Liberika with Dragon Motif: a Short Story by Bambang Kariyawan Ys.

This coffee shop always has a story. A coffee shop called “Kenangan” stands on the ground of my small town. A coffee shop that is always enveloped in the sea breeze. I don’t know exactly why the name of this coffee shop is called Kenangan. said the tauke who owns this coffee shop, the name suits the customers who come here who are old and entering retirement to reminisce and find old memories.
The platform is built of natural wood on the seashore. The gentle sea breeze brings its own aroma for anyone who wants to enjoy the morning. As a waiter at this coffee shop, I always look forward to hearing stories and memories from the voices of my customers.
Various story themes flow from them. Stories about viral news on social media. the story of the endless trial of the accused. Stories about social engineering by celebrities. The story of the country’s leadership succession. Even trivial stories about domestic life that shouldn’t need to be discussed. As well as memories of past glory and youth. some I only heard briefly when delivering food and drink orders. There’s a whole thing I heard while doing other work. It is natural that the tradition of drinking in coffee shops is truly inherent in Malay people. Coffee shops are considered another form of simplicity and togetherness.
Among the customers there was one customer who I thought was very strange and mysterious.he is accompanied by a man on the same day and at the same time, namely every Friday at 08.00 – 10.00 am and always chooses to sit in a corner alone with the same order, namely a cup of Liberika coffee, a specialty of the Kenangan coffee shop whose beans are taken from local peatland farmers. he always asks for Liberica coffee in a cup with a dragon motif. The food and drink order was delivered by the delivery man because the customer was always quiet and I never heard his voice. The man who dropped him off would come to pick him up two hours later. The schedule is routine every Friday morning.
I conveyed my surprise to the boss about the customer. Just a hanging sentence that the tauke conveyed to me.
“Especially for those customers, don’t exchange this dragon motif cup. “Don’t change the menu and the amount of Liberian coffee,” he ordered me and the other waiters.
“Why, Master?” I’m getting curious.
“Just follow. “You’ll know later,” continued the tauke, gesturing to immediately serve other customers who were arriving.
“Why does it have to be a tauke later?” I joked.
“I’ve been working there, lots of customers have arrived,” the boss snapped a little with my curiosity.
This customer who never makes a sound is very different from other customers who always tell stories about everything from north to south. At first I considered the customer to be normal like any other customer. However, over time it became interesting apart from the orders, measurements and containers which were always the same and the habits he carried out. After the order arrived, he enjoyed Liberica coffee in a dragon patterned cup. He looked at the vast ocean from the shop windows and continued to take out a drawing book and pencil. His happy face radiated as he scratched a pencil in his drawing book. Until the man arrived to accompany him for the next two hours.
After three previous Friday arrivals, this Friday the customer arrived late so the supply of Liberika coffee powder ran out. When the man who brought it told him that the Liberica coffee grounds had run out, the customer cried in the corner of his usual place. I was just amazed, why did I have to cry just because the Liberika coffee he usually ordered was gone.
“Strange,” I thought.
The customer kept crying and the man who usually brought him tried to persuade him. But still crying. The guy bringing in the customer asked me if I couldn’t get a cup of Liberica coffee. I offer other drinks that are no less delicious at this Kenangan coffee shop along with other varieties ranging from sago noodles, lakse, roti canai, otak-otak, and various other muih cakes.
“Please, only a cup of Liberica coffee can bring back memories, like the name of this coffee shop, Memories,” the man hoped.
“Returning memories?” I asked.
“The story will come later, please just have a cup of Liberica coffee for the father,” he hurriedly said.
I rushed to ask the mayor’s permission first to go to the nearest shop to make the customer’s wish come true.
“Hurry up and go, next time every Friday will be more for that father,” ordered the tauke with a sour face.
After some time I served him a cup of Liberica coffee. Still crying. the delivery man persuaded again. The man said his coffee cup was not like usual. I want a cup with a dragon motif.
I forgot about the dragon-patterned cup because I was in a rush to prepare the mysterious customer’s Liberika coffee. Then I saw the usual sight on the customer. He enjoyed and sipped Liberica coffee. He looked at the sea from the shop window and opened a drawing book and scratched with a pencil.
What painting did he make? I once tried to approach painting. He closed it spontaneously and showed me an unfriendly face. I left the customer while listening to the noisy stories of other customers. This time I heard viral stories from social media which were repeated over and over again. Don’t get bored.
This fifth Friday morning, in the midst of my busy schedule serving customer orders, I took the time to look at the clock on the wall. Usually at that time the customer arrives accompanied by a man who asks me to prepare Liberika coffee. But it hasn’t arrived yet at this hour. For some reason, there started to be a feeling of longing, like waiting for the arrival of someone you hadn’t seen for a long time or maybe was late like the previous Friday.
Likewise, the sixth Friday was also not present. Until the boss who owns the Kenangan coffee shop asked where the regular customers on the corner were. I shook my head. I stared intently at the dragon-patterned cup that usually serves as a container for Liberica coffee. Feels different.
“I don’t know,” I softly looked at the memories with that strange customer.
Likewise the seventh and eighth Fridays. Never arrived. It’s time for me to forget about those customers while interestingly listening to the stories of noisy customers and this time talking about the troubled sportsmanship of supporters in the world of our sport. However, it turns out that there are other customers who are also surprised to ask about customers who usually order Liberika coffee with dragon motifs.
“I also miss seeing the father who usually sits in the corner there. The father who usually orders Liberika coffee. I noticed that the cup of Liberika coffee is different from the one we usually order. dragon motif. “The man who usually paints and reflects on himself even smiles to himself,” said one of the customers who usually started his morning story about the viral video that day.
I know that it’s not just me who pays attention to customers. The longing of other customers made me tickle my longing side again. The umpteenth Friday I was surprised by the arrival of the man who usually takes customers.
“Where do you usually order Liberica coffee?” I asked impatiently.
“Actually, we are officers from a nursing home. The man we usually take every Friday is a resident of the place I work and he is alone. He has been seriously depressed since his wife left him. Always crying because he forgot his wife’s face. He really wanted to remember his wife’s face again. I looked for his family and couldn’t find him. Recommendations from a psychiatrist asked me to do therapy by visiting a place that had given me special memories with his wife. He once mentioned Liberika coffee and Kenangan coffee shop. I see maybe this is the place.” he explained.
The delivery man continued his explanation at length, including having a long discussion with the mayor about a dragon-patterned cup which apparently the delivery man had bought specifically to bring back memories of the customer and his wife. The tauke also explained that the man had previously been a loyal customer and came with his wife. I understand.
“Yes, now where is that father?” I insisted.
“The father has met his wife,” said the delivery man softly.
I feel like I’m missing something. I looked at the corner where the customer was. Imagine the habit of every previous Friday. I served Liberica coffee in a dragon patterned cup. he looked at the window and then drew in his drawing book.
“What’s this?” The man handed me a package and interrupted my thoughts. He whispered something about the last request of a customer who had met his wife.
I received the package and I carried out the man’s wishes after getting approval from the governor.
The next day, the customers of the Kenangan coffee shop looked at one of the walls in the coffee shop. They were amazed by the four framed paintings. painting of a woman in a different way enjoying a cup of Liberica coffee with a dragon motif. I heard a soft voice that I didn’t know where it came from.
“Thank you.”
I am moved.

Bambang Kariyawan Ys., a teacher. WA: 08117595971.