Before the Coffee Gets Cold ~ Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Geoffrey Trousselot (4/24)

 Before the Coffee Gets Cold, adapted from a 1110 Productions play by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Born in Osaka Japan in 1971. He produced, directed and wrote for theatrical group, this story  won the 10th Suginami Drama Festival grand prize. This is translated by Geoffrey Trousselot.

Kazu Tokita; the waitress whose coffee pour allows for time travel worked in the cafe named Funiculi Funicula in a narrow back alley,  from 1874 with a cash register maintained since then,  like Sayuri Komachi Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian from What You are looking for is in the library -She belived,  '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. 

'Drink the coffee before it gets cold.'

 Michiko Aovama. Nagare Tokita was the owner of the cafe and his wife, Kei with a weak heart but always happy,

Fusagi had a magazine opened on the table and Kohtake came to pick him. Cafe regular was Yaeko Hirari whose sister Kumi wanted her back. . 

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

1. You would not be able to change the present- that would change many things. 
2. They could only meet people who had visited the cafe
3. There is only one seat from which they could go to the past - and only when the ghost would move out, ghost is the person who had sat on the seat befor, but did not follow the rule, who would get up only to go to the toilet. 
4. There is a time limit but no limit to talking - one had to drink the full cup before the coffee got cold.
5. A person could sit on the chair only once. 

One could not change the past, but choose the future, that was up to them. 

Magazine article described the cafe's time travel meaningless as you could not change the present, going to the past, and going to the future is simply a waste of time. 

If not something terrible would happen to the traveller, as travelling in time was against the law of nature.  If one would not drink the coffee, it would be their turn to continue to sit on the seat as a ghost. 

The book in four parts cover:

1. The Lovers - Fumiko and Goro. - 
2. Husband and Wife - Fusagi and Kohtake - alzimers
3. The Sisters - Hirari and Kumi - Kumi sweet little sister who kept persuading her elder sister to return to the inn. - Death
4. Mother and Child - Into the future Kei and  her child - as she thinks of her mother Tomako's explanation of death. 

Through out the book you have *clang-dong* It's to signify someone is coming in the cafe. It's the sound of the bell attached to the door. The term for a sound like that is onomatopoeia.

How sad it would be for the loved ones gone, to see you sad? So be happy. 

Could not resist ordering the others from the series.