Having tea while discussing the great ascension to the tea parties in the sky.

She rounded the corner from the kitchen into the den where Millie had been bedridden for some years now, the fireplace of black slate stone stood in the corner and it was so clean that it was obvious it hadn't held a flame for most likely longer than 10 years. Alice set the old brown wooden tray that carried a most beautiful tea set down on Millie’s lap and turned to grab the white plastic lawn chair. There wasn't much room next to the bed so a level of comfortability was to be sacrificed. Grabbing a small pillow from the corner for a little more cushion, she sat down  “So let's tea talk”. She grabbed the teapot and turned a cup over and began to pour, “sugar?” she gestured to the cubes in the shallow bowl, Milly just shook her head no. The shallow sugar dish was only one of the pieces that belonged to the elaborately decorated tea set. It had of course a nicely sized teapot delicately hand-painted with a cherry blossom tree and the wondrous sun shining behind it. On the other side and a lovely meadow with the moon's reflection mirroring off a lovely stream surrounded by the greenest grass littered with small purple flowers flowing along the ground and perceiving to glow in the moonlight. The four teacups had both purple and cherry blossoms scattered randomly all around the outside and on the inside, there were two with a moon and two with a sun. The plates and saucers were lined on the rims with alternating flowers as well as the two serving dishes, all the pieces were lined on the outside rims with gold shimmering paint that glinted a twinge more when a drop of tea was left behind. 

Alice had found the brilliant tea set in an upstairs closet while searching for a teal green heating pad, in hopes of a finding bit of relief for Millie’s aching back. As she fumbled in the closet through the towels and blankets looking for a garment bag as Millie had described a teacup rolled out of a box deep in the corner that was laying on its side. The tiny teacup was too beautiful not to be investigated more in-depth so she went in further to grab the box, she gasped at the wondrous beauties inside.  When she brought the set down to Millie, she saw an excitement in her eyes followed by a hint of realization that hit her friend's face and as Millie reached for the cup she slightly giggled. She sat up a little more and solemnly explained with many anticipated breaths how her family had passed this tea set down for so many generations. The story behind the set touched Alice so much she had to participate in the ritual for herself. She looked at Millie and said, “I will be happy to have tea with you anytime, Millie.” Millie then cordially explained, in great detail to Alice, the whole process and the importance of every step being completed properly. From the way the tea set was washed in preparation down to the way it was served. When  Millie was finished she calmly told Alice that when the time was right they would indeed have tea together.

Alice had all but forgotten about the tea set herself, until that night when she arrived and Millie simply said, “it is time for tea” Their eyes met and Alice knew the severity of the situation. Alice took a deep breath in and looked deeper into her friends' eyes, “okay I will prepare it the exact way you told me.” 

“Now Millie tell me about all the people who will be at your tea party.” Milly was slow in conversation and the tea would probably be chilled by the time she got it up to her lips, but better that way in case she slipped and spilled a little. 

Milly explained briefly again the meaning of the tea set to her family, 

“The history of this tea set and how old it is is uncertain but I know that my great grandmother told me how it was given to her by her mother and that it was said to be a portal to the great beyond. Again I thank you, Alice, for finding it, for I had all but forgotten about it.”, she paused for a second to catch her breath and with a smirk, she continued. “I can almost hear them scolding me right now for forgetting. You’ve saved the day.”  and gave Alice a wink and a nod of her head. As Millie spoke and the memories became clearer so did the cadence in her voice and her breathing became smoother, it seemed as though she could never run out of stories. Alice set her cup down and added a couple of cubes to her cup and as she stirred she listened. She gestured at the bowl in front of Millie offering her a cube and again Millie simply declined.

“So this tea set is said to be the easy way”, she air quoted with her fingers and she continued, sipping a spoonful of tea. “I remember my grandmother's face the day when we sat down to tea with her, it was my grandmother, my mother, my sister and I.  She had shown me the tea set when I was just a girl but it wasn't time yet for me to be involved, That was my first tea. I was 28 at the time and my sister had already had tea with my grandfather.  I wasn't sure I was ready for what was going to happen but I knew it was for the best. Oh gosh, she giggled, that makes me remember my husband's tea, she giggled a bit more. Alice when my husband was preparing to leave us and pass on into the spirit realm, I made him a pot of tea but he was not a tea drinker so I just poured beer into the pot.” She smiled the biggest smile Alice had seen on her face yet. 

As Milly continued on with her story Alice started feeling a chill on her shoulder as if an ice pack had been placed there, soon she felt it on her other shoulder. She sipped her tea and shivered a bit feeling the cold lift slightly.  She saw Millie nod to something or someone behind her and was curious but hesitant to turn around so she just sat looking forward and listening to all Millie had to share. She told of her mother's father and how he had come over to the states with only a little money but had quickly found himself an apprenticeship with a local butcher and he soon became the best  in his newfound gift and soon made a home, eventually, he opened his own shop that would become his families legacy. She told of her father’s grandfather that had also come to the states looking for a better life and he became a legacy in the grocery business. She spoke of his love for his family and how he would import goods from the homelands of his best and loyal customers. He wanted them to have the opportunity to use homegrown ingredients. She told of a  local pizza place that only used ingredients from her great grandfather's store because of the authenticity and how they had become famous in that small town together.  Millie paused and motioned for Alice to get the little notepad and a pen from her side table. “Write this down and put this in the box when you are finished cleaning up. She rattled off what seemed like an encrypted message but to Alice’s disbelief, her hand wrote under such a fierce control that her arm began to ache upon the closing line. And to whoever finds this first, I will be waiting at your tea party in the sky.  “Now go girl, clean the tray up nice as well, go now get to cleaning that the proper way and pack it just the way I told you. I had Bernice get a better storage box and some fresh towels and tissue paper for you and I told her to put it on the dining room table. When you are finished don't forget to tuck the note right inside and make it easy to find. I am tired now. Go!”, she said hitting Alice with startling energy.

Alice picked up the tray and walked back into the kitchen as the dishes clanked in her hands she could feel every powerful spirit in the room and knew that they were not alone. She washed and dried and wiped the set one last time before wrapping every piece and delicately placing it into the new plastic storage container. As she lay the note inside the last layer of wrap she heard a stifled snore echo into the kitchen and she smiled setting the top on while folding down the locking clips. She made her way carefully up the stairs as Millie instructed as she was always worried someone would fall down them. As she put the tea set in the closet and shut the door she thought she felt the floor tremble under her feet and she went straight down the stairs skipping a few along the way. When she arrived at Millie’s bedside her body was so silent and still and the room now felt so empty. She was not alone but Millie was not there anymore either. 

“Man she wasn't kidding when she said the tea set was strong! ”She sat down in the white plastic lawn chair, she grabbed the phone off the charging stand and began to dial.