Curate, connect, and discover
okay hear me out:
mary and neil always had tea on hand
yes, i know they only packed the essentials
tea is essential
they would cram it into their duffle bags wherever it fit, and made sure to never run out
the only mugs they used were travel mugs, because regular ones would break too easily
tea became neil’s comfort drink over the years
it was something constant in his life, something that was always there for him after a long day or sleepless night
he guzzled tea after he’d been shot
his mom made it better than he did
their travel mugs were warm and full in the cup holders when mary was bleeding out
neil had to reach over them to shake her shoulders, trying to keep her awake when her eyes so desperately wanted to flutter closed
he tried to pass mary her mug to keep her conscious, tried to get her to drink just a sip mom, please, you can do it
the mug slipped out of her hands, covered in blood
neil let it burn in the flames of the car
he doesn’t drink tea anymore
but it doesn’t matter. he has a new comfort drink. andrew makes the coffee every morning
andrew makes it better than he does