A nice cup of tea

Maeve thought she'd heard me. She'd been sitting reading my book, and I could see that in her eyes, the way she looked up all of a sudden like she'd heard me telling her to shoo. I didn't say anything though, just gave her my best smile and reached out my hand, leaving her to decide if she'd imagined the whole thing or not.<br><br>I was the last person to see her. She left the house to play in the garden and wasn't back in for tea.<br><br>It was still warm when she went missing. Mummy had decided to open the back of the house, and I'd just had a nice cup of tea in the sun room. It meant I could look out over the garden and watch her, but a nice cup of tea is wasted when distracted by children. So I asked her to leave me to it. She looked back at me over her shoulder as she went, an odd look in her eyes. I hoped she didn't think she'd heard me.<br><br>Daddy came in from the kitchen, still wiping his hands on his towel. "Where's your sister?" he asked. "She in the garden?"<br><br>"Yes," I said. "That's right."<br><br>"I didn't see her."<br><br>"Well, that's because she's gone!" I was annoyed with him.<br><br>"You're the last one to see her?" he asked.<br><br>"Well. I'm the last one to see her. Obviously."<br><br>"And what did she say?"<br><br>"Nothing."<br><br>"She said nothing?"<br><br>"Actually she said yes."<br><br>"What did she say yes to?"<br><br>"I don't know."<br><br>"Well, what did she say yes to?"<br><br>"Oh, all right. I told her to shoo. And she said yes."<br><br>"What do you mean?"<br><br>"I said shoo. Like shoo a fly."<br><br>"How did you say it?"<br><br>"Shoo. Like that."<br><br>"Why did you tell her to go away?"<br><br>How I wished he'd stop asking me all these questions. Didn't he know I was trying to enjoy my nice cup of tea? "I told her to shoo because I wanted to finish this nice cup of tea."<br><br>"What's so nice about it?"<br><br>"Well, it's just such a nice cup of tea. That's why."<br><br>"It's just a cup of tea then?"<br><br>"No. It's a nice cup of tea."<br><br>"Did you tell her to go away so you could finish drinking your tea?"<br><br>I sighed. "I've already told you."<br><br>"Did you tell her to go away so you could finish drinking your tea?"<br><br>"Well, yes."<br><br>"And she said yes?"<br><br>"Yes."<br><br>"And shooed?"<br><br>"Yes."<br><br>"And now I can't find her."<br><br>"Daddy, I'm going to need a fresh cup."<br><br>He leaned in close. "I'm going to find you a therapist, Elara. A nice young man. And I'm going to tell him that you're very sick."<br><br>"But Daddy! That's not true! I just appreciate a nice cup of tea."<br><br>"I know."<br><br>"Well then."<br><br>"You know, they'll probably lock you up."<br><br>"Fine."<br><br>"You know, they'll probably never let you out."<br><br>"That's fine."<br><br>"You'll never have another nice cup of tea."<br><br>I hesitated.<br><br>"You don't have to tell the nice young man anything. Just listen to him and do what he says. I don't want you to end up in the dark."<br><br>I nodded. I'd do anything for another nice cup of tea.<br><br>And I'd do anything for another nice cup of tea. I'm doing it now. I sit in the room and listen to the nice young man. I've been here for years. The nice young man left and was replaced with an old man. He's been here a long time too. I still haven't had a nice cup of tea. <br><br>But I'm ready. I've been practicing, and I think I've finally perfected the right voice, the right expression, the right words to say. I'm waiting for the right person to say them to. The right person to say them to is probably the last person to see me.