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Start or end your story with a character making a cup of tea for themself or someone else.

Posted in Short Story on Jan 24, 2025

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✍️ 185 stories

Slow Burn

Winner of Contest #287 🏆

Steam rising from the kettle, sunlight seeping in through the crack of my floral shades, my mint green tea timer resting on the kitchen counter, an empty bottle sitting next to it, the criss-cross pattern on my gray wool socks. Five things I can see. Standing in the kitchen, bleary-eyed and groggy, I brush a pile of curls off my forehead, rest my elbow against the cold Formica counter, rub the soft flannel of my pajama shirt, and finally tap my foot against the terrazo. That’s four things I can touch. Adrian pads his way into the kitchen beh...

153 likes 128 comments 128
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The Shining Light of "One Who Knows" - World Voyages of the Destiny's Dreams

Submitted to Contest #287

"Even the ocean murmurs to the woman named One Who Knows," the ancient villagers said. "She shares our joys and sorrows. She senses the depths in our hearts.""Everything in nature has an essence of the unseen forces. The winds, the trees, the animals, the sun, moon, and stars, and the clouds in the sky all call and whisper to One Who Knows."Thousands of years ago, during the last Ice Age Melting, when the sea rose, the villagers felt their lives were like reeds in a woven basket, woven into the natural world by the Unseen.Someone then might ...

58 likes 40 comments 40
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Orbits

Submitted to Contest #287

I microwave water because there's no teapot in my house. It does the job. I currently only have black tea since I already have flavors to add. I'm fuzzy on how we acquired a dozen bottles of flavored syrups, but I figured there was no need to buy flavored tea until I used these bottles first. While stirring my hot tea after adding honey and French vanilla syrup, an idea hit me: I live in an orbit. The rotation of the tea inspired the idea. Everything goes in a circle or orbit. The moon orbits the Earth. The Earth orbits the sun. The sun migh...

55 likes 45 comments 45
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Right Cup of Tea

Submitted to Contest #287

Right Cup of Tea Armed with pamphlets and instructions on caring for recovering stroke patient, Uncle Simon, Claire climbs into the front passenger seat of Lefty's big pick-up for the trip out to his Wimberley, Texas ranch. Try as she might want to admire her new surroundings as the gentle hills start rolling by, her head starts lolling to the side. Soon she is as sound asleep as Patches curled in the cat carrier next to her. The back-pack containing her laptop and all her worldly possessions is at her feet. The rancher driving can't help bu...

50 likes 40 comments 40
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A Spot of Tea: A Professor Deshpande Mystery

Submitted to Contest #287

“A great idea should always be left to steep like loose tea leaves in a teapot for a while to make sure that the tea will be strong enough and the idea truly is a great one.” — Phoebe Stone“As long as my role begins and terminates in the kitchen, I am both honored and delighted,” Anand replied as he checked on the welfare of the gulab jamun. The macroeconomist nodded curtly to the saturated dumplings as he might a freshman who had successfully dissected Keynesian Theory. “Oh, and please confine your literary circle to the common areas.”“It’s...

40 likes 12 comments 12
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The Next Step

Shortlisted for Contest #287 ⭐️

Tristan stirred the sickly green tea in his mug, watching the bag bob up and down in murky suspension. He took a sip, cringed, and grunted in disgust. Far from being satisfying, he thought it tasted like wet grass and regret. He sighed and left the break room, entering the office corridor and pressing the elevator button with the same tired resignation he’d applied to his third cup that morning. The mirrored elevator doors reflected a man worn thin - tired eyes, and a mouth set in a permanent downturn. He tried not to loo...

33 likes 14 comments 14
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Steam and Stardust

Submitted to Contest #287

Steam curled from the kettle’s spout, a ghostly ribbon dancing in the dim morning light. Orion Carter traced its path with failing eyes, remembering how he once tracked the trajectories of distant comets with that same careful attention. The familiar ritual of making tea had become a treacherous dance, his fingers seeking the counter’s edge, measuring distances by memory rather than sight. The kettle’s whistle pierced the quiet apartment. He reached for it, muscle memory betraying him as his hand missed the handle and brushed against the sca...

