The Blessing

This was written a few years back now, back when I really worked hard for that pitiful dollar. I thought I'd share it with you all.

It's 6:30am, I'm sitting outside, and it's the middle of the coldest winter I have ever known. I have no feet, they froze hours ago, my nose is running and I'm coughing up a lung. I cannot move, I'm stuck here forever, in this eternal hell. Then she appears, like an angel walking out of the mist, she is not attractive, far from it, she is old, repugnant, and almost always exasperating, but what she's carrying means more than gold to me. She hands it to me and walks away; I do not even glance at her as I mutter my thanks. From the moment I receive the gift, I can feel it burning my flesh, I do not care, I welcome it with open arms, I breath it in, allowing the warmth to engulf every part of me. I put my lips to it, they come alive and are instantly scorched by the immense amount of heat escaping the cup, I skim the liquid from the surface, I momentarily hold it in my mouth, caressing my tongue, and then I swallow. My throat screams out in pain, as the scalding liquid pierces my oesophagus, then a cry of relief can be heard as the liquid reaches my stomach, setting it a blaze. I am on fire, although it is not visible, my insides have been ignited, and I have rejoiced at the sensation. The frost is forgotten, everything is forgotten, I've entered the subconscious, my own private paradise, and I owe it all to the gift, this blessing that brings meaning to my life, without it I would surely die. Thank god for my morning cup of tea.