have a sip of tea - life at first and so much more

have a pot of tea.

imagine sipping from a warm pot of tea.

when you take that first sip,

what type of tea did you imagine drinking?

is it light?

bitter?

sweet?

was the flavor,

a delicate blend of chamomile and honey?

soothing your senses with its gentle sweetness?

'cause in a world transformed by a pandemic,

a pot of tea became a sanctuary.

its warmth embraced us,

a refuge from realities.

throughout the pandemic,

our lives transformed in unpredictable ways.

in that tranquil moment,

dreams are woven into reality.

dreams intertwined with reality,

a tapestry woven with hope and hardship.

so did you dream a dream?

'cause we did.

ever wonder how one pandemic has changed all of us.

for the better or not,

it depend.

across digital landscapes,

crossing oceans.

we found solace in newfound friendships from corners of the world we'd never have explored otherwise.

new friendships blossomed,

transcending borders,

defying oceans.

oceans were crossed,

not just in miles but in experiences shared.

we navigated this uncharted territory,

how was yours like?

ours was wild.

our shared journey wild and untamed.

some said sometimes it takes ten years to get that one year that changes your life,

ours did.

let me tell you our story for CreateTogether.

and you can decide on what you think.

life at first and so much more.

luna had faced countless obstacles—

each one harder than words could express.

for others,

walking came easily to them.

but for luna,

every step felt like a battle.

dreams, like earning a PhD felt distant,

yet it held on.

even something as small as an ice cream,

just an ice cream—

a cold, sweet, creamy, light indulgence—

reminded it of its presence. "i'm right here," it whistled to itself.

but did you believe in life after love?

"i'm right here" didn’t.

it had weathered storms of love and loss, from companionship to solitude.

now, with two furballs depending on it,

"i'm right here" searching for meaning in their purring warmth by pouring every ounce of itself into their well-being,

sacrificing for their happiness to give them the best life.

it held onto hope,

desperately asking:

is there life after love?

knowing this,

luna still dipped its foot into the pool of "i'm right here."

the water was icy,

chilling it to its core.

it felt like i'm right here was strumming a mournful tune on the cello,

killing it slowly—so very slowly.

others tried to dip their feet in too,

but "i'm right here" always seemed to hover, present，

holding a part of luna in its grasp.

& still,

luna felt something indescribable for it.

people would asked, "is two better than one?"

was it?

to luna,

love began to feel like a game—a relentless, agonizing game.

it was just a game.

a game.

a pico game.

is love just a game to them?

how could something carry so many meanings,

carry so much agony at the same time?

one last time,

luna traveled to the city of flaming angels,

giving itself a final chance at hope.

maybe "i'm right here" was it.

while sipping tea at a party, surrounded by strangers' laughters,

luna caught a glimpse of "i'm right here."

somehow,

it had captured more than luna could put into words.

maybe this time,

"i'm right here" was the right one—

the one it could finally give its heart to.

so luna left its hearts in the city of flaming angels.

but when it returned hogar, "i'm right here" spoke words of webs that cut deeper than anything before.

every sentence,

every utterance chipped away at luna’s spirit,

killing it slowly,

excruciatingly.

then, tragedy struck.

luna’s beloved pawball passed away,

leaving it shattered.

faced with unbearable aching, luna knew it had to move away from this agony—

to a place where the bubbles no longer pierced its soul.

this too shall pass.

disconnect to reconnect.

"do you believe in life after love?"

maybe.

"i'm right here" found a new life,

a new love.

perhaps "i'm right here" discovered life after love after all.

ghosts of the past lingered.

they had given each other more than they realized,

impacting each other in ways neither could fully comprehend,

words had been thrown around,

yet one dream of i'm right here's vulnerability has finally cracked open.

its friends noticed,

but it didn't.

was it a case of right person, wrong time?

in the end,

there were no chains in love, no shackles.

what luna found,

even among despair,

was freedom.

because losing hope was freedom.

to greet freedom,

luna let the rhythm of its heart slowly return to calm.

from hello, stranger to the beat that stopped beating.

beep. beep. beep. beep. beep,

beep. beep. beep. beep,

beep. beep. beep,

beep. beep,

beep...

"what do you see when you look at me?" asked "i'm right here."

luna murmured, "you're asking what i see when i look at you? then tell me—what do you see when you look at me?

because that is what i see... and so much more."

"i'm right here."

"i'm right here."

"i'm… right… here…"

"...right...here..."

"i'm..."

luna teardroplet crackling voice cried, "are you? are...you..."

ghost.

young blood believed there is always tomorrow.

it missed its touch, especially in the hollow moments.

it knew that it is now across a bridge it could no longer follow.

the love it left behind was all it had left,

& it held to that love like a lifeline.

it missed it more than life itself.

if it couldn't be next to it,

the memories—the bubbles—became its ecstasy.

it missed it more than life.

if it couldn’t be close to it,

it settled for the ghost of it.

& if being next to it was no longer an option,

it held onto what remained: a ghost.

young blood thought there is always tomorrow,

but time couldn't be borrowed.

the ache lingered,

deeper than words could expressed: it missed it more than life.

but as i'm right here asked others to look back,

have it itself ever looked back?

have it?

have it ever stopped to wonder?

because it miss it more than life too.

have it?

i'm right here said, "i'll keep myself busy, and you should too. let time work its magic; don't dwell too long in this space. i'm just a chapter in the story of your life."

as the wind listened and blew.

it whistled softly back, carrying a faint echo:

"you may have missed it more than life itself, but so did i with you. and since i can't be near you anymore, i'll settle for the ghost of you too. because that was what i saw… and more. and so much more..."

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all;

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#createtogether #haveasipoftea #lifeatfirst #lifeatfirstandsomuchmore