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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#128: Tea Time

Did you know that January is National Hot Tea Month? Tea is a wonderfully diverse beverage that’s enjoyed in many different ways all over the world. It can be a soothing drink, a social drink, and has even sparked conflicts (think the Boston Tea Party, or the First Opium War).

Inspired by the history and cultural significance of this beverage, here are the prompts for this week’s contest:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone making a cup of tea — either for themself or for someone else.

Fluff – 171 stories

Set your story in a tea house.

Spring – 36 stories

Write a story about a tea party that your character is reluctant to go to.

Summer – 44 stories

Write about a character who’s dying to “spill the tea” (gossip) about something.

Fluff – 21 stories

Write a story about a conflict that breaks out over something ordinary (like tea, perhaps).

High School – 26 stories

Stories

“Daisy Miller and the Green Woman” by Clara Wilde

Submitted to Contest #128

I cracked my eyes open, squinting at the ceiling. The moment I did, I wished I hadn’t; my head pulsed and I felt dizzy. I started to piece together what happened before I fell asleep. My eyes shot open and the blinding light made the back of my eyeballs ache. I blinked stupidly. I was lying on my back on a dark green velvet couch. The room was fairly tight. Definitely an outdated apartment, probably on the east side of the city judging by its antiquated architecture and the sounds of traffic humming through the left wall...

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“Teatime” by ML Biddison

Submitted to Contest #128

The tea has always worked before. And nothing has changed. I measured the required aromatic ingredients, ran the hot water through it for precisely three minutes, stirred in the dollop of honey, and served it immediately, placing the steaming brew under her nose until her eyes flew open.Normally, it’s all that is required. Her hands would begin to quake. Then her shoulders would noticeably stiffen, and she would grasp the cup. A small sip, and she’d smile up at me, a dark crumble of blood dislodging from her lip. From there, everything would...

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“The Tea Ceremony” by Lauren Frank

Submitted to Contest #128

From a chipped repurposed Milo tin, Frances shook out the dried flowers, crumpled together like children’s fists, into a glass teapot of steaming water. She followed the flowers with half a palm-full of South Word “Lump Candy” that splashed up the clear walls, sending snaking droplets racing down and down. After stirring the tea with a wooden spoon, Frances replaced the lid without making a clink or a pop, gripped the teapot’s handle and adjusted to its weight without letting the moist glass slip in her hand. Then, with her left hand, she pi...

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“A FAMILY LOVE Story ” by Sheila Sarrett

Submitted to Contest #128

Janice is a precocious and adorable five year old with blonde curly hair and a big smile. She was sitting in the shopping cart which her mom had standing in the aisle where she was looking for a cereal that she thought Janice would like. Her mother finally chose the cereal which Janice said she would try. Looking down the aisle Janice saw an elderly gentleman also looking for a cereal. Janice shouted out to her mother’s embarrassment “Hello Mr. old man. Maybe you would like the cereal my mom picked out. Her mom looked at the man to apologiz...

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“Mild January Drinks” by L.J Sunwing

Submitted to Contest #128

“You look like you need a cup of tea.” Ripley crosses her arms and looks at her friend sitting at the bar-like kitchen table. Ripley pulls her hair into a low bun, strands hanging down in her eyes over her thick-rimmed glasses. The small woman stands on her tip-toes to get a box of tea out of the cupboard and reaches across the stove to flip on the burner. The light shines in through the window, the weather is cool and damp but mild enough to take a walk outside in a light jacket. This made the simple warm drink seem all the more appealing t...

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“Not My Cup of Tea” by Isabel Mirassou

Submitted to Contest #128

I'm not a tea drinker, but while heading for Colombian coffee beans, I accidentally threw away the can of Earl Gray and Jasmine tea that Maria had just given me for my birthday. The can was luxurious, I had not looked at it carefully before, but now that it was in my hands and I felt the embossing of the can, I stopped to see the illustrations, read the ingredients, the history of the tea, and even the instructions for creating the perfect mug.I uncapped it and as soon as I opened the bag, I sensed an aromatic explosion of memories; the berg...

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“THERE IS A LITTLE DUCK IN MY CUP OF TEA” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #128

THERE IS A LITTLE DUCK IN MY CUP OF TEA Alice removed the paper and put the tea bag into the cup, while she waited for the water to boil. Of course she too knew that tea, a real tea should be prepared with the leaves of tea dried to the right point, on which to pour water at first boiling, without the presence of the filter, yes, very thin, but that however it was not tea. In tea bags the paper bag, even if very thin and very permeable to water, inevitably takes something away from the tea, from its most authentic ...

