Oolong Tea

Rays of light slowly pierced her eyes waking her up from her sleep. She put on her glasses and looked at the phone on her night stand. The screen glared 7 . She had missed her alarm. That was unusual, she had woken up at 5 in the morning for the past 6 months. Out of habit, she took a quick shower, wore her running clothes and went out for her usual morning run. She ran at a stable pace, looking around and observing everything around her. She came to the junction and was about to take her usual route when noticed the other path. It was the one that she usually avoided as it seemed rather isolated .But today she was in mood for some adventure. It was lined with huge trees throwing mighty shadows. She decided to take the route. Humming to the Beatles as she ran , she was lost in a world of her own. She continued till she was short of breath . She looked down on her phone, 5 km s , she smiled. It was the farthest she had come during this entire week. She sat down on a bench on the side of the road. She heard sound coming form across the street. An old man sat on the verandah of the opposite house listening to Bach.

As she stood up to walk back home,the old man waved.

"Hi , I have not seen you around here."

He said slowly looking at her and smiling."No usually I take the other route for my run " she smiled back .

"Do you want to come in and have a cup of tea and maybe we can talk."He looked at her hopefully. "It's very rare that i find some sort of company ". She was taken aback. She kept her gaze down, trying to find some excuse to turn him down. But the old mans sad face made her say Yes.

As she she sat down inside, she looked around . His house was exceptionally neat. Everything was kept in perfect order and there was not a spot of dust to be seen anywhere near. He went inside to make some tea. He said he had some oolong tea with him. She loved those, her father used to make her that all the time. She stood up and walked around the room . He had a wide collection of literature. Stacks of books carefully organized alphabetically on his shelf. She ran her fingers through the spine of the books. She took out the copy of Overcoat, opened the book and smelled it. She loved the smell of classic old books. She loved the Russian authors and she had a special passion for Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The clinging of glass behind her made her turn back. He was placing the tea on the table for her. He had brought honey and milk just like she liked it. They both sat down and he took a small sip of the tea. He placed the tea back, looked straight into her eyes tears slowly dripping from her eyes.

"Why did you do it Marie? Why?". He said , still looking at her through his teary eyes. She felt almost as if she was hit on her head. She stared at him blankly. Now blood began to drip from his head, slowly soaking his lush white hair. It mixed with his tears as it travelled down. She closed her eyes and screamed.

When she opened her eyes, she was still on her bed gasping. It took her some time before she realized that it was just a dream. She put on her glasses and looked at her phone. It was seven.