30 likes 7 comments 7
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The Garden of Edens

Submitted to Contest #287

“Please come in, Professor Eden,” Dean Taverts gestures for me to sit down in an oversized leather chair across from his imposing mahogany desk. “Shall I make us some tea?”“Eh, sure – thank you,” I adjust my tie and glance at him curiously as he sets to work steeping the tea in an ornate, silver teapot. “I must say, Dean Taverts, I was quite surprised that you invited me here. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never heard of your university before.” Though his office is certainly one of the most impressive I’ve ever set foo...

28 likes 22 comments 22
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Jobsworth

Submitted to Contest #287

Ding dong.Ding dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch! I sing to myself. Who needs sleep? Sleep is for losers. I initially said that as a joke to my mum friends who also had a sleep depriving monster at home but it’s not funny now. I used to think I was quite smart but now I can’t string a sentence together and opt for singing. I can’t even remember the last time I picked up a book.Ding dong.Oh yes, back in the room… It’s my doorbell.Deep breath. At least this is the last time I will have to put up with her. That is unless...

27 likes 12 comments 12
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The Dilemma

Shortlisted for Contest #287 ⭐️

Tea or coffee?Such a simple decision, yet it presses inside Jane, snatching her breath with the crush of its breadth. She watches the early morning sunlight creep weakly to the kitchen window, pale and watery, just enough of it slithered under the blinds to illuminate the vastness of Matthew’s absence.At least he went quickly. She has lost count of the number of people that have said this to her in the last two weeks, well-worn but well-meant words of comfort. A sorrowful smile teases Jane’s mouthcorners for the briefest of moments and then ...

26 likes 12 comments 12
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Steeped Tea and Broken Knives

Submitted to Contest #287

I don’t like tea. I never have. But my father did, and when I made him a cup that afternoon, I could almost pretend everything was normal. He’d asked me to make it, as he often did when he was at home. So, I filled the kettle, added the tea bags, and waited for it to boil, listening to the quiet hum of the house. The smell of the tea, warm and comforting, filled the kitchen as I poured it into his mug. It wasn’t much. But it was one of those simple things that kept us both grounded. “I’ll pick you up from rehearsal later, yeah?” he...

25 likes 8 comments 8
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Help Wanted

Submitted to Contest #287

Craigslist>Ann Arbor>Jobs>Household HelpHelp wanted with household chores. Retired widow living in a large home in need of help with cleaning, gardening, cooking, etc. Great part-time job for a young woman in college or otherwise. Please email if you are interested in scheduling an interview. References required.It is not okay for recruiters to contact this job poster.Oh hi, sweetheart. You must be Amber. Look at you! The boys must be tripping over themselves to stand next to you. Come on in. I have a kettle on the stove. Let’s sit ...

25 likes 27 comments 27
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What Grows Beneath

Submitted to Contest #287

‘I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea’ - Fyodor DostoevskySummer 1992, 7th cupThe tea still works, even though it shifts and alters more than it should. My skin is tighter, I feel it around my chin and my collarbones, but it takes curious forms here and there, either too smooth or too sharp. The first time it happened, I barely noticed – I was blinded by relief, youth. I don’t recognize my own reflection anymore. Now my patience wears thin where it once stretched long, my thoughts move too quickly and my moods shif...

24 likes 8 comments 8
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Keep Her Safe

Submitted to Contest #287

(TW - Sensitive Content) The cornflower blue eyes looking at me could have been my own reflection many years ago. Or they could have been the eyes of someone I once held dear. They were neither. “Can I bring Annabelle to the tea party, Mommy?” Sophie’s voice interrupted my thoughts before they traveled further down the unpleasant path. I smiled. “Of course, baby. Let’s set another place at the table.”  I watched my daughter carefully arrange a porcelain tea cup and saucer on the miniature table. I held back...

23 likes 11 comments 11
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The Lipton's List of Runners

Submitted to Contest #287

Every nation has a class system whether they admit it or not. Most allow for the concept of meritocracy, but honestly? The lines are pretty firmly drawn. Unless you’re a savant, follow the money.The upper classes, everywhere, have earned the right to be penniless if that’s the way it goes. They can live in shabby villas with elbow patches on their jackets and tortoises roaming wild in their walled gardens, and no one judges them. This class are often referred to, in fond terms, as eccentric. The most colourful 'blue collars' are less fondly ...

23 likes 21 comments 21
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