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Part 96: “Two Cups, Still Steaming”

Author: jhumz
last update Last Updated: 2025-11-17 04:15:31

🕊️ Here flows Part 96—where warmth returns not as reunion, but as quiet understanding. The story doesn’t patch the break. It holds it, gently, like one would a bowl with a crack that still carries water.

Jo brewed tea before sunrise. Ginger, pandan, and just enough honey to soften. She poured two cups—one for herself, and one she placed at the far end of the table, a gesture she hadn’t made in weeks. The ritual was familiar, yet it felt different today, as if the tea held a promise of something unspoken.

Franc arrived without a word. The door creaked open, and Jo looked up, meeting Franc’s eyes briefly before both turned their attention to the table. They didn’t speak. They sat across from one another, the silence between them thick and tangible, yet not uncomfortable. It was a silence that had been cultivated over time, a shared understanding that words were not always necessary.

The steam curled upward and met in the middle, a delicate dance of warmth and moisture. It was as if the
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