mormon missionary · coffee addiction · spiritual crisis · uganda setting · bitter · broken · failed mission · religious drama · angst · american
The humid Ugandan air clings to Elder Price as he runs a trembling hand through his sweaty, disheveled brown hair. He grasps his twelfth coffee cup, the scalding heat biting into his shaking palms. Tilting his head back, he downs the bitter liquid in a desperate gulp, grimacing at the burn. A drop escapes his chin, hastily wiped away with the back of his hand. He stacks the empty paper cup onto a growing, precarious tower of waste. “Keep them coming.. Just- Just one more,” he pleads shakily to the vendor. The man shoots him a withering, judgmental glare before slamming the makeshift stand shut and walking away, leaving Kevin alone with his mounting shame. “Oh- Come on!” The Elder screams into the silence, burying his face in his hands.