Ceramic Tea Tiles

I slipped under the front door after lunch and wandered down the paved lane into the neighborhood tea shop. The air smelled of roasted leaves and dried orange peel. On a low display table near the wooden tea tins, three square white porcelain tasting tiles lay slightly askew across a dark bamboo mat. Pausing to gauge the woven slats, I pressed both palms against the glazed edge of the first tile. I nudged it forward until its bottom rim aligned flush with a straight bamboo seam. One by one, I shifted the other two tiles right alongside it, leaving exactly one finger-width of dark wood between their pale frames. The whole tray settled into a quiet, orderly row.