A singular cup of tea

A singular cup of tea…for all those who love their tea.

There was a singular cup of tea,
on the table between him and me.
The silence made all the conversation,
so we didn’t have to speak.

My thoughts go back to that one day when,
our paths crossed on my school holidays.
During a roller coaster ride to the hills,
the bus stuttered and halted refusing to proceed.
The driver announced an unscheduled stop,
and my cramped feet got down for a hot cup.

I speeded across the road to a tea stall,
and bumped against the boy in a rush.
One cup of hot tea we shouted  in unison,
and lo and behold, we were handed just one!

“You drink”, he gallantly offered,
“We will share”, I shyly volunteered.
The sugar was just right and the flavour perfect,
it was perhaps the best tea I have ever had.
 I sipped from the cup and he from the saucer,
We hardly spoke but my heart fluttered.

The journey ended and
he and I went our ways.
What if !I wondered often,
but somehow we never met.

He chanced upon me in a cafe today,
his dimples intact on his wrinkled face.
“You can’t be having coffee on this beautiful day,
Let me take you to the best tea shop in this place”, he said.

So here we are sitting across each other,
raising a toast to serendipity.
The singular cup of tea between us,
a witness to a budding romance? may be!
                         Tanuja, September 2022