A Drop of Bergamot

The quiet rooms inside felt excessively still by midday, so I stepped out to the terrace table. A porcelain cup of Earl Grey rested in a shallow saucer, abandoned to cool beside an open silver tea strainer. Reaching the saucer's fluted rim, I touched the tip of a discarded silver sugar tong. With deliberate balance, I tipped the tong forward until a single suspended droplet of dark amber tea broke free, falling onto the glossy porcelain with a crisp, miniature ripple. The fragrant scent of citrus and bergamot rose immediately into the breeze.