Bitter Tea

By Ali Znaidi

Although she put three lumps of sugar in it, her tea tasted bitter today. Orange rinds were chaotically scattered over the table. Outside, the orange sun was enshrouded in a thick blue blanket. Its rays fell in her sad eyes. Sipping more tea, she felt a diminished intensity of her desires. Nothing consoled her but the sight of a lily in her garden. The lily’s aroma began shredding the dust off her nostrils that were exposed to the wind last night. She didn’t know what was agitating inside her. The only thing she knew was that her tea was still bitter.