Regardless of the age difference, we both get along because we’re passionate about style and coffee. We hung out day and night, going to bookstores, exchanging ideas, window shopping on local boutiques, talking over the phone. We were enjoying each other company because she needs inspiration for her fashion journal and I took her advice as an experienced career woman.

As summer break is over, I worked at the café more and Lucinda and I hung out less because we’re both busy. A couple of months later, I was notified by one of the hospitals in Italy that Lucinda has leukemia. Leukemia has spread too much over her body and it couldn’t compensate. I spend all day and night with her as much as I can before she’s passing in the hospital.

A couple of weeks later, Lucinda passed away and she named part of her will after me. I wasn’t expecting anything from her at all because we only know each other for two months. Turns out, she appreciates me like her own family because she doesn’t have family members living in Italy. I was given $20,000 from her to fulfill my dream to open my own café. I cried so hard because this with this money, that means I can really do it. At the time, in the 1990s, the lease cost wasn’t as high as today, so it covers a lot of the paperwork and café business expenses. In tribute to her legacy, I decided to name the café: Café Lucinda. Until today I am still grateful for how far kindness goes as I gave back Lucinda’s little black notebook.