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Here's something I wrote at Christmas but forgot to post. I think I was going to post the pic of the actual teapot but I'm never going to remember to go and get it so...
Title: A Little Magical
Word Count: 2072
Object: White Leaf Teapot
Characters: Megan (Tillie & Myrrah)
“Would you like some tea?”
Megan looked down at the cup she held in her hands. Where had that come from? A heartbeat ago, she’d been walking from the monkey cages to the part of the zoo where the giraffes were showing off their new baby. Tillie and Myrrah had gone ahead because the baby was getting fussy so Megan had offered to get some water on her way back from the restroom. She’d come this route hundreds of times before. The zoo was a favorite meeting spot for the three of them; they’d been coming here nearly every other weekend for the last two years.
She’d never seen this part of the zoo, though. For one thing, the air felt different. Gone was the oppressive air of the Florida summer. Instead, she could almost taste each breath of air as it came in her mouth. It was… what was it? Cinnamon? Yes, the air tasted like it was spiced. She’d heard it was like this in Persian marketplaces but she’d never experienced it – until now.
And the trees were nothing like the ones at the zoo. She took a glance around the glade and marveled at the shapes the trunks were warped into. The wood was a palest white with a tinge of brown where the leaves sprouted. Not a single green leaf, either. They were all a different shade of brown; from a pale tan so light it was almost white to a dark chocolate color that made her stomach rumble with a candy craving.
“Dear? Would you like some tea? I would be a poor hostess indeed if I didn’t offer you some cakes but I don’t seem to have any right now. Where did they get to?”
Megan looked down at the tiny woman disappearing under the table in the middle of this strange forest. For a moment, she was scared that maybe she’d fallen down Alice’s hole and was about to have tea with the Mad Hatter and the Titmouse but this small woman didn’t seem to be either of those fictional characters. From what she’d seen of her before she crawled under the table to look for the cakes, she appeared to be just a normal woman. On a miniature scale. With skin the color of dried apples. And rather pointed ears.
“If it’s too much trouble,” Megan said in a strained voice, “I don’t need any cakes. Just tea.”
The cup she was holding appeared to have a bit of liquid in it as if she’d already had a cup or two of tea and hadn’t quite drained the last. There were tiny bits of dirt at the bottom that swirled around when she moved the cup. Perhaps not dirt, then. Tea leaves. She’d heard that some people could tell the future by reading tea leaves but she’d never been one of those sorts of people. Magic only happened in books no matter how hard she wished for it in her own life.
For kicks and grins, she swirled the liquid in the cup around in a counterclockwise fashion and concentrated on one question. What will my future hold?
Instantly, the cup filled with hot liquid the color of the sky she’d only ever seen during a winter’s day in the mountains. She sniffed at it but could only smell the spices in the air. She must have let out a little sound because the little woman straightened and looked around as if she was concerned for their safety. Megan could only hold out the cup as if to show her that the only danger appeared to be the strange liquid she’d someone conjured up from her wish to know the future.
“Oh, no. That’s not tea. I promised you tea.” Taking the cup from her, the little woman dashed the contents to the ground. The steaming liquid instantly seeped into the hard-baked dirt, leaving just the faintest trace of blue behind in its place.
Brushing at some pale brown leaves that looked as if they’d been heaped on the table for decoration, the woman uncovered a tea pot. At first glance, it looked like it had been made from the wood of the trees that surrounded them. Megan stepped closer and realized that it was a piece of ceramic that had been glazed to look like the native wood. Vine and leaves still clung to it as her hostess poured some clear liquid into her cup.
“There you go. A nice cup of tea. I do wish I could offer you some cakes but they seem to have disappeared.” There were crumbs caught in the threads of the shawl that drapped over the woman’s shoulders and crossed over her chest. As much as Megan wanted to point out the clues to the dessert’s whereabouts, she kept silent and sniffed at the tea when the cup was handed back to her. Her first sip didn’t seem to kill her so she took another.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name?” It seemed impolite to have tea with someone who she wasn’t on a first name basis with.
“Mrs. Hastings. I thought I had already introduced myself. How unfortunate that I didn’t. Please forgive me. Now, Megan, tell me about this trip to the zoo that you’re on.”
Megan was about to take another sip of tea but found it a good thing she’d waited. Her throat was closing up with fear. This woman, Mrs. Hastings, seemed to think they were already acquaintances when Megan was sure she’d never met her in her life. She also knew about the zoo outings and was acting like Megan had just popped over for a spot of tea between attractions.
“It’s lovely,” Megan answered, clearing her throat a couple of times so the words didn’t strangle her. “The weather is behaving and the animals are in good spirits.”
As if they were discussing the news of close friends, Mrs. Hastings nodded her head and smiled widely. “And how are the flamingos doing? I haven’t been over to that part of the park in nearly a decade. Do send them my best when you go by.”
