Each morning, I set out cups, wiped tables, and pretended everything was normal.
The same faces, the smell of coffee, the soft ring of the bell — life moved in a loop.

Then one day, I noticed him.
A small boy, maybe ten, carrying a backpack almost bigger than himself.
He always arrived at 7:15 sharp, sat in the farthest corner, and ordered only a glass of water.

On the fifteenth morning, I placed a plate of pancakes in front of him.
“We accidentally made extra,” I said, pretending it was a mistake.
He looked at me for a long moment before whispering, “Thank you.”

From that day on, I brought him breakfast every morning.
He never told me his name or where his parents were.
He simply ate in silence — and always thanked me.

And then, one morning, he didn’t show up.
I waited, staring at the door, until the sound of engines shattered the quiet.
Four black SUVs pulled up outside.
Men in uniform entered, their boots heavy on the tiled floor.
One of them handed me a letter — and as I read the first words, the plate slipped from my hands.
The café fell into utter silence.

I still remember that moment — 9:17 a.m.
The air felt heavier, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
One soldier stepped forward, removed his cap, and said softly, “We’re looking for the woman who fed the boy in the mornings.”
My throat tightened. “That’s me,” I managed to say.

He unfolded a letter, his voice unsteady.
“The boy’s name was Adam. His father was a soldier. He died in the line of duty.”

Before he died, he wrote:
“Thank the woman from the café who fed my son.
She gave him what the world had taken away — the feeling that he was still remembered.”

When I finished reading, my hands trembled.
Everything stopped — even the faint clinking of spoons.
The soldiers saluted, and I just stood there, unable to speak.

For weeks afterward, I couldn’t shake that moment.
I reread the letter over and over, afraid the words would vanish if I let go.
Sometimes, I still glanced toward the door, expecting him to appear —
the same backpack, the same shy smile.

Then, one day, another letter arrived.
From the same officer.
Inside was a short note and a photograph — the boy sitting on the grass beside a man in uniform.

He’d been adopted by his father’s friend — a soldier whose life his father had once saved.
“Now he has a home,” the note read.
“And he often thinks of the woman who fed him every morning.”