Alexandra Konstanti

You did it again. For yet another day, you opened your small truck café with your unique charm and warmth. I watched you on a freezing cold day, the air so damp and heavy that it seemed to seep into one’s very bones. And yet, you made me feel welcome on a day that seemed anything but inviting.

I imagine you leaving your country many years ago, seeking a new life and a job that would uphold your dignity while sustaining a home and a family. Along with you, you brought passion and joy—the kind of steady, enduring joy that lingers in the shadows, ready to rise up in the face of hardship. It’s the kind of joy that reassures you, even in the toughest moments, that life is difficult but you will manage. Because you, through faith and resilience, know. In the end, everything will be alright.

You unlocked the café and set up its windows with practiced ease. There was no hesitation in your next move. A small radio crackled to life, filling the air with the vibrant rhythms of salsa, blending with the heavy, relentless wind that swept over the canals. The coffee machine began to hum and purr, a comforting sound, as you swayed to your hometown music.

You were ready to embrace another day, to serve and smile warmly at strangers, offering them a simple paper cup of steaming coffee.

A moment of joy in the midst of the mundane.