A Cup of Tea

Weakness brought to a boil. The contents of the vessel were simmering together, thickening to a creamy texture. I heard the tapping of the raindrops as pellets hammering against my kitchen's windowpane. So was my heart against my chest. A welcome so warm, I said to myself, curving my lips to a smile.

I dared not turn around. I was standing still, seemingly lost into the patterns of the frothy tea, while I could feel his sharp glances boring into my back.

How was one supposed to break the ice as cold as this? He cleared his throat, reckoning me to turn around as it had been a while since we were here. I brought my lost senses back from the frothy cream to the reality around me.

"The situation is grim," he said.

"I understand," I said, nodding in agreement. "Why then are you here, Harris?"

"It's something else I've been meaning to ask you."

"And?"

"The police have found their way back to the ruined outhouse. We don't know why. I had my doubts. Perhaps you know something about it?"

"What makes you think so?"

"Leela, I know you only too well to not ask you about it. If there's anything, I must know, please tell me."

"Look, Harris, I don't know what you think of me now. But I am a changed person. I'm making peace with all that has happened and living a serene life out here all by myself, in the lap of Mother Nature, washing away all my sins. I'm too occupied with changing right now but would never want to step back if I could help."

"So, are you telling me you're actually able to overcome the guilt of the crime we committed?"

"Well, technically speaking, it was just me. You don't have to be involved."

"But I was there too. I can never forget that night ever."

"Neither can I. It's too much to forget. But you do seem to have forgotten and moved on. How's Maya?" I smiled.

His crooked, tense eyebrows freed, and his whole face turned pink at the mention of her name.

"She is doing great. We are really happy. She is, in fact, carrying our baby. If not for this case, we would've been much happier. I cannot wait to be a father," he beamed with joy.

Jealousy pooled in my stomach. But I tried to smile against my wishes. "I couldn't have been happier for you both."

"So, coming back to the point, do you know why the police have gone back to the outhouse?" he thinned his tense lips.

"Well, I might've hidden a pile of bones in there," I smirked.

He held my gaze and walked closer to me. I could smell the musty stench of cigarettes and the leather jacket mixed with his inherent odor. For one second, my heart froze. This man! This handsome man, who stole my heart years ago and broke it into a thousand pieces, has the nerve to stand so close to me after doing all that he did?

I sidestepped my thoughts and tried moving away as he held me by my arm, leaned in, and whispered into my ear, "You have no idea how important this is to me. Do you think you can joke about it?" His grip tightened as he ground his teeth and barked, "I need to hear the truth!"

I yanked my arm free from his painful grasp and spoke softly, "I told you already. I'm telling you again. I have no idea why the police have gone back. Yes, I might have killed a person in the past. But you too were there when that happened. I have never been able to come back to my senses fully since that fateful night. I truly repent it."

"But trust me Harris, I have never gone back there. It haunts me to this day. The rain still makes my spine chilly, I still dread the sea, and I cannot even begin thinking of the guy I killed," I sniffled as tears filled my eyes. "He loved me. He truly did," I sobbed.

Harris softened his face and put his arm around me to hug me.

Oh, the calm that settled over me with his warmth against me.

The vessel on the stove hissed behind us. I cursed it as it cut short our pristine moments. I turned around and turned off the gas. And reached over to two teacups and strained the tea over a filter.

I handed one cup of tea to him and started sipping on the other one. He smiled as he took it.

"Maya will be angry and worried if she knows I came here to see you."

"Well, she has good reason to."

"Hey, that's not true." He glanced down at me and crinkled his eyebrows. "Your tea always has such a special taste. I wonder what you do! It always tastes so much different."

"Haha, I have my own way of doing things. I do them in style."

We both fell silent as we relished the taste, looking out of the window at the rain. A flash of sudden lightning and a colossal thunder struck the sky. Harris moved in a jolt at the sound. But I didn't flinch. I was lost looking at his strikingly handsome features, the way he sipped his tea, the way he leaned against the wall.

He turned to look at me and gasped in shock.

"Leela, your nose is bleeding!"

I shifted my gaze to my teacup as two drops of blood fell into my tea, making it gross but unduly satisfying.

I felt my head swim with sharp pain. But I smiled as I saw his nose bleeding too.

Horror gripped his face as he realized what just happened.

"NO! YOU CANNOT DO THIS…YOU ARE SUCH A …..!" Before he could finish his words, I lost all my senses and fell to the floor in a heap.

And before my eyes fell closed, I saw the blurred image of him crumbling down in pain as he latched on to his throat. He gurgled on his own blood and spat out in agony.

I felt a complete sense of fulfillment as I gleefully closed my eyes and felt the seething pain poison my whole body. I smiled and said to myself for the last time: "I do everything in style."