“Just a minute here. Who are you? I don’t know any Mrs. Hastings and I certainly have never been to see you. You’ve never been part of the zoo tour before.”
“I most certainly have. Take out your map please.”
Even though Megan knew her way around the zoo, she always grabbed a map on her way into the park. It was part of the ritual of the trip. As she unfolded it, she saw things on the map that she’d never seen before. She’d looked at it briefly when she’d walked in this time and could have sworn that it had looked the same way it always did.
“See,” Mrs. Hastings cried triumphantly as she pointed to a small drawing of the table they were sitting at. “Right here. Tea Glen.”
“Then why aren’t there a thousand people walking by us if this is part of the zoo?”
“I don’t want a thousand people to come to tea. I only wanted you to come by today but you certainly seem to be in a mood. Maybe I would be better off taking my tea and cakes and going home.”
“You don’t have any cakes. You ate them already,” Megan pointed out snidely, setting her cup of tea down on the table with enough force that the hot liquid jumped out and puddled on the hewn-wood table.
Mrs. Hastings looked guiltily down the front of her dress. “Ah, yes. You’re right. I didn’t mean to be so inconsiderate with my sweets but it is such a treat to have them. Forgive me?”
Megan nodded her head. “And I seem to be out of tea. Could I have some more please?”
They talked for the next half an hour about what the two of them had been up to since they’d last seen each other but Megan soon became aware of the time. “I really must head back. I told Tillie that I’d bring them some bottled water. It really is such a hot day today. Not here, of course. It’s always the perfect temperature in the Tea Glen.”
“Yes, it is. You’ll come again?”
“Of course. Next time I’m here. Do take care, Mrs. Hastings.”
“Same to you, my dear. Remember to give my best to the flamingos.”
A man ran into Megan, causing her to back up a step or two. He apologized profusely, his hands steadying her until she could stand on her own again without falling over. “I think it was my fault,” she said softly, blinking her eyes as they watered under the bright noon sun. “I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the walkway like that.”
The couple walked away, the woman tugging at the man’s arm as he tried to convince her that he hadn’t even seen the strange girl. Megan wasn’t sure where she was, only that her map was in her hands. She was supposed to be meeting Tillie somewhere… but where? Her brain felt like mush and there was an odd taste in her mouth, as if she’d been chewing on a cinnamon stick. Not in this heat, though. The only thing she wanted was some water but it appeared that she’d already gotten some of that before she’d stopped to get her bearings. Seemed like every time she came to this zoo, she got lost at least once in this exact same place.
Shaking her head, she settled the bottled waters more firmly into the crook of her hands and trudged toward the giraffes where her friends were sure to be waiting for her. She wouldn’t tell them about this little incident, though. It was embarrassing to think that she couldn’t get around the zoo after visiting it so often.
“Can we head over to the birds?” she asked as she approached her friends. “I have to say hello to the flamingos.”
Tillie laughed and uncapped the water. “You and your silly rituals. You’d think you knew them or something. I do love this water. Where do you get it? I can never find it when I go looking for it.”
The label on the clear plastic bottles was the palest tan with a pattern of dark brown leaves woven around the edges. Hastings Water – bottled at the source it read but there was nothing else to mar the design. Megan took a sip of hers and realized it tasted faintly of cinnamon.
“I don’t know. Over there,” she said vaguely, waving her hand in the way she’d come. “Somewhere.”
Tillie and Myrrah looked at each other, each of them raising an eyebrow as if they were reminding the other of a joke. Megan was used to the gesture which was why she didn’t tell them about the disorientation she often had right before she bought the water. It was better that they didn’t know.
“Myrrah and I were talking about where we wanted to go on our vacation this year,” Tillie said suddenly, obviously wanting to move the conversation on to something else. “We want to go skiing this year. Want to come? I know you don’t ski but it might still be fun to have snow for Christmas.”
Megan nodded as she shivered, her thoughts focused on a blur of blue the color of a winter sky. “That sounds great.”
“You don’t sound very enthusiastic,” Myrrah said, her eyes narrowed. The baby started to fuss and she began to move the stroller back and forth to calm him.
“No, I do think it’s great. It’s just that I was having the same thoughts earlier and it’s weird that you guys said something. Like…”
“De ja vu?” Tillie asked, laughing at the thought. “You seem to have those a lot when we come to the zoo. It’s like this place is full of magic, or something.”
Megan nodded. It certainly felt strange, as if there really was magic here. Like she was magic. But she shook her head. “It’s the heat. I always get fuzzy headed in the heat. Oh, look. The baby giraffe. How cute.”
And the conversation was once again diverted. One of these days, Megan was going to have to figure out where she was getting cinnamon from in the zoo, though. It was a strange thing to sell here. But then this zoo always seemed a little strange. A little magical.
