Before the Coffee Gets Cold

“At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present doesn't change.”

“Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When in the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability. It is much easier to conceal sadness from a stranger, or from someone you don’t trust.”

“I was so absorbed in the things that I couldn’t change, I forgot the most important thing.”

“She wanted to do things without having to worry what others thought.She simply lived for her freedom.”

“It takes courage to say what has to be said.”

“With the coffee in front of her, she closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. It was her moment of happiness.”

“People don’t see things and hear things as objectively as they might think. The visual and auditory information that enters the mind is distorted by experiences, thoughts, circumstances, wild fancies, prejudices, preferences, knowledge, awareness, and countless other workings of the mind.”

“But Kazu still goes on believing that, no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone’s heart, it clearly has its purpose.”

“. . . as the future hasn't happened yet, I guess that's up to you. . .”

“The kindness in his smile seemed infinite.”

“no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart.”

“We must become friends before this coffee cools.”

“The present hadn’t changed—but those two people had. Both Kohtake and Hirai returned to the present with a changed heart.”

“Negativity is food for malady, one might say.”

“At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present does not change. So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair?”

“If you could go back, who would you want to meet?”

“Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, but sometimes it's incomparable in other ways. Sometimes it's heaven that the false fire of imagination could never capture.”

“Just remember. Drink the coffee before it goes cold,” she whispered.”

“She took an instant liking to her. Treat them mean, keep them keen, that was Hirai’s motto.”

“Doing things differently from everyone else would normally antagonize those making sure no one went against the grain, but no one ever thought that way with Kei. She was always everyone’s friend; she had that sort of effect on people.”

“If this continues, I won’t find myself in the present or past; I’ll simply vanish in a wisp of smoke.”

“Kohtake, though, liked her coffee hot, even in summer. She liked the aroma of it when it was freshly brewed. She couldn't enjoy iced coffee in the same way. Coffee was far more pleasurable when it was hot.”

“You’re a nurse, so I can only assume you have already noticed. I have an illness where I forget things. “I imagine that as I keep on losing my memory, you will be able to put aside your own feelings and care for me with the detachment of a nurse, and that you can do that no matter what strange things I say or do—even if I forget who you are. “So I ask you never to forget one thing. You are my wife, and if life becomes too hard for you as my wife, I want you to leave me. “You don’t have to stay by me as a nurse. If I am no good as a husband, then I want you to leave me. All I ask is that you can do what you can as my wife. We are husband and wife after all. Even if I lose my memory, I want to be together as husband and wife. I cannot stand the idea of us staying together only out of sympathy. “This is something I cannot say to your face, so I wrote it in a letter.”

“I cannot stand the idea of us staying together only out of sympathy”

“Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When I’m the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out.”

“Remember---drink the coffee before it goes cold.”

“Water flows from high places to low places. That is the nature of gravity. Emotions also seem to act according to gravity. When in the presence of someone with whom you have a bond, and to whom you have entrusted your feelings, it is hard to lie and get away with it. The truth just wants to come flowing out. This is especially the case when you are trying to hide your sadness or vulnerability. It is much easier to conceal sadness from a stranger, or from someone you don’t trust. Hirai saw Kei as a confidante with whom she could share anything. The emotional gravity was strong. Kei was able to accept anything—forgive anything—that Hirai let flow out. A single kind word from Kei could cut the cords of tension that ran through her.”

“And if the chair can change someone’s heart, it clearly has its purpose.”

“I’ll mourn how I mourn. Everyone’s different,”

“At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present does not change.”