Love in a Dollar


The image is from https://www.pleacher.com/mp/puzzles/tricks/mobmony2.html.

Jim worked in a scenic area. When he went to work every day, his elderly neighbor Jack would hand him a $5 bill and ask him to buy him a $4 coffee from the coffee shop in the scenic area.
This exchange had been going on for several years. In return for getting him the coffee, Jack, despite his age, would always take the initiative to mow Jim’s lawn beautifully.
Since this had been going on for a long time, the hostess who sold the coffee became quite familiar with Jim, and she always prepared delicious coffee and set aside one-dollar bills to give him as change.
Sometimes, Jim curiously asked Jack: “Coffee beans have a long shelf life; why don’t you buy them in bulk so you can have your coffee fresh and hot, rather than waiting for me to bring it to you after it has gotten cold?” Jack shook his head and said with a smile: “No, I prefer to have it this way. I like having a single serving of coffee made for me each day.”
Once, Jim was in a hurry to go to a friend’s house for a party, so he bought coffee from another store. He was surprised when Jack didn’t even take off the lid. He said: “This is not the coffee I wanted.” Jim was taken aback. After several similar instances, he realized that even if the packaging was exactly the same, Jack would be able to spot at a glance that it was from the wrong coffee shop. Jim never dared to change it again.
After a few years, Jim became weaker. Despite this, he still entrusted Jim to buy his coffee every day.
Every time Jack handed over $5 to Jim, his expression seemed to be full of prudence and anticipation.
One day, Jack was lying on his hospital bed when Jim brought him his usual cup of coffee. Jack stretched out his hand weakly to take the one-dollar bill he received as change. He stroked the bill gently and asked Jim: “You have been buying me my coffee for years. Do you know why I really want it from that shop?” Jim looked at him and shook his head.
“The person who sells that coffee is Elena!” Jack’s voice was gentle and affectionate when he said her name. He seemed to be staring off into the distance, “She is the person I love the most.
“When I asked her parents for permission to marry her, they thought that, since I was poor, their daughter and I would have little chance of happiness. They just separated us; I left this place very sad. Many years later, my wife died of illness. Our children had their own families, so I returned to my hometown.
“I soon found out that Elena was selling coffee in the area where you work. I didn’t want to disturb her peaceful life, so after I settled down quietly, I began to entrust you to buy my coffee from her.
“I knew from the day you first brought me my coffee that Elena had never forgotten me.
“How could you know this if you haven’t visited her?” Jim asked, puzzled.
Jack replied: “Years ago, when we were in love, we couldn’t see each other often. To make up for this, we created a secret sign. We would fold a dollar bill into a triangle, put it in an envelope, and ask the postman to give it to the other party to signal that we were doing well.
“So, every time I ask you to buy me coffee, I always fold the 5-dollar bill into a triangle, and the change that Elena gives you to bring back is also folded into a triangle.
“Although we never meet, we relay news of each other’s well-being every day. It is as if we have returned to the time when we were young and in love.
“Now, I’m going to meet God, but I cannot bear to think of how sad Elena will be if she does not hear from me!
“There is a box under my bed, which is full of specially folded 5-dollar bills. Please use them to continue buying me coffee every day…” Jack finished speaking and then closed his eyes serenely.
At Jack’s funeral, Jim silently laid a box full of packaged coffee and a lot of dollar bills folded into triangles at his gravesite.
As it turned out, as early as half a year ago, Elena had already passed away due to an illness.
Before leaving this world, she made sure to hand over the coffee and dollar bills to Jim. She wanted him to deliver her daily message to Jack in her place so that Jack would not suspect that anything had gone wrong…
The original Chinese article is from https://k.sina.cn/article_5665487366_151b07a06019012swl.html.

一美元愛的故事
吉姆在風景區工作,每天去上班時,老鄰居傑克都會遞上一張5美元的鈔票,請他從風景區的咖啡店買4美元的咖啡
這習慣已保持好幾年。當然,作為回報,老傑克總是主動將吉姆家的草坪修剪得整齊美觀。
時間久了,賣咖啡的女主人,對吉姆相當熟悉,她總會按時準備美味咖啡和一美元零鈔。
有時,吉姆也會好奇地問老傑克:“咖啡豆保質期很長,你為什麼不能一次多買些?”他搖搖頭,笑著說:“不,我更喜歡現在這樣,每天一份咖啡,剛剛好。”
有一次,吉姆急著去朋友家聚會,就從別的店買咖啡。不料,傑克都沒打開、就說:這不是我想要的咖啡。
吉姆嚇了一跳,後來他刻意又試過幾次,就算外表包裝一模一樣,只要咖啡不是從風景區的店裡買的,老傑克都能一眼識破,吉姆再也不敢偷梁換柱。
幾年後,老傑克的身體大不如前。但他每天還是委託吉姆買咖啡。
傑克每次把5美元交給吉姆時,他的神情似乎都充滿了慎重與期待。
一天,在吉姆照舊買回咖啡時,躺在病床上的老傑克虛弱地伸出手,輕輕摩挲著那張一美元零鈔,問吉姆:“ 這麼久了,難道你真不知道,我為什麼一定要那家店的咖啡嗎?” 吉姆看著老鄰居,搖搖頭。
“賣你咖啡的是艾莉娜呀!”老傑克眼神專注遠方、以溫柔多情的語氣說:「 她是我最深愛的人。」
當年,她的父母嫌我窮,覺得女兒和我在一起日後無法幸福、硬是把我們拆散;我很傷心地離開此地……多年以後妻子病故,孩子們都各自成家,我才重回家鄉。
接著,很快打聽到艾莉娜在風景區賣咖啡,我不願意打擾她平靜的生活,悄悄定居後,開始委托你買她的咖啡。
從你第一次幫我帶回咖啡的那天,我就知道,艾莉娜從來沒有忘記我。
“難道,你沒去看望過她?”吉姆滿臉不解地問。
老傑克搖了搖頭:“當年,我們戀愛時,無法經常見面,私下偷訂了一個暗號,將一美元的鈔票折疊成三角形,裝到信封里,讓郵遞員送給對方代表平安。”
所以,我每次請你買咖啡,總是把5元紙鈔折疊成三角形,而艾莉娜讓你帶回來的零鈔也是疊成三角形。
這樣,我們雖然不曾見面,卻每天都能得到對方平安的消息,仿佛又回到當年青春洋溢、彼此愛慕的時光。
現在,我就要去見上帝了。可是如果艾莉娜得不到我的消息,她該有多麼傷心呀!
我床下面有個箱子,裡面全是折疊好的5元鈔票,請你繼續幫我每天買咖啡,拜託了……”老傑克斷斷續續說完,就安詳閉上了眼睛。
在老傑克的葬禮上,吉姆默默地搬出另一個箱子,裡面全是包裝好的咖啡,還有很多折疊成三角形的一美元鈔票。原來早在半年前,艾莉娜早已因病先他而去。
在離開這個世界前,她最後做的事情,就是將這些咖啡和零鈔交給吉姆,並請他千萬要保守秘密代替自己,繼續向傑克傳遞平安的消息……。
耶路撒冷的眾女子阿、我指羚羊或田野的母鹿、囑咐你們、不要驚動、不要叫醒我所親愛的,等他自己情願。(雅歌 8 : 4)
中文原文來自 https://k.sina.cn/article_5665487366_151b07a06019012swl.html

Previous Tolerance Leads to Greatness
Next “Nothing” Gained