I got out of bed like every other day and settled for coffee before doing any other thing. My alarm rang while having the second cup during morning meditation and I had to finish up quickly.
I got to work as usual and before I settled in my office, I got a reminder for a meeting starting in 30 minutes in the conference room.
I adjusted my tie and left for the conference room. I picked a good spot to sit and immediately I saw the CEO stepping in, I knew there was more to the meeting.
"Good morning everyone", he greeted us as he took the podium.
He addressed us and finally said he had a special gift for the best staff of the year.
At that point, the murmur in the room vanished. I was among the top three last year but didn't get the award.
I wasn't expecting a miracle this time so I just listened like every other person in the room.
He finally announced the winner of the award and I was clapping after the announcement but I noticed everyone's eyes were fixed on me so I stopped.
"Aren't you going to receive the award, the CEO mentioned your name", a colleague said.
I was like, "Me?". I quickly rushed out to receive the award and I got an envelope as well.
I opened the envelope later and found a ticket to a ship cruise. I felt excited knowing I will spend the weekend on the ocean.
I double-checked my possession before leaving the house and I had in my luggage enough coffee to last more than a week.
Our bags were checked and we started boarding the ship. My ticket was for the ship named "The Ocean Friend" and the other ship going for the cruise was named "Aquaplane". It was easy finding my room on the ship and I love what I saw.
I wanted coffee before unboxing my bag so I went to the restaurant for coffee and I was surprised to see other passengers waiting to be served. I joined them and got into a discussion about different things.
I was finally served and it was so good that I requested an extra cup.
I retired to my room late and surprisingly, I couldn't open my bag. The code just wouldn't open it, I checked the bag very well and discovered it wasn't mine but it was the same product as mine.
"How did the mix-up happen?", I asked myself but couldn't figure it out. I became restless so I rushed to speak with the cabin crew about it.
An announcement was made on the ship for everyone to check their luggage and we didn't find it after checking around but I was assured it will be recovered.
I tried sleeping that night but couldn't, I haven't been away from home in a long time.
At 5 am, I went to the restaurant again to get my day started.
"Can I get a cup of coffee, please?", I asked one of the kitchen crew and he said,"we ran out of coffee sir".
I felt like I was hit by an asteroid and that was the most unpleasant news I have heard in while.
I could feel cold running through my veins, the morning breeze on the ocean hit me differently.
I sat at the corner of the restaurant thinking about the absence of coffee and my missing luggage but I had to wait for the crew to do their job properly.
Other coffee lovers came out as well and were shocked to hear the news, it resulted in a heated argument between the passengers and the ship crew.
Nothing seemed normal to me and I couldn't even think straight. It felt like I was in a capsized ship situation and I just locked myself in my room waiting for my bag to be found.
A crew member knocked and I managed to get the door.
"You are shivering, is there any problem sir?", he asked.
"I am not fine, I have an illness and my medication is in the missing bag", I replied.
The guy left immediately to inform the other crew members of my false condition.
The medical team came but I refused to be tested and they recorded the conversation just in case anything happened.
I didn't know what else to make them find my bag quickly and that lie just popped from nowhere. I was shivering truly but not because I was sick but because I haven't stayed 6 hours without coffee since I got obsessed with it.
I could barely eat and nothing was done about the coffee situation or my bag till nightfall.
One of the crew members came to inform me at almost midnight that they found my bag on the other ship and that it will take about an hour before it was returned. I went to the deck to wait but got tired of looking.
I was about to leave when the reflection of lights on the surface of the ocean far away caught my attention.
I paused for a bit and saw a boat running very fast in our direction.
"That must be it", I screamed as I rushed down from the deck.
The small boat finally arrived and the bags were swapped.
How it happened wasn't a problem anymore and finding the bag was the best thing that happened so far to me on the ship.
I removed the coffee from the bag and went straight to the restaurant.
The ship crew checked its edibility and after I finished the second cup that night, other passengers who had been waiting were served as well.
The next day was awesome and I felt happy waking up to have coffee as usual. I made a lot of friends on the ship and aside from being deprived of coffee, I had a great time on The Ocean Friend.