#STB Coffee Prompt Week 71 | The decision

For a long time I had been living with my two loves, one was the delicious coffee that made me feel great, even after a terrible day, and the other was alcohol that offered me an escape from this crude and fallacious world.

After so many years of living with my two lovers, today I have decided to give up one. My health was being seriously affected by substance abuse. I have to admit that both had become an addiction in my life and were affecting me greatly.

As I walked down the street on a starry night with a gentle icy breeze caressing my anguished face, I glanced sideways at the local coffee shops and bars. I kept thinking about what was best for me, it was a very difficult decision to make, as each one offered me something different to lead this life in a more complacent tone.

I kept walking around looking at the pros and cons of each one, and at that moment a call came into my cell phone. “Hi, it's your cousin Sara. I wanted to let you know that my mother is in the hospital. Her condition is very serious.”

“That's terrible news, cousin. I'm on my way there right away.” I lightened my pace and a feeling of anxiety began to take over. I thought of my aunt, she was very dear to me.

I remembered the good times we spent together over a good bottle of wine. They were wonderful memories that came to my mind like waterfalls. I kept watching the lights go by in an endless luminous dance.

Those minutes seemed eternal, while my anguish grew more and more inside my heart. I had finally made it to the hospital, and my cousin was leaving wrapped in a blanket of pain and tears.

“Cousin, I'm so glad you came, I don't know what to do, I feel so helpless.”

“What happened Sara?” I asked my cousin opening my eyes to the maximum of their sockets.

“My mother had been feeling very bad for a few months and started to turn yellow, and then the itching all over her body wouldn't leave her alone. We rushed her to the hospital because she went into crisis and the doctors told us that it could be liver cancer. They are doing tests to confirm the diagnosis." It was like an intense emotional shock inside my mind.

My cousin took me to where my aunt was and I went over to greet her. She was lying there on that bed, terribly deteriorated, I'll never forget that yellowish color that covered all her skin. “Hello, Aunt.”

“Hello, I'm so glad to see you, thank you for coming to see me. A long time has passed since the last time. I'm on my last legs now, my alcohol addiction has led me to this fate. Don't make the same mistake I did, do what you must do.”

After those words, I felt like an epiphany to my tortuous search. It was now clear to me what my decision was, and as difficult as it was, I would do it for my family and my health. After a few months, my aunt passed away due to liver cancer it was very hard for me, and her words saved me from a tragic fate.

Alcohol had become just a memory in my life, and coffee was still there giving me strength and good spirits in my most difficult days, providing me with energy when I needed it the most, and being a faithful companion in my lonely days.

I have cut down a little on my coffee consumption and I drink what I need to feel good. I don't want to give it up too. Haha...