Would you like a cup of tea? || Shigeo Kageyama

Lavender Tea

"Have you heard of Keika Cafe, Tsubomi-chan?" One of her friends asked her right when Mob walked past them.

"Ah, I heard that they specialize in tea." Tsubomi smiled at her. "I always thought about going there one day."

"Then let's go together over the weekend!"

He paused in his steps the moment he heard that. "Keika... Cafe...?" He suddenly remembered the weekend before when he found himself inside a cafe, not really understanding why he decided to enter into it in the first place. It was unlike him to go to such locations, after all. "Taru..." Then what was stranger was how he accepted to go to the cafe weekly to taste test Taru's tea, but then again, he experienced weirder things in the past. He sighed to himself a little. "Why did I..."

"Instead of over the weekend, let's go today!" Tsubomi let out a crystal clear laughter.

Mob blushed at the sound of his crush's laugh. "She's so cute..." As he left the building, he paused in his steps. "Maybe I can head over there today instead...?" While he thought about it, his feet led him to the entrance of Keika Cafe.

Like before, the soft scent of flowers and fruits seeped from the entrance door. He paused right when he was about to grab onto the door handle. "But..." He remembered that Taru asked him to come over during the weekend at a certain time. "But that was just for taste testing..." he murmured to himself as he finally opened the entrance door, catching the full blast of the delicate and crystal clear scents of the teas that they were brewing.

His cheeks flushed a little. "It smells nice..."

"Welcome to Keika Cafe." Taru's aunt smiled warmly at the customer. "Oh! You're my niece's taste tester! Hope, was it?"

"Ah... Yes..." He gave her a small smile, a bit shy and uncertain about what to do.

"Go ahead and take a seat. I'll brew you the best tea you've ever tasted!" The older woman let out a hearty laugh. Mob only gave a polite nod. As she faced the many shelves, she then murmured. "Unfortunately, my niece isn't here today since she only comes during the weekend."

"Ah, I wasn't here to..." Mob stood up from his seat.

Taru's aunt let out another hearty laughter. "It's okay, young man. I was only joking around! But in case you really wanted to do the taste testing and drinking her tea, then come by again during the weekend at the time that you both decided on."

He nodded before glancing out the window. A lot of students walked by as it was time for school to end. The older woman then faced the shelves again as she swiftly poured a teaspoon of loose leaf tea into a teapot. "...Is she at school?" He murmured softly.

Taru's aunt paused minutely before pouring the hot water into the teapot. "Well... Something like that." Somehow, it seemed like a topic that he should not delve into. "Anyways, gotta wait five minutes and your lavender tea will be ready."

"Oh..." Mob blinked. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, kid." She smiled brightly at him as she sat across the counter. "You know... If you don't want to taste test, you don't need to. We aren't going to force you." She sipped her own tea.

"Ma'am..." Mob stared down at his own empty cup. "I..."

Taru's aunt let out a small sigh, looking outside of the window. "You kids have it rough in my opinion, so if there's something else that you want to do, then go do that instead." She looked down at her hands. "Because people are judgmental and only care about themselves... So-" The strong glint in her eyes captured his attention. "-if you feel like everyone is stopping you but you yourself want to do something, then go for it. You only have one life, after all." She smiled sadly to herself.

He could feel a sense of almost desperation and grief in her tone. He could not say anything else to her, only absorbing the kindness in her words as he reflected on his life so far.

"Also," Taru's aunt grinned, "-you don't need to call me ma'am. Just call me auntie like what everyone else does!"

"A-auntie..." Mob hesitantly said to her. She patted his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"Good, good." She then stood up from her seat. "Seems like five minutes is up!" Grabbing the teapot carefully, she poured the dark periwinkle liquid into his cup. A light floral scent permeated the room. He somehow felt relaxed when he held the warm cup in his hands.

It really was a perfect day.

And then he realized, by the time he left the cafe, that he never found out if Tsubomi and her friends even came to the cafe in the first place.

"Ah..." Disappointment lingered inside of him until he remembered the nice warm cup of tea that he had earlier. Smiling to himself, he finally began to walk back home again.