Tealeaves and Cinnamon [Rimma]

Miha parked his car and pulled out his notebook to look through the addresses and notes scribbled next to them. He had already visited a few of the teahouses he wanted to, but there were still more to head to and gather information on. At this rate, he will die of poison from tealeaves, if he isn’t careful. There will be a need to pour himself a glass of wine, or better yet, a pinch of spirit from his home country to make sure frogs won’t grow in his stomach from the hot water. Angling his head slightly, he slipped the notebook into the inner pocket of his robe before getting out of the car that was custom made for his needs.

It was a bit of a hassle, really, to travel by foot or any other means than his own wings, but he couldn’t expose himself during daytime when everyone could see. Flying was a privilege in the night, when the shadows and dim lights of the city can camouflage him as a mirage in the eyes of citizens.

He was dressed as elegantly as he possibly could, but it was all hidden under the grey-blue robes twisting around his body, only showing the ironed black pants and black shoes. It was almost as if he was wearing traditional garbs from India, the robes adorned by silver embroidery works at their edges. It was all to hide the wings on his back, which only made his appearance that much more curious with the bulge on his back much like the size of a huge backpack. His wings would touch the ground normally, but he gave extra care to pull them against his body as much as he could. It was no easy feat, especially when he wanted to stretch and spread them wide.

But back to the matter at hand. His next destination was a little cozy teahouse that gathered younger and older audience alike. From the corner of a less busy street, its sign was calling out to him. He entered with the chime of the doorbell, and was met with the aroma of tealeaves, cinnamon and ginger. It was a really homey place, all warm colors and wooden furniture, slightly archaic on purpose to make everyone feel at home. The chairs were all cushioned, and the couches looked more like a place to take a nap in instead of drinking tea. The walls were filled with paintings of homes and animals, and all the shelves were overflowing with teddy bears of different kinds and sizes. Miha imagined teens and families liking the place. People would come here to ease their homesickness.

He had not seen any chairs to sit in comfortably, not with his wings in the way... Still, he walked to one of the tables and sat down awkwardly. He knew there were backrooms where he might be able to stretch comfortably, but he was here for a purpose. The other visitors could only be seen from here, and if he wanted to mingle and pay attention to what others thought of the place and how they were served, he had to stay in the open. Looking around, he was trying to figure out who to approach for a little chitchat before one of the staff approached him for his orders.