I believe in a cup of tea

A cup of tea tempted me when I was a kid. I saw that a cup of tea refreshed my mom after a day loaded with work. In the morning, dad used to wait for tea eagerly with the morning newspaper. After passing sometime with the headlines, dad would take a peek in the kitchen if the tea was late on the table. “Yes, that is what I want,” dad said after a sip from the cup.

I was under-aged to have tea. But I was obsessed with its aroma. One day, I made tea in a lazy afternoon. I was a novice, didn’t know how to handle a cup of hot tea. So, it burnt my tongue. This was the first experience I had with tea. Now, a cup of tea is something that never leaves me alone, soothes me, gives me strength, makes my mood, and sometimes reminds me of some priceless faces from my past.

I remember those chilly winter mornings. I would sit with my grandma beside a window, digging memories from her past. A sip of tea kept us warm, fresh and talkative. Whenever I had flu with a sore throat, it was tea flavoured with ginger that fought the disease.

I was always lazy, liked to keep postponing my assignments till before the night of the deadline. Sometimes I was tensed. I had to work the whole night to finish my work when everyone was sleeping.

But the magic of the steaming tea swirled in every wrinkle of my brain, kept me awake and diligent to complete my homework. After those painstaking nights, a warm cup of tea refreshed me again in the morning, loosened my agitated mind and energized me for the rest of the day.

I also admired my friendship with tea. Cups of different colours, sizes and shapes filled most of the spaces of my kitchen cabinet. Sometimes tea was a luxury for me. The taste of tea, mingled with lemon juice, would keep whispering in my mouth more than an hour after I had it. I could feel the flow of tea in every blood vessel of my body. Far from my home, tea was the only alibi of those cheerful days I passed with my friends in the dorm.

I believe in a cup of tea that reminds me of my past, makes me nostalgic and teaches me to feel for something so ordinary. I believe in a cup of tea, which helps me to continue and cherish some relationships in my life. I believe a cup of tea is like glue that fastens me with family events. A cup of tea is something that consoles me in my grief, makes me stronger and lives in the folds of my mind and brain.