An enchanted teapot cursed to a life in continuous motion can only stay in a space for 10 minutes. She finds different locations, mostly street corners to situate her temporary cafe. She entices visitors to join her for a cup of tea, to drink and converse with her. Aware that she is doomed to a life of loneliness, she still craves these brief interactions, moments of intimacy and closeness with different strangers as she dreams of being anything else other than a teapot.
She chose a new location
Situated in the corner of a transitional place
Perhaps this time, for a little longer than a brief moment
The cafe planted itself firmly at the corner of the street
Clinging on to the sidewalks,
And there she was,
Brewing and breathing heavily on the stove
Making sure to be visible to passers by through the sunlit window.
She dreamt of a life where she possessed a new body, another form
One that wasn’t made of steel and engraved with daises atop every curve
So futile and only purposed for one thing.
Useless.
The water vapour broke free from the nape of her steel neck and clung on to the partially opened windows, pleading for escape.
The boy strode past inhaling her sweet aroma and carefully opened the window.
With his sleeve in his hand,
He wiped the remnants of her evaporated fragrant essence from the window and peaked inside.
A new one she thought.
He smiled sweetly and so did she, inviting him inside,
The chair slid open, ushering him to take a seat
Cup after cup, he drank the curious mix of cinnamon, lemon and ginger,
She turned up the heat on the stove to keep the tea brewing, nice and warm.
Crippled sounds spewed out of his mouth one by one, as he tried his best to sew his intended meanings
together from the flurry of rushed words that escaped.
Story after story about his job and sick cat,
Like a hospitable host, she kept the tea hot, smiled sweetly and listened intently
She relished in the company and gave him everything he needed to quench his thirst.
Time passed as they both became more comfortable, ready to settle into this transitional space
Though she knew she would never be able to place herself into a single category of existence.
They could only stay cosy in their liminality for a little while longer
The long cruel finger of the clock ticked
As the tea raced to the bottom of the teapot
A sudden breeze blew against the warm blankets and socks on the couch in the corner
Shifting his gaze in their direction, enticing him to stay a little while longer.
I’ve made it very comfortable for you, she thought
But she couldn’t ignore her growing distress
As the light from the open window began blazing and shining into her eyes,
The weak ceiling starting to crumble
Still, she clung on to this space and dreamt of the two of them as a singular species.
In the corner over there,
A spiderweb formed, the silk glistening
Two spiders weaving the same web
Intricately weaving, weaving and overlapping
Creating two strand knots filled with laughter, love but later on, misunderstandings and disagreements
Weaving and weaving
Until the knots were too tight and they could no longer go back and untie the pain ensued in the pathways they chose.
Sadly…
So many Gordian knots tied
Whoever is able to untie it, was promised great things
I don’t think it will be us though
He said he had a suggestion
Why don’t we just cut the web in half,
Keeping parts of my silk on your half
And i’ll keep some of your silk tied around my ankles
The echoes of energetic chords forever intertwined
Staying with you until the next time you try to create a spiderweb with someone new.
As swiftly as the dream came, it collapsed
This moment would stay with her until the next time she entered into another transitional place
With no where to transition to.
You don’t have to keep my silks on your body she thought
I wouldn’t be cruel enough to suggest that
I know these silks can never disappear or be destroyed
So you can keep them in vitrine cases in your living room when you go away.
I ask that you keep them behind glass so that you see them and think of me from time to time
And once again as the teapot emptied, it was time for the guest to leave.
I hope there are no liminal spaces for me in heaven
Though often time the choice isn’t even mine
But that was the lie that powered the electricity in this space
Because she was the true owner of this moving place
She always kept the space clean
Always ready and waiting for another guest.
Deep down in the empty space between her steel body, she knew
She had never attempted to break the curse
Staying in a temporary space somehow brought more comfort than trying to stay in one place.