The Empty Mug

It was Pedro's first day at his new job. He arrived twenty minutes early. The office was on the fourth floor of a building near the river. Someone showed him his desk and gave him a laptop. Then they disappeared into a meeting.

Ilikuwa siku ya kwanza ya Pedro katika kazi yake mpya. Alifika dakika ishirini mapema. Ofisi ilikuwa kwenye ghorofa ya nne ya jengo karibu na mto. Mtu fulani alimwonyesha dawati lake na kumpa kompyuta mpakato. Kisha walitoweka kwenye mkutano.

Pedro sat down. The desk was clean. There was a single ceramic mug on the corner, empty. He thought it was a welcome gift, maybe. He didn't drink coffee, but he was thirsty.

Pedro aliketi chini. Dawati lilikuwa safi. Kulikuwa na kikombe kimoja cha kauri kwenye kona, kitupu. Alifikiri labda ilikuwa zawadi ya kumkaribisha. Hakunywa kahawa, lakini alikuwa na kiu.

He walked to the small kitchen and filled the mug with water. When he sat back down, a man with a beard appeared at the door of his cubicle. The man looked at the mug for a long second.

Alitembea hadi jikoni ndogo na kujaza kikombe kwa maji. Aliporudi kuketi, mtu mwenye ndevu alitokea mlangoni mwa kibanda chake. Mtu huyo alitazama kikombe kwa sekunde moja ndefu.

"That was my mug," he said. "I sat there before." He smiled. "It's fine. Welcome. I'm Diego."

"Hicho kilikuwa kikombe changu," alisema. "Nilikaa hapo kabla." Alitabasamu. "Ni sawa. Karibu. Mimi ni Diego."

Pedro turned red. He apologized and offered the mug back. Diego laughed. "Keep it. Consider it your welcome gift. But ask first about the coffee. The machine is more complicated than it looks."

Pedro aligeuka mwekundu. Aliomba msamaha na kutoa kikombe hicho. Diego alicheka. "Kibaki. Fikiria kama zawadi yako ya kukaribishwa. Lakini uliza kwanza kuhusu kahawa. Mashine ni ngumu zaidi kuliko inavyoonekana."

Later, Diego showed him how the coffee machine worked. It took ten minutes.

Baadaye, Diego alimwonyesha jinsi mashine ya kahawa inavyofanya kazi. Ilimchukua dakika kumi.