Title: A Little Magical
Word Count: 2072
Object: White Leaf Teapot
Characters: Megan (Tillie & Myrrah)
“Would you like some tea?”
Megan looked down at the cup she held in her hands. Where had that come from? A heartbeat ago, she’d been walking from the monkey cages to the part of the zoo where the giraffes were showing off their new baby. Tillie and Myrrah had gone ahead because the baby was getting fussy so Megan had offered to get some water on her way back from the restroom. She’d come this route hundreds of times before. The zoo was a favorite meeting spot for the three of them; they’d been coming here nearly every other weekend for the last two years.
She’d never seen this part of the zoo, though. For one thing, the air felt different. Gone was the oppressive air of the Florida summer. Instead, she could almost taste each breath of air as it came in her mouth. It was… what was it? Cinnamon? Yes, the air tasted like it was spiced. She’d heard it was like this in Persian marketplaces but she’d never experienced it – until now.
And the trees were nothing like the ones at the zoo. She took a glance around the glade and marveled at the shapes the trunks were warped into. The wood was a palest white with a tinge of brown where the leaves sprouted. Not a single green leaf, either. They were all a different shade of brown; from a pale tan so light it was almost white to a dark chocolate color that made her stomach rumble with a candy craving.
“Dear? Would you like some tea? I would be a poor hostess indeed if I didn’t offer you some cakes but I don’t seem to have any right now. Where did they get to?”
Megan looked down at the tiny woman disappearing under the table in the middle of this strange forest. For a moment, she was scared that maybe she’d fallen down Alice’s hole and was about to have tea with the Mad Hatter and the Titmouse but this small woman didn’t seem to be either of those fictional characters. From what she’d seen of her before she crawled under the table to look for the cakes, she appeared to be just a normal woman. On a miniature scale. With skin the color of dried apples. And rather pointed ears.
“If it’s too much trouble,” Megan said in a strained voice, “I don’t need any cakes. Just tea.”
The cup she was holding appeared to have a bit of liquid in it as if she’d already had a cup or two of tea and hadn’t quite drained the last. There were tiny bits of dirt at the bottom that swirled around when she moved the cup. Perhaps not dirt, then. Tea leaves. She’d heard that some people could tell the future by reading tea leaves but she’d never been one of those sorts of people. Magic only happened in books no matter how hard she wished for it in her own life.
For kicks and grins, she swirled the liquid in the cup around in a counterclockwise fashion and concentrated on one question. What will my future hold?
Instantly, the cup filled with hot liquid the color of the sky she’d only ever seen during a winter’s day in the mountains. She sniffed at it but could only smell the spices in the air. She must have let out a little sound because the little woman straightened and looked around as if she was concerned for their safety. Megan could only hold out the cup as if to show her that the only danger appeared to be the strange liquid she’d someone conjured up from her wish to know the future.
“Oh, no. That’s not tea. I promised you tea.” Taking the cup from her, the little woman dashed the contents to the ground. The steaming liquid instantly seeped into the hard-baked dirt, leaving just the faintest trace of blue behind in its place.
Brushing at some pale brown leaves that looked as if they’d been heaped on the table for decoration, the woman uncovered a tea pot. At first glance, it looked like it had been made from the wood of the trees that surrounded them. Megan stepped closer and realized that it was a piece of ceramic that had been glazed to look like the native wood. Vine and leaves still clung to it as her hostess poured some clear liquid into her cup.
“There you go. A nice cup of tea. I do wish I could offer you some cakes but they seem to have disappeared.” There were crumbs caught in the threads of the shawl that drapped over the woman’s shoulders and crossed over her chest. As much as Megan wanted to point out the clues to the dessert’s whereabouts, she kept silent and sniffed at the tea when the cup was handed back to her. Her first sip didn’t seem to kill her so she took another.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name?” It seemed impolite to have tea with someone who she wasn’t on a first name basis with.
“Mrs. Hastings. I thought I had already introduced myself. How unfortunate that I didn’t. Please forgive me. Now, Megan, tell me about this trip to the zoo that you’re on.”
Megan was about to take another sip of tea but found it a good thing she’d waited. Her throat was closing up with fear. This woman, Mrs. Hastings, seemed to think they were already acquaintances when Megan was sure she’d never met her in her life. She also knew about the zoo outings and was acting like Megan had just popped over for a spot of tea between attractions.
“It’s lovely,” Megan answered, clearing her throat a couple of times so the words didn’t strangle her. “The weather is behaving and the animals are in good spirits.”
As if they were discussing the news of close friends, Mrs. Hastings nodded her head and smiled widely. “And how are the flamingos doing? I haven’t been over to that part of the park in nearly a decade. Do send them my best when you go by.”
