Tiny Tea Tales: Singularity

A new year's night moored around a cup of tea and a string of lights is my most cherished moment of intimacy.

Dec 31. 11:30 pm. 

Under the amber glow of the street lamps, I could just about make out the pale underside of the homes across the street. They showed no symptoms of life except for the light in the windows. Tall trees in front cut lengthy silhouettes against their flat walls. The air ruffling through the dark rooftop was cold and sharp, enough to slip through the thick of my fleece. Appropriate for a late December evening, I thought. But dense rain-soaked clouds that sprawled the night sky were a damper. No stars, no moon, no moonbow. Tragic, I thought, for a new year’s night. 

I put down my teacup - barely hot now - and reached for the cord that hung across one of the railings that ran the length of my terrace top. Plugged in, a string of lights came to life, instantly piercing my stuffy night scene with streaming flecks of buttery golden yellow. And just as quickly, against the floating and drooping string of lights that spilled across the railing, the night - its smear of darkness, the hit of the cool breeze, the dense of clouds -  moored. So did I.

11:45 pm. The clouds begin to slide westwards and the breeze picks up.

Immediately, all the tiny yellow lights along the string launch into a little dance - their buttery warm glow begins to melt into the cool, breezy nightscape. The wind sharpens and begins to glaze the scene with an icy tincture. And then it sails straight through the flickering lights, directly into me, crashing into every string of hair and inch of skin, dissolving into every little bone and atom, all in a flying flash.

Drenched in that cold wind, I started to shiver. But with a nervous exhilaration. The kind that felt like a lover's hesitant touch. Like whispers in your ears. And of being kissed for the first time.

11:47 pm. Catching breath, as I lifted my head up, I could see the sky clearing. Then, the stars came out. Oh, the stars! And the constellations that embroidered the nightscape that evening…

Like a famished lover, I let the night consume me - body and spirit. It was my greatest moment of intimacy. A perfect new year’s night, I thought. 

‘Tiny Tea Tales’ is a weekly column, featuring stories submitted by tea lovers.

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