Crying for Sugar, he secures his string to the top of the pot and dives in after her. Tides boil against slick porcelain shores. His body is dashed up against every one, but not a single beach supports him. All are stark and sleek, causing him to slide back into the froth. He plunges into the waters, reaching to the very depths of the ocean, his calls for her swallowed soundless. Though breathless, he dives and surfaces over and over, dabbing to the very scorching depths. No matter where he gropes, he cannot find her white form.
He pauses for a moment, allowing his bloated body to bob in the tide. His very essence perspires out through his pores and runs down into the waters, darkening them. Then light spills from overhead. His hideous rival has emerged: The Spoon. It dives more sharply than he can dream, gleefully stirring laps and turning up an even greater undertow. He rides the undertow, praying to find her.
But she cannot be found. Not in this tempest. She has dissipated, as though a ghost now doomed to haunt and sweeten this damnable sea. He knows their fate even before Spoon is cast aside, and their world is turned upside down. They pour forth into a cup. His string sticks to its lip, but he knows there is no escape, nor does he have the heart without Sugar. All he can do is weep and steep.
Counter est. March 2, 2008
Now if sugar had been a sugar lump instead of a spoonful she wouldn't have melted so fast and the whole story could have taken a different direction, one with a sweet end. ^__^
ReplyDeletePerhaps sugar was a lump and he just left it too late, so many scenarios to choose from, Mmm I think a c(_) Tea may be just what I need right now.
Hey, you did it! Well done. Do I detect some of your editing angst creeping in here?
ReplyDeletePoor teabag... such a short, bitter life.
ReplyDeleteThis is really wonderful John. You made me care so much about an incident in a teapot. Wonderful language. "Tides boil against slick porcelain shores" is one of my favourite phrases. Terrific.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, and I am so glad I don't take sugar with my tea, otherwise this would haunt me too much...
ReplyDeleteBoy, if I thought about everything this way I would neither drink nor eat again.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite phrase: "weep and steep".
Good one. The language in this makes it feel much more epic than a simple cup of tea with sugar. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI want to make a comment about teabaggers here, but that would be gauche.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the fans of "steep porcelain shores."
Great description all around, but I agree with the above posters that "steep porcelain shores" was definitely a winner. Who says tea drinking (and tea drinkers) are boring?
ReplyDeleteThe porcelain shores, his essence darkening the waters, his hideous rival, the weep and steep...I loved it all. And as a tea drinker I fell a little bad...but only a little. ;)
ReplyDeleteI never thought of tea being so sad or melancholic!
ReplyDeleteLOVE it ! I will never look at a tea bag the same way ever again..Now many things I see around me will take on a whole new look..and give pause for thought :)
ReplyDeleteI'll take my tea white with two sugars please c(_).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the delightful story.
Adam B @revhappiness
I almost feel bad for the cuppa I'm about to make.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, John. Bravo, once again.
ReplyDeleteBut, as a hater of sugared tea, remind me never to pop round yours for a brew if you're going to sugar the pot and not each individual cup!
You capture great emotions in this take on tea. I like the way you end on the pun.
ReplyDeleteBut they now are together in the tea! The agony of the leaves while the sugar dissolved joined their essences in the cup....
ReplyDeleteLovely flash!
"All he can do is weep and steep." A lovely end to a lovely piece of writing, even if it is a bit saccharine.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never knew there could be so much drama in making a cup of tea. Nice one John.
ReplyDeleteFun allegory, John. Your creativity never ceases to amaze me.
ReplyDeleteVery poetic piece, John. I enjoyed your wordplay very much.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be impossible for anyone to improve on this, well done John. Tea has never been so interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely and so imaginative! I very much enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a zinger.
ReplyDeleteA simple cup of tea isn't so simple after all. Imagine; and now I do. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI knew it -- tea is powerful! tea is amazement! and apparently, a tempest can occur in the teapot. I just hope good old tea there realizes how well and truly his(?) essence mixes with hers(?) and feels happy in the end...
ReplyDeleteIf such drama occurred during every tea making adventure.. GB would grind to a standstill. Lovely descriptive writing John
ReplyDelete