S2W11: “Tea Service”

© 2021 Phylicia Joannis

Donna Ellison stared at me with keen, searching eyes. “Perhaps I was too hasty just now. Please, Miracle, have a seat.” I eyed Donna warily as I sat. “Would you like some tea? It’s imported from China. It’s quite delicious.”

“No, thank you.”

Donna sighed and poured herself a cup. We sat in silence for a long time. “They told me you wouldn’t survive more than a couple of days.” Tears welled up in my eyes, but I kept quiet. “You can’t imagine what a shock this is to me,” Donna continued. “I thought you were dead. And my life has not been easy. People always want something from me, you know. Money. Power. Influence. For Chase Avery, I was just an escape. He didn’t care about me. I knew it from the beginning of our affair. He didn’t care about anybody.”

“So why the blackmail? Why the lies?”

Donna sighed. “No sense dredging up the past, Miracle. Why are you here?”

“I just want to know who my real father is. If there’s even a chance that he wants me, I’d like to know.”

“Don’t you have parents already?”

I wiped away a wayward tear. “I’ve been in foster care my whole life. No one has ever wanted me.”

“Oh, Miracle, I’m so sorry.” Donna walked over to me, arms extended. I placed one hand tentatively in hers and allowed her to pull me into an embrace.

“I can’t believe I have a daughter.” Donna chuckled. “It’s a miracle. You’re a Miracle!”

I broke down at that, allowing the soothing motions of my mother’s hand at my back to comfort me. “I’ve wanted to meet you my whole life,” I cried. “I dreamed of the day I would meet you, and now here I am.”

“Yes, here you are, Miracle.” Donna handed me a tissue. “Now dry those tears and let me pour you some tea.”

I nodded and sat down. Donna finished preparing the tea and handed it to me. “Thank you. It smells wonderful.” Donna nodded as she watched me drink. Her eyes were a different color than mine. “Can you tell me who my father is?” I asked again.

“You know, there’s an old Chinese legend that I heard while I was traveling in Hong Kong. It’s the story of Ivy and Honey. Or as the old man who told me the story called it, Mi Tang and Chang Chunteng. Mi Tang was a honeybee. Ambitious and proud, he left the hive in search of a rare and beautiful flower. He took many risks along the way, diving in rivers, speeding through forests.

“The young bee exhausted himself looking for a flower that probably didn’t exist. One day his wings could go no further, and he fell towards the ground, doomed to be crushed by the speed of his fall or the weight of some other creature. But before his body hit the ground, he was caught in the vine of the luminous Chang Chunteng.

“Chang Chunteng nursed the honeybee back to health, letting him sip the nectar from her flowers until he was strong again. The two fell in love and vowed never to leave each other. But news of his insolence reached the hive, and the queen bee discovered Mi Tang’s forbidden love. Overcome with jealousy and blinded with rage, she plotted a way to get back at Mi Tang.

“She sent messenger bees for him, telling him he could remain with Chang Chunteng if he wished, but she only wanted him to bring to her the nectar of the rare and beautiful flower he spent so much time searching for. Mi Tang knew that Chang Chunteng was what he had been searching for all along, so he agreed, bringing the nectar from Chang Chunteng’s flower with him to the hive. But Mi Tang was unaware of the queen’s rage, and before he returned to Chang Chunteng, the queen poisoned him with a horrible concoction.

“The poison did not kill him, though. It only hurt him a little. But if he were ever to come in contact with the nectar of Chang Chunteng, it would kill them both. Are you alright dear?”

I grabbed the arms of my chair, suddenly dizzy. “I’m not sure.”

“Let me finish the story. Mi Tang was torn. He wanted to be with Chang Chunteng, but he didn’t want to die. So do you want to know what he did?”

I blinked slowly. My mother’s voice suddenly sounded very far away. “I think I might be having a reaction to the tea.”

Donna looked at my empty cup. “Yes, well, poison will do that to you. I never touch the stuff.”

“Poison?” I rasped.

Donna laughed. “Oh, let me tell you how the story ends! Mi Tang agreed to marry the queen bee. He returned to Chang Chunteng with the queen’s army and had all of Chang Chunteng’s flowers removed. He then had her stung by a thousand killer bees until her vines withered and browned. It’s said that her dead vines are what make this special tea. And the honey here? It’s called Du Mi tang. Poison honey. It’s said to be made from the hive of Mi Tang. Separate they’re virtually harmless, just a few minor ailments, but together? Deadly.”

My heart began to beat faster. I tried to stand but my legs failed me. I fell to the floor with a whimper. “Why?” I whispered.

“Oh? You want to know why Mi Tang killed his lover? Simple. It was too dangerous for Chang Chunteng to live. She could be used against him at any time. And don’t forget, my dear, he was an ambitious bee, and nothing, not even love, could get in the way of that. This will be the first and last lesson I teach you, Daughter. It’s too bad you won’t live to learn from it.”

I felt a tightness in my chest and willed myself to breathe, but it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

Donna bent down low, her mouth level with my ear. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt at this point to tell you who your father is. You have his eyes, you know.”

I felt my heart beat slower and slower as my mother spoke. I couldn’t breathe, but oddly enough, I couldn’t feel either. The only sense that seemed to be working was my hearing, and everything sounded far away. Light footfalls entered the parlor. Voices rose and fell. I heard only snatches as I began to fade.

“You gave her the tea, then?”

“It had to be done.”

“She’s just a kid.”

“I have guests coming, Philip. Take her out back.”

A long pause.

“Philip!”

“As you wish, ma’am.”