“Just a minute here. Who are you? I don’t know any Mrs. Hastings and I certainly have never been to see you. You’ve never been part of the zoo tour before.”
“I most certainly have. Take out your map please.”
Even though Megan knew her way around the zoo, she always grabbed a map on her way into the park. It was part of the ritual of the trip. As she unfolded it, she saw things on the map that she’d never seen before. She’d looked at it briefly when she’d walked in this time and could have sworn that it had looked the same way it always did.
“See,” Mrs. Hastings cried triumphantly as she pointed to a small drawing of the table they were sitting at. “Right here. Tea Glen.”
“Then why aren’t there a thousand people walking by us if this is part of the zoo?”
“I don’t want a thousand people to come to tea. I only wanted you to come by today but you certainly seem to be in a mood. Maybe I would be better off taking my tea and cakes and going home.”
“You don’t have any cakes. You ate them already,” Megan pointed out snidely, setting her cup of tea down on the table with enough force that the hot liquid jumped out and puddled on the hewn-wood table.
Mrs. Hastings looked guiltily down the front of her dress. “Ah, yes. You’re right. I didn’t mean to be so inconsiderate with my sweets but it is such a treat to have them. Forgive me?”
Megan nodded her head. “And I seem to be out of tea. Could I have some more please?”
They talked for the next half an hour about what the two of them had been up to since they’d last seen each other but Megan soon became aware of the time. “I really must head back. I told Tillie that I’d bring them some bottled water. It really is such a hot day today. Not here, of course. It’s always the perfect temperature in the Tea Glen.”
“Yes, it is. You’ll come again?”
“Of course. Next time I’m here. Do take care, Mrs. Hastings.”
“Same to you, my dear. Remember to give my best to the flamingos.”
A man ran into Megan, causing her to back up a step or two. He apologized profusely, his hands steadying her until she could stand on her own again without falling over. “I think it was my fault,” she said softly, blinking her eyes as they watered under the bright noon sun. “I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the walkway like that.”
The couple walked away, the woman tugging at the man’s arm as he tried to convince her that he hadn’t even seen the strange girl. Megan wasn’t sure where she was, only that her map was in her hands. She was supposed to be meeting Tillie somewhere… but where? Her brain felt like mush and there was an odd taste in her mouth, as if she’d been chewing on a cinnamon stick. Not in this heat, though. The only thing she wanted was some water but it appeared that she’d already gotten some of that before she’d stopped to get her bearings. Seemed like every time she came to this zoo, she got lost at least once in this exact same place.
Shaking her head, she settled the bottled waters more firmly into the crook of her hands and trudged toward the giraffes where her friends were sure to be waiting for her. She wouldn’t tell them about this little incident, though. It was embarrassing to think that she couldn’t get around the zoo after visiting it so often.
“Can we head over to the birds?” she asked as she approached her friends. “I have to say hello to the flamingos.”
Tillie laughed and uncapped the water. “You and your silly rituals. You’d think you knew them or something. I do love this water. Where do you get it? I can never find it when I go looking for it.”
The label on the clear plastic bottles was the palest tan with a pattern of dark brown leaves woven around the edges. Hastings Water – bottled at the source it read but there was nothing else to mar the design. Megan took a sip of hers and realized it tasted faintly of cinnamon.
“I don’t know. Over there,” she said vaguely, waving her hand in the way she’d come. “Somewhere.”
Tillie and Myrrah looked at each other, each of them raising an eyebrow as if they were reminding the other of a joke. Megan was used to the gesture which was why she didn’t tell them about the disorientation she often had right before she bought the water. It was better that they didn’t know.
“Myrrah and I were talking about where we wanted to go on our vacation this year,” Tillie said suddenly, obviously wanting to move the conversation on to something else. “We want to go skiing this year. Want to come? I know you don’t ski but it might still be fun to have snow for Christmas.”
Megan nodded as she shivered, her thoughts focused on a blur of blue the color of a winter sky. “That sounds great.”
“You don’t sound very enthusiastic,” Myrrah said, her eyes narrowed. The baby started to fuss and she began to move the stroller back and forth to calm him.
“No, I do think it’s great. It’s just that I was having the same thoughts earlier and it’s weird that you guys said something. Like…”
“De ja vu?” Tillie asked, laughing at the thought. “You seem to have those a lot when we come to the zoo. It’s like this place is full of magic, or something.”
Megan nodded. It certainly felt strange, as if there really was magic here. Like she was magic. But she shook her head. “It’s the heat. I always get fuzzy headed in the heat. Oh, look. The baby giraffe. How cute.”
And the conversation was once again diverted. One of these days, Megan was going to have to figure out where she was getting cinnamon from in the zoo, though. It was a strange thing to sell here. But then this zoo always seemed a little strange. A little magical.