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“George?” by Krista Womack

Submitted to Contest #128

George? He stood over the gas stove with the kettle warming pulling it off seconds before the whistle as not to startle his friend in the next room. “Hey Dom, do you care what kind of tea?” Leo asked from the kitchen. Dom didn’t answer but gave a slight head nod. Leo entered carrying a tray with two mugs filled with hot water, a string hanging over the side, and bowls of sugar and milk. He set it down on the small table between the couch and chair where they sat. Dom continued to stare off at the wall, but his eyes stayed unfocused....

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“A Chance for Spring” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #128

Every morning at 6:30, the neighbors of John Davos would notice his bedroom light flickering on almost exactly fifteen seconds after the clock bottomed out. That is, they would have noticed if they were awake, but John lived in a sleepy old town, full of retirees who went to bed early and slept in late almost every day. In fact, on most days the trunks of shiny Cadillacs and Lincolns could be heard thunking around noon as people packed their golf clubs and headed down to the range, even at the zenith of the swampy Florida heat. If the neighb...

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“Green Tea” by Anne McCarthy

Submitted to Contest #128

Deirdre and Makoto Yamaguchi sat cross-legged on cushions, facing each other, at the square miniature dining table in their tatami room overlooking their traditional Japanese garden in Tokyo. The scent of freshly lain straw mats underneath them blended with the rich aroma of green tea and soya bean deserts set out. A sense of expectation filled the air. The first cherry blossoms had bloomed in the garden this morning on the tree planted by Makoto’s grandfather after the war. Soon it would be time for ohanami, wher...

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“The Deep Creek” by Kelli Springer

Submitted to Contest #128

Dee grinned at her granddaughter as the girl settled into the chair and fixed the old woman with an expectant gaze. Dee scattered a pinch of powdered ginger into a steaming cup of tea to finish it off. “Grandma?” Pepper’s little face was pink from the sun, and her acorn brown hair was wind tousled.“Yes, my love?” Dee turned to face the child. “That’s not hot cocoa,” she said, pointing at the mugs in Dee’s hands. One for herself, and one for her Granddaughter.“Well, you seemed upset, Pep. And I think we need to have a grown-up talk ...

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“Chamomile, It Helps” by Alicia Simpkins

Submitted to Contest #128

Note/Trigger Warning: This story references child abuse/death. The soft whistling sound and the sight of steam emerging from the stainless steel tea kettle was what captured Charmaine Wilson’s attention. Her barefeet softly padded against the wood floors, the legs of her plaid pajama bottoms whispered softly against the floor. She made her way to the stove and turned the silver knob, causing the small red light to disappear. Her fingers then curled around the handle of the kettle as she removed the appliance from the stove ring. She mov...

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“Interlude” by Lief Bennett

Submitted to Contest #128

In late January she came to visit me, and I made her tea. I have never been good at talking, so this is the way I tell her I love her, a warm drink in her hands, and a dry house to stay in for the few hours she is with me. I sat across from her in the darkened living room, my hands around my own warm cup, watching steam waft up into the space between us. She told me about her plans for the future and I listened politely. She burnt her tongue on my hospitality(hospitalitea), which I should have taken as a sign, especially as I sipped comfor...

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“The Heist” by Alessandra Mejia

Submitted to Contest #128

Sammy My day started with a steaming cup of herbal tea and my to-do list that I was going to conquer. I came to the store for a few things I needed off of my list, but I never thought that my day would end like this. I never thought that today would be my last. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, I held my breath hoping it would slow my heart rate down. Can they hear my heart racing? The pounding in my head was overpowering, I couldn’t hear myself think. I scanned the room to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. To make sure that every...

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“The Morning Ritual” by Sam Wilson

Submitted to Contest #128

Every day the kitchen window sill fills with the water-colored light of damp dawn. The brass kettle whistles with a high-pitched whine. The sound personifies my inner monologue as I grip the handle with a shaky hand. This tray of tea is not being prepared for only me. This offering of hot, inky water, is a gesture of my goodwill. “With milk?” I suggest staring into the hazy bedroom from the threshold of the door, clutching yesterday's tea tray. Every morning I ask, and every morning I receive no reply. “Milk.” I surmise to myse...

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$250

Prize money

298

Contest entries

160

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 14, 2022 EST

Won by Jay Wayne 🏆

Title: my fellow passerine

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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