The Customer Who Never Smiles
A quiet man and an old photo under the plate
One comes to my diner every single day.
He is a tall man with hair and glasses.
He never smiles and never says many words.
He always orders the same simple rice and soup.
Every day, he sits in the corner seat.
Yesterday, he was eating his lunch very .
While he was eating, he was looking out the window.
His eyes were sad, and his hands were slow.
When I brought more tea, he said only "thank you."
I was cleaning the next table when he stood up.
He paid his and left without a word.
When I picked up his , I found something.
There was an old under the white .
In the , a young woman was smiling brightly.
She was standing in front of my grandmother's diner.
The was old, and the colors were fading.
I was holding the when the door opened again.
The gray-haired man came back and looked at me.
"That fell from my ," he said softly.
"She was my ," he told me with sad eyes.
"We came here often when we were young."
I gave the back and poured him warm tea.
For the first time, his eyes looked a little .