BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD

 Funiculi Funicula

                                            

Ever wondered...? If time travel was possible … would you travel in the past and correct your mistakes? Or travel to the future and see how successful or what you have achieved in your life?

 

Well, I always wonder if we travel to the past and try to cover the mistakes to change our present ...whatever we have in the present will vanish, whichever people you are with or vibe … will vanish...

Though you might have some other things in your life ... the valuable lessons you have learned till now

Will not be a part of your life…

Again if we think of travelling to the future and seeing what we have achieved we will stop working in the present already knowing that we have achieved that in the future. Or if we stop working in the present after looking at our future it might affect our future self too.

 

People believe that our destiny is already written we have to work towards it.

Where this thought came to me when I randomly read the Japanese legend of Urashima Taro.

(Which in a way talked about time traveling).

 

Though it is fiction, it interested me a lot and I purchased a fiction series on time traveling by a Japanese author TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI. There are four sets of books in this series and right now, book one "BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD" is my current read …

 

A hundred-year-old café, in a back alley in Tokyo, gives its customers the unique experience of traveling back in time. The name of the café is Funiculi funicula (which came from the lyrics of a Japanese song).  Before the coffee gets cold series talks about the tales of this café. This café is quite famous for its services but it is not crowded with people. Usually, people don't want to time travel because of the rules.

This cafe is owned by NAGARE TOKITA, KEI TOKITA, a waitress KAZU TOKITA. who are present there to manage the cafe and a woman in a white dress who just sits in that chair.

NAGARE TOKITA: cousin of Kazu Tokita and owner of the café. He is a giant of a man and almost 2 meters tall.

KEI TOKITA: wife of Nagare.

KAZU TOKITA: she serves coffee during the ceremony that returns people to the past.

Woman in white dress: A ghost who occupies that seat. She leaves to use the toilet once a day. Usually, she is found quietly reading her novel but she curses anyone who disturbs her.

That seat: the only seat in the café that returns you to the past.

 

Located down a quiet side street, FUNICULI FUNICULA is a windowless basement café with a permanent sepia hue stained the café interior. three old wall clocks only one of which showed correct timings.  The insides of the café have a counter three table seats and three two-seater tables it only took nine customers to fill the place. The lighting was provided only by six shaded lamps hanging from the ceiling and a single wall lamp near the entrance.

 

There are seven visitors in the café Fumiko Kiyokawa, Goro Katada, Yaeko Hirai, Fusagi, Kohtake, Kumi Hirai, and a young girl (which I would like to keep a surprise).

Here are some rules:

1. Only one particular seat takes you back in time

2. One woman already sits on that seat, if she is forced to get up she curses you. There is one particular moment when she Gets up from the seat.

3. The person whom you wish to visit in the past should have been to the cafe.

4. No matter how hard you try to change or cover your past mistakes your present will not change it will remain as it is.

5. When you return to the past you must not get up from the seat no matter what the circumstances are

6. To return to the present you have to drink the coffee before it goes cold.

 

So the book has 4 tales:

1. The lovers

2. Husband and wife

3. The sisters

4. Mother and child

 

THE LOVERS

                             

The first tale in the café talks about the lovers Fumiko Kiyokawa and Goro Katada. Fumiko and Goro are career-oriented personalities very ambitious about their dreams. Fumiko never loved anyone as she was of the mindset "work is once lover" but she had a boyfriend, Goro. She never thought of marrying ..but once her siblings got married she had to think about marriage and she thought that Goro might be the one. One day Goro asked her to meet him in their regular café for a serious conversation. She thought Goro would be proposing to her. But since their regular café was closed that day they eventually ended up in funiculi funicula. Fumiko was disappointed when she learned that the serious conversation Goro was about to make was about him leaving for America and Fumiko assumed that it was a breakup meet …….One week later after their meeting, Fumiko was sitting in the café thinking about Goro and the breakup. Eventually, she was thinking about visiting the past and setting things right…but as the rule said "everything in the present will remain as it is even if you try to change things in the past"

 

THE HUSBAND AND WIFE

                               

Well after the lovers the tale proceeds toward the husband and wife. The characters in this tale are Fusagi and his wife. Usagi is an old man who always sits at the entrance chair of the café reading and marking something or the other on the travel magazine. One day Kei went and asked him about his hobbies and what he was doing ...although Kei had an idea that Fusagi wanted to travel back in time. She asked him why he wanted to do so...he answered that he wanted to give an envelope to his wife. when Kei asks Fusagi the name of his wife he forgets … from there they get to know that he has Alzheimer's and forgets things.

Fusagi always comes to the café alone but leaves with Kohtake…. kohtake is a nurse in a hospital and comes to the café when Kei calls her…... from this we readers come to know that Kohtake is Fusagi wife and due to his Alzheimers he has forgotten her and about her. well, his wife Kohtake knows about this. When Kei tells Kohtake that Fusagi wants to give an envelope to his wife she becomes eager to visit the past and take the envelope from Fusagi as he forgets about Kohtake when she visits the café.

 

 THE SISTERS

One of the cafe's regular visitors was Yaeko Hirai who ran a bar near the café the story of Yaeko. her parents wanted her to take over their family inn but Yaeko was a rebel she ran away from her home when she was young to achieve her dreams. From then onwards her parents disowned her and she settled in Tokyo. Yaeko had a younger sister KUMI HIRAI who also wanted to pursue her dreams but when Yaeko ran away all the responsibility came down to Kumi. Kumi loved Yaeko very much she often visited Tokyo to meet her from her hometown to convince Yaeko to get back. But Yaeko always avoided her but Kumi left her letters.

 one fine day when Kumi came to visit Yaeko as always Yaeko avoided her but Kumi left her letter as always. But that unfortunate day kumi meets with a car accident while returning home. Will she survive?

Will Yaeko will regret avoiding her? Will Yaeko ever know what Kumi wanted? Will Yaeko be able to give Kumi her happiness?

 

 

After reading the tales the questions we are curious about are.

will Fumiko return to the past even after learning all the rules? even if she went to the past will she try to change her decision?...will she even visit the past?

Will Kohtake return to the past??... will she be able to take the envelope from Fusagi??...what will be inside the envelope?

Will Yaeko will regret avoiding her? Will Yaeko ever know what Kumi wanted? Will Yaeko be able to give Kumi her happiness?

To know more read the book "BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD"

                                           

 And about the mother and child we will continue it in next blog ♥️