They didn't serve tea that day. I panicked. I had been a regular customer for 5 years, and it was my daily evening routine. I straight away approached one waiter, but he was busy. I tried making eye contact with another and even called one by her name. Nobody responded. I immediately became anxious.
I used to drink tea in that particular shop and not in the adjacent one. For a second, I thought of going to the adjacent shop to quench my desire. I was reluctant to go. If I had dared to visit the other shop on that particular day, I would have come out of my comfort zone and tried other options. If I had allowed myself to go there, I would have had the opportunity to try a new taste in a new environment, but I didn’t go. I was too scared to try a new thing. "What would it be like?” “Will they be welcoming or not?” “What if I liked it there?” and so on.
Curiosity took over. I had to find out the reason behind the unavailability of tea. I attempted to ask one of the customers this time, but she shied away. I tried another one, and he had no clue. They probably hated tea. I was full of questions and a bit nervous. My mouth had dried. I thought of retreating from the query and returning the next day. I didn’t reconsider going to the adjacent shop either. So I started walking back home, unsatisfied and empty. My hands were shaking. I felt something was missing, and it was definitely tea. “What if they don’t serve it tomorrow as well, or worse, never?”
That possibility was killing me softly. I had to know the reason. “Could it be that they forgot to get the tea leaves from the store?” “What if they were going to stop serving tea from now on?” “Is tea going out of style and being replaced by coffee or beer?” All these thoughts were making me more restless. My heart rate was increasing, and I even felt it extending up to my neck. My heart and my thoughts were gaining pace just like horses in a race, and I knew that it was not going to end sooner. I was trying hard to stop that awful feeling, but it became more intense. This unknowing was eating me from the inside. I could not tolerate it anymore, so I turned in the opposite direction and headed for the shop again. I had to know, or else it would have been a sleepless night. I was obsessed. “They always served tea.” “This never happened before.” I had previously presumed that this would only happen to other people and not me. I reached the place gasping for air. This time I managed to ask the waiter. I fumbled as I asked. I was hoping for a favorable answer. After I finished asking, it felt like she took longer than usual to answer. My heart was still pounding. She finally said it. “The tea leaves were arriving later in the evening.” I was relieved that it would be available. I thanked her and looked forward to coming back the next day to continue my daily tea culture in that specific shop. My heartbeat slowed down gradually.
Excited after the good news, I didn’t think much and finally decided to check out the adjacent tea shop that evening. I also needed a backup tea shop in case such a disappointment happened again in the other shop. I was also craving the tea. So, I entered the dark, chilly hall, which had posters of Metallica and other rock bands. The tables were filled with marker writing and names carved out. Carvings like U+S, smiley faces, obscene signs, etc. were on display. This shop was without plants and had a closed roof, which caused smoke to fill the room. On the contrary, the old one had no ceiling and was open, and the smoke would easily dissipate. I was appalled for a moment, but I sat down calmly, seeing other people just like me enjoying their cup of tea. Anxiety kicked in, thinking about how the tea would turn out. I sat there alone, reading the table and wall literature, smiling, waiting, and thinking of my old tea shop.
Finally, tea arrived in a cup made from clay. Excitement filled my heart. I took a sip, and it didn’t burn my lip. The temperature was ideal for my tongue. It smelled like rosewater. The taste was like tea made in heaven. I could tell that it had bay leaves, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. I never had such tea, not even in my old tea shop. I forgot about all the misfortunes that had happened earlier in the day. The anxieties, overthinking, and bad mood came to an abrupt end, and it felt like they would never return. I was in a state of bliss. I returned home and told everyone about the tea. I even slept well and had a dream about having tea from the same shop. It tasted good there, too.
The next day, I woke up fresh. The bliss ended right there. I was happy that I had found a new place, but at the same time, I didn’t want to leave the old place. I was in a state of dilemma the whole day. I didn’t know any other people who had tried tea from both shops. I could not ask for advice from anyone, fearing that they would judge me. Anxiety sets in again. Revisiting the new place felt like a betrayal. “What would the people from the old shop think?” They would think that I was a traitor. I wanted to remain loyal. My thoughts were torturing me like an interrogator torturing a criminal. I had to decide sooner or I would go insane.
Later in the evening, I went to the old shop. I sat down and ordered my usual. He informed me that tea was still not available. “Can I bring any other tea alternatives, sir?” he asked. I looked dismayed on the outside and exuberant on the inside. I took it as God’s signal. God wanted me to have my cup of tea in the adjacent shop. After all, it tasted like “tea from heaven.”
From that day on, my anxiety, overthinking, and bad mood still continued. However, when I sat there alone with my cup of tea, I was content that I was having the best tea in the world. I didn’t care about the dark, cold ambiance there. I didn’t mind the loud rock music. Even the smoke filling my lungs didn’t bother me. It was a moment of bliss as I sipped. Nobody could take that away from me.
A few months later, I found out that the old shop had discontinued selling tea and had transformed into a tea-alternative shop.