Chapter 7 - The Tea Party
So this glazed sphere with a pale blue hue was the reason why Jon came here from Earth. Apart from being amazed, Angor also felt curious and confused.
It was only natural that he felt this way when facing such an extraordinary artifact. His teacher wouldn’t be in this situation if not for this. He would be enjoying his life back with his wife and daughter.
Apart from this though, there was a voice, secretly whispering into Angor’s mind: The glazed sphere was also the reason why he could meet an erudite figure like Teacher in the first place. Without Teacher, maybe he would have become a spoiled playboy who would live a boring life forever, never to know about anything in this world.
Of course, Jon couldn’t read Angor’s mind. He only fiddled around with the sphere in his palm, then stretched out his mostly-wilted hand to put the sphere into Angor’s.
“I already threw it away, and I’ll keep it that way. Since you brought it back, it’s probably destined to be with you. Keep the Alien Eye… I don’t have much time left, but you’re still young. Maybe you will find a chance to visit the Earth,” Jon shook his head with a smile. He didn’t even believe himself, yet he still insisted. “If you truly did, please bring my ashes back to China and bury them under that old mistletoe tree in my home, just along the lower reaches of Yangtze River…”
…
The mist was thick this evening. Angor held his chin and stayed beside Jon until the old man was asleep. Then, Angor left while rubbing his sore arms.
“Mister Padt likes it?” Aleen beamed with delight, took a porcelain cup from Mana and took a big gulp.
Milk skin lingered on her lip. Aleen closed her eyes and pondered over the sweet yet sour aftertaste of milk. Brilliant!
“This is nice!” Aleen commented aloud, “I like it better than that flower tea.”
Hearing this, Alan also took a cup and downed it in one go. He smacked his lips, eyes squinted into slits, and nodded in satisfaction. He agreed with his sister’s taste, aloud.
Count Eton looked at his children and only chuckled. He didn’t drink the milk tea, for he already caught the meaning hidden between Leon’s words – this tea was obviously meant for Alan and Aleen.
It seemed that Mara also had a deep love for his grandchildren. He pushed his share of milk tea straight in front of Aleen.
Next, Mana opened several pots in succession. Most of them had milk teas and flower teas in them, about which Mara didn’t care much. He only sipped two types of green teas which were also favored by Jon. Though he was still somewhat indifferent about them.
Angor cast his eyes on the last teapot, which held the last of the three teas most loved by Jon, and the only tea plant he brought from the Earth – the Morning Dew.