Dear Coffee,

Cappuccino at Stranger's Reunion, Singapore

Dear Coffee,

I never really liked you when we first met. I thought you were bitter compared with my dear friends Apple juice and Coke. I didn't understand you at all. But then I entered University and we were introduced yet again. And now, I need you like a car needs petrol.

We've gone through so much together - sleepless nights and pre-exam panic. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be without you. You drag me out of exhaustion, you inject my day with purpose like a shot of adrenaline and you smother any impulse to procrastinate. Even the smell of you makes me swoon. You smell like a perfect concoction of sunshine, warmth and deep, unwavering happiness. Sometimes I think your aroma alone is enough to get me through the day.

Our time together is a fleeting one, however. And any commitment in this relationship would turn into a deep dependency that there is no turning back from. Every craving you satisfy is temporary and keeps me coming back for more. I can convince myself you're good for me, or that my future career needs you, but in the end, indulging in you is stepping over the line into an unhealthy addiction. 

If I want to maintain any sort of control in this relationship, we must part for the holidays. But don't despair; come April when my examinations draw near, we will be reunited once more. 

Your schooltime fling,

Mary