Novel "Cafe Nagoritan" (3)

3. Coffee is the punctuation of life

"I think humans might just be eating memories."

"Hmm... does that mean it's a nostalgic taste?"

I was already starting to enjoy chewing on the master's philosophical phrases.

"That's one way to put it, but I mean memories from even further back, like past lives, or perhaps memories shared by all of humanity..."

The master muttered while polishing a plate, looking into space. Sometimes he had a distant look in his eyes, as if he were communicating with aliens.

Ever since I came here with Shodai before, I had been longing for the shop's signature dish, "Nagoritan," and finally, I had come to the shop alone.

"So, does that mean my ancestors might have eaten this Nagoritan?"

"Exactly! I don't think it's entirely out of the question. Or perhaps, conversely, because they couldn't eat it back then, you're eating it in their place now..."

The master said with a half-teasing expression. He was the kind of person who often told subtle stories where you couldn't tell if they were true or false.

"Really? Are you the type of person who has strong psychic senses, Master?"

"No, no, I don't see spirits or anything like that. I do sometimes feel a sort of... unpleasant atmosphere, though."

"Oh, I see. Actually, I have no evidence for it, but I feel like I was called to Okinawa by something..."

If that's how you feel about it, then isn't that probably the case?

Is that how it works?

That's how it works, surprisingly.

I wonder if it would be clearer if I had a Yuta or someone like that look at it? Things like that...

Hmm... but even if it were clear, wouldn't what you can do for yourself right now stay pretty much the same?

Ah, I see... that might be true, actually...

Finding an answer doesn't solve the problem. Just as the master said, life is a series of things like that. Perhaps because he saw me looking a bit disappointed, the master continued.

Come to think of it, a regular customer once brought in someone who was apparently a Yuta, someone said to have incredibly high abilities in that field.

Wow, that's amazing!

I was eavesdropping a little, and it felt like... well, it felt like they could see things very clearly.

Not like they were seeing things vaguely?

Exactly. Ah, so this is how clearly people who can see things actually see them... that was the first time I ever thought that.

I knew it. I really want to have them look at me just once. My guardian spirit, my past life, and so on...

Nagoritan is made with slightly thick Okinawa soba noodles. Perhaps because of that, if you carelessly stick a fork in it as if it were pasta, you might end up scooping up more than you intended. I absentmindedly carried the noodles to my mouth with my fork, and my mouth ended up completely stuffed.

Okinawa soba noodles are quite elastic, salty, and perhaps because they contain kansui, they also have a flavor similar to Chinese noodles. One might think they wouldn't go well with Western-style seasoning, but tomato ketchup has the sheer culinary force to bring everything together deliciously.

What neutralizes that heavy-handed ketchup flavor is the side of bitter melon that is indispensable to Nagoritan. It has a "bitter and refreshing" resetting power. For Masumi, Nagoritan had become the biggest hit menu item since moving to Okinawa.

If you're that curious, should I ask my wife for more details?

Huh? Is your wife... someone who can see them?

I reacted with Nagoritan still in my mouth and hurriedly drank some water.

Well, it doesn't seem like my wife can see them herself, but she seems to have many acquaintances and relatives who are that type of person.

Wow, that's amazing.

Especially for women born in Okinawa, it seems that sensitivity grows with age. It sounds like my wife's sensitivity to that sort of thing also spikes occasionally, as if a switch has been flipped.

Ah, I've heard stories like that too.

So, although she doesn't tell me much, it seems she has an acquaintance who is a Yuta look into things for her when she has something on her mind.

I suppose it really is closely tied to the lives of people in Okinawa, isn't it?

I suppose so...

If your wife had been here today, I wonder if I could have heard more about it...

Hmm, of all days... today was the day she had to go visit her mother at her parents' home.

From the master's tone, I thought it might be for nursing care or something similar, but I didn't dare ask any further.

My phone vibrated in my bag. Given the timing, I assumed it was an email from Shodai. The master was brewing coffee for after the meal.

Is that the boyfriend?

Oh? Ah, yes, that's right. It seems their part-time job is running late, so they can't meet today...

I see.

Ah, man. I can't meet the master's wife, and I failed to meet up with them... My timing is just off today...

Those kinds of days happen sometimes.

But I have less than a year left of my precious student life, you know?

Oh, I see. You're the type who doesn't really want to get a job, huh?

Well, obviously.

Heh heh... I guess so. Here you go, sorry for the wait on your hot coffee.

Yay! I've been waiting for this.

I had grown fond of the hot coffee at this shop, too. At the cafe where I work part-time, we use a fully automatic machine to brew dark-roast beans. Since many different part-timers make the coffee, I suppose they do that to ensure the taste doesn't vary. Apparently, the manager chooses only bitter coffee beans so they won't be overpowered by the sweetness of our signature pancakes.

On the other hand, the coffee at Cafe Nagoritan is made with a traditional paper drip. Because the flavor is delicate, it can sometimes be overpowered by milk if you make it into a cafe latte or something similar. However, it is smooth and gentle on the palate, so it tastes absolutely amazing when drunk black. You can enjoy the sweetness and umami of the beans themselves, as well as a richness that's almost like a dashi broth. Ever since I drank the coffee here, I've even started to think that water is fine for pairing with sweets.

