The Tea Room

Not so long ago... I found myself balancing precariously on a not-so-wide overpass railing... looking down into oncoming traffic... that which was to be my "savior." It was a Wednesday night... "hump day" was coming to a close... and I was dangling perilously on the backside of the hump... This time, it wasn't about making it to Friday... it was about hanging onto life... and I couldn't do it anymore. Suddenly, I was acutely aware of something next to me... something alive... Whatever this presence was commanded my attention... so much so, I turned my head to look... His appearance didn't seem that important... It was what I felt that captured my attention... warmth... solidity... caring... After what seemed like an infinity... he said, "You look like you could use a cup of tea... Come... have some tea." And with that, he offered his hand... and I took it. For the moment, time stopped... Part of me sat on the overpass railing, poised to jump... pensively eying the traffic below... while another part of me was walking away, hand-in-hand, with some man... whom I'd never met... to an unknown place... to have a cup of tea...