Two Coffees
The Vignette Gazette Writer’s Prompt #248 | Towers
Today’s prompt comes courtesy of Stephen Dalton, who gives us the word towers and invites us to fictionalise where we might have been on that fateful September morning, twenty-five years ago.
“The usual two?”
“Every morning, Sam.”
Anna placed a twenty on the counter while Sam poured one coffee black and added milk and two sugars to the other.
“You’re late today.”
“Michael won’t fire me over one late coffee.”
She tucked the change into her coat pocket, balanced the cups and hurried towards the twin towers.
At the corner, she glanced at her watch and quickened her pace.
Then she stopped.
Something wasn’t right.
She put the coffees down on a newspaper box and counted the change.
Ten dollars too much.
Anna looked towards the entrance to the World Trade Centre, then back at Sam’s cart.
“Damn.”
She turned around.
“Sam!”
He was already serving his next customer.
“You gave me ten dollars too much.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the note she was holding out and shrugged.
“You’re late already.”
“I know.”
“So today you get lucky.”
Anna returned to the stall, waited for the customers to leave and pushed the note into his hand.
“I don’t want to get lucky with somebody else’s ten dollars.”
Sam laughed.
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“Okay, okay.”
Anna grabbed the coffees.
Behind her, people streamed towards work. The pedestrian lights turned red.
Anna glanced at her watch.
“Now I really am late.”
She waited for the green.
Twenty-five years later, Sam saw her before she reached the cart.
His shoulders had stooped. His hair was white. Anna’s was silver.
Neither mentioned the date.
He poured one coffee black.
Into the other he put milk and two sugars.
“Two coffees?”
Anna nodded.
“Just like every year.”
Anna took the cups and placed a twenty on the counter.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
“Keep the change, Sam.”
He smiled.
“Thank you.”
Anna looked across the plaza towards the reflecting pools.
“No, Sam. Thank you.”
“No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
— Virgil, The Aeneid
©️ 2026 Miriam Connolly. All rights reserved.
A huge thanks to the wonderful team at Fiction Shorts for the daily challenge. 😊☘ More details below:
One of the great pleasures of Fiction Shorts is discovering talented writers through their captivating vignettes. Here’s one that caught my eye:
You’ll enjoy this lovely little exchange — full of family history, gentle mischief and the sort of secret that gets better with age… It’s from Monika Gupta:
AS