Master, you seem like you've had all sorts of work experience...

Oh, did you figure that out? Well, I suppose I've changed jobs quite a bit...

The master replied with a wry smile as he removed the coffee grounds from the dripper.

But in the end, that all leads to my current job, so I don't have a single regret about any of those experiences... Is that sounding a bit too cool?

No, I think that's really great! Um, by the way, what kind of jobs have you done?

Well, I was a struggling musician, so to speak. That was the center of my life, but...

Wow! A musician!? What kind of genre... what was it like?

Well, let's see. I did a bit of everything, like punk-ish and mixture-ish stuff, but... to put it simply, I guess it would be catchy rock.

That sounds nice!

Yeah, but thinking about it now, it's weird for a rock band to be catchy.

Why is that?

Because rock is music that doesn't pander to society, or rather, it's music that says NO! to the status quo, originally.

I see.

So, the moment you start pandering to the audience and making something catchy, it's already like you're backing down...

The master gave that look of his, staring slightly into the distance. Not being very knowledgeable about music, I started thinking of a safe, different question to avoid the lecture the master seemed about to start, but I couldn't find a suitable topic.

Is that how it is... By the way, what about instruments...?

Yeah, I could play all the instruments, but in the end, it was the bass.

Oh, that's cool. Somehow, now that you say that, you're starting to look a little bit like a bassist to me, Master!

What do you mean, 'a little bit'...

Well, I just couldn't imagine you wearing a leather jacket at all...

No, even in my day, musicians didn't really wear leather jackets that much.

Eh? Is that so?

Give me a break~

Seeing the master smile, I thought to myself, 'Gotcha,' and with a mischievous shrug, I held the cup with both hands and savored the coffee.

"But you must have been doing it quite seriously, surely."

"Well, I wouldn't say I made a major debut, but I managed to release about two nationwide albums from an indie label under a major record company..."

"Oh, that's amazing!"

"No, no, it was nothing like that. It's a strange thing, you know. Bands would neatly split into those whose audiences grew and grew after debuting, and those whose audiences dwindled. As you might guess, we were the latter."

"It must be a harsh world..."

"Well, I suppose so. Even the big shots who fawned over us at first disappeared in the blink of an eye."

The master laughed self-deprecatingly, but he also seemed somewhat proud.

"People who really do what they love are great, aren't they?"

"You think so? I don't think that's always the case, personally. Because there are quite a lot of people who succeed while just responding to what's expected of them, without really knowing what they love..."

Honestly, I was conflicted about whether it was the right thing to graduate from nursing school and go straight into working at a hospital. Although my studies at school and my clinical training at the hospital were fulfilling, every time I encountered the harsh reality of the workplace, the feeling I had when I first enrolled—that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life—began to diminish.

"Well, you know, you never really know until you've kept at it for a while, no matter the job. Maybe you never really know if something is right for you, even after all that time."

"I guess you're right! Lately, I've started to think that maybe it's okay not to overthink things too much, and just go with the flow—sort of like 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.'"

"Oh, that's good! You're young, but you've got it figured out!"

The master turned his gaze toward me, looking more curious than ever.

"Huh? No, I mean, in a way, I feel like I've been living my life doing what I want to do, thinking this is the only way for me. But aren't I just tilting my head in confusion again? Like I am right now..."

"Mm-hmm."

"So... whether I want to do something or don't want to do something, I feel like it's all the same in the end, or rather, that everything leads to the right answer anyway..."

"That's true. After all, life is a bit like searching for oneself until the day you die. But I think your feeling that whatever you choose is the right answer is a wonderful perspective to have."

The master said this with a smile and nodded a few times. The strong, characteristic Okinawan sunset was streaming in from outside the window.

Will I be able to make it as a working adult? There is no way to know the answer to that. Even if there were something that looked like an answer, it could never be the eternal one. The right answer at this moment will eventually deteriorate with time, and even the best, most cutting-edge solution today will be updated in the blink of an eye. If I have any confidence that won't change, perhaps it is the paradox of being prepared to keep changing.

But right now, I have coffee in front of me that I truly find delicious, and a place where I can feel at peace. It seemed to me that a life where I can feel this way is one kind of right answer. Even if I can't find any evidence for it, as long as these precious moments aren't taken away from me, I felt I could say that all my choices are correct. That day, at the counter of Cafe Nagoritan, I was brewing that small bit of confidence.

After that, although my relationship with Shodai naturally faded away after I returned home and started working at a university hospital, the coffee I encountered at Cafe Nagoritan, brewed with a paper drip, has become my reliable companion. The coffee I savor during my breaks always gently stays by my side through the highs and lows of my emotions, which change dramatically amidst the grueling work of nursing.

For my life, coffee time is surely like punctuation. You can understand the context and meaning without it, but without it, everything turns into a monotonous, flavorless drone. By adding punctuation to days consumed by time, rhythm and rests are born. The feeling of being alive must surely be brought about by such inflections.

The coffee I brew myself varies in taste every time, and I'm in no position to be picky about the differences. However, I do believe the greatest charm of coffee is that it "puts you at ease." As long as I can properly savor that, I'm sure that even if my brewing method is a bit off, my coffee is all correct too.

I think the time I spent at Cafe Nagoritan and the taste of that paper-drip coffee quietly changed my life.