Chapter 19 - To Pour a Cup of Tea

As the rain continues to crash upon the city, an elderly man stands by the window, watching as his friend disappears into the torrential downpour. His old, yet brilliant, eyes squint slightly as his mind suddenly remembers something.

Perhaps… The child from that night?

As he thought about his conversation just now with the Grandmaster, the Ghost Doctor recalls his brief encounter with the man from the pharmacy incident. The dots begin to connect, but before they could, the Ghost Doctor decides to put the matter aside. He figures there's no point to speculating. Either they're the same person, or they're not. It made no difference to him.

"Child, come on in." The Ghost Doctor calls out towards the entryway. "Come join your old man for a cup of tea."

Dan slowly peeps his head out from behind the entryway. The young boy was still having trouble coming to terms with the reality of the past few days. The encounter with the Grandmaster, an encounter that he had originally cursed the Heavens for, has brought nothing but blessings into his life. Between the delicious food, clean sets of clothes, and a roof over his head, he felt a need for nothing more. At the same time though, he felt that everything was too good to be true.

"Don't just stand there." Seeing the hesitation and confusion linger on Dan's face, the Ghost Doctor beckons the child over. "Come, child, be a filial son and pour this old man a cup of tea."

The Ghost Doctor's words took that feeling and pushed it over the top. Dan wraps his arm around his chest before lightly taking hold of his other arm.

Don't wake up. Don't wake up. Don't wake up!

He closes his eyes tightly as he prepares to do what he had been too afraid to. Having finally mustered up every ounce of courage in his body, he slowly presses his index finger towards his thumb.

Ow… "Ow"? It hurts?

Dan opens his eyes to see the clean sleeves around his wrists. He looks up at the elderly man, the elder who called him 'son', and sees him still sitting there. His eyes begin to glaze up. He lowers his head before quickly pulling himself back behind the entryway. His hands move hastily to wipe his eyes, afraid that if one tear falls, more will follow. He bites his lower lip, afraid that if he were to make a sound right now, he wouldn't be able to stop. The Ghost Doctor sits patiently as he allows the young boy time to collect himself.

After a moment, and without a single tear escaping him, Dan pushes himself from behind the entryway with a smile on his face. He makes his way towards the tea set, awkwardly pouring the Ghost Doctor a cup. The teacup quickly fills up before slightly overflowing. Dan jerks his hands away, frantically looking around for a tablecloth.

"Gyohoho! Worry not, child." The Ghost Doctor chuckles endearingly as he watches Dan struggle with simple etiquettes. "You did a fine job. The teacup is full, is it not?"

The Ghost Doctor's words help the young boy snap out of his fumbling embarrassment. Dan takes a seat across from the Ghost Doctor before carefully pouring another cup for himself. A few moments pass as the two enjoy their tea in silence. Dan kept his head low, occasionally raising his eyes to glance at the Ghost Doctor. Upon noticing that the Ghost Doctor's teacup was empty, he carefully picks up the teapot with both hands.

"F-f-" Dan catches his tongue as soon as he realizes that he was stuttering. After taking a deep breath, he continues. "Father, can I pour you another one?"

The Ghost Doctor smiles, nodding slightly at the boy.

Physically blessed, emotionally sound, filial, and decisive. You've made this old soul very happy, my son.

Having regained the calmness in his heart and stability in his hands, Dan felt much more confident in properly pouring a cup of tea. The Doctor carefully observes Dan's wrists and fingers as he performs the simple actions involved in pouring a cup of tea. From wrapping his fingers around the handle, to tilting his wrist, to holding his wrist steady as the tea pours. The teacup fills up at a constant, steady, rate. There was not a single splash or spill.

Seeing the entire process, the Ghost Doctor notes how the teapot did not stray from its course by even a hair's length. Although the course was incorrect in terms of "proper" tea etiquette, he paid no attention to such things. He only cared about how perfectly stable the teapot was as it made its way off the table, hovering above the teacup as the tea flowed out, and back onto the table.

"You're a fast learner, child." The Ghost Doctor compliments the boy's efforts with a smile.

The two spend a peaceful moment enjoying each other's company with the rain as in the background. As they sipped on the tea, the Ghost Doctor spots a young man approaching the clinic.

"Dan, child," the Ghost Doctor says while looking out the window. "Why don't you go into the backroom and play? It seems this old soul has a lot of company today"

***

Small specs of dust float slowly around the tiny room as a young lady meticulously brushes off the surfaces and corners of her living space. The normally spotless room had been neglected in the past few days. After setting the rag down, the lady smiles with satisfaction as she looks around at the once again pristine living space.

"Lia, child!" A familiar voice, accompanied by a soft series of knocks, calls out to her from outside her door.

"Grandpa Liu!" She exclaims as she sees the old man standing before with a large bamboo box under his arm. "How did you get in?"

"Nevermind that." Realizing his mistake, grandpa Liu quickly waves her question aside before changing the subject. "Quite the storm we're having."

"Yes, quite the storm…" Lia, sensing the old man avoiding the question, decides not to push the matter. "Come in grandpa! I cooked up some pork bone stew."

"Bahahaha! Such a good child you are. Now that you mention it, I'm quite hungry."

Grandpa Liu sets his umbrella and bamboo box against the wall before entering the newly cleaned room. Sitting comfortably on the floor, he lets out an involuntary yawn as he watches Lia scooping rice into a small bowl. As Lia lifts the lid off the pot of stew, grandpa Liu couldn't help but notice how much stew there was.

"That's a lot of stew for a tiny girl like yourself."

"I made it for Sun and Yuyu." Although grandpa Liu's comment wasn't a question, Lia begins to explain the situation anyways. "She caught a fever a few days ago…"

Lia continues her explanation as the old man ate. Occasionally, grandpa Liu would slam his bowl of rice onto the floor as he clamors about how irresponsible Sun and Lia had been. Sometimes, he would drop his chopsticks before yelling about his "precious genius little granddaughter".

"So she's doing much better now then? Bahahaha!" Grandpa Liu breaks into a relieved laughter as he hears the words he's been waiting to hear. "Child, you should've started with that! You got this old man riled up for no reason."

Grandpa Liu takes the last bite of his rice before slurping the rest of his stew.

"Ahh! Delicious. Thank you, child." He compliments Lia's cooking as he picks himself up from the floor. "Why don't you pack up some rice and stew for them? I'll deliver it. I was planning on paying them a visit anyways. That poor precious girl must be missing her smart grandpa. Bahaha!"

Lia hurries as she fills up two containers with rice and stew. She stacks the two containers on top of each other before wrapping them together with a cloth. As grandpa Liu makes his way out the door with his umbrella in one hand, the food in the other, and the bamboo box under the same arm, he suddenly remembers the reason for his visit.

"By the way, we'll reopen the shop once Yuyu is in good health." Grandpa Liu says before noticing Lia's troubled reaction. "This uptight girl. Bahahaha! No need to count coppers child. You'll be paid for all the closed days. After all, I'm quite a benevolent man. Bahahaha!"