Tea and Dark Chocolate: Teatime Tales, #1

By Debbie Manber Kupfer

Meet a cat called Cecilia, a disgruntled android named Doris, and a weasel called Popgoes and discover that with enough Tea and Dark Chocolate you can achieve anything.

A Collection of Flash Fiction and Poetry from the author of P.A.W.S.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debbie Manber Kupfer
• Release date: Nov 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386301301

Debbie Manber Kupfer

Debbie grew up in the UK in the East London suburb of Barking. She has lived in Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where she works as a writer and freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and logic problems. She lives with her husband, two children and a very opinionated feline. She believes that with enough tea and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!

Book preview

FIRST CUP OF TEA

I sip from my tea cup

I stare at the page

The world unfolds slowly

The birds take the stage

They circle the trees

But they’re scared to embark

The world high above them

Is dangerously dark

The clouds part their ways

As I finish my cup

To find some more words

I will have to wake up.

TeaCup

CECILIA’S TALE

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THE TINY KITTEN MEWED IN the clutches of the evil Dogzilla the Dastardly. He had given up all hope of ever seeing his food bowl again. But what was that? Flying through the air was Super Cici to the rescue. Faster than a speeding furball, she swooped down and scooped up the kitten from Dogzilla’s terrible jaws. Yet another amazing rescue by the fabulous Super Cici.

*

Cecilia opened her eyes. She stretched. That had been an awesome dream, but now she was hungry. She wondered when her humans would come home and feed her. She had tried opening one of those cans herself once, but couldn’t quite get the hang of it; in any case what use were humans if not to serve cats? That’s what her mother had always told her, so it had to be true.

Her humans had been acting strangely lately, and Cecilia was trying to understand why. Humans led such complicated lives. For some odd reason they believed they always had to go out and do something. Maybe they thought they had to keep active else their heads might fall off? Just the kind of strange thinking you’d expect from a human.

Cecilia much preferred just lying around and sleeping, eating, or just looking out of the window. Of course, there was a time long ago when she did go out and explore the world. Ah, she thought, that was when it all started . . .

*

It began about six years ago, when Cecilia was just six months old. She’d had an argument with her mother:

Cecilia her mother meowed, you’re getting so big now. Surely you can go out and find your own human to live with.

But mom, she mewed, I like it here, and anyway you need me, you’re going to have another litter. I can help!

No Cecilia, you’d only get in the way, dear, her mother replied. I know it’s scary, but I think it’s time you went out on your own four paws. Your brother Cecil left two weeks ago. He’s probably already tamed his own human by now, but of course if you don’t think you’re ready . . .

This made Cecilia very angry. I’m course I’m ready, she pouted, I can do anything Cecil can do, you’ll see! And before she could lose her nerve she ran out into the street.

Her mother sighed as she watched her leave. Had to be done, she said to herself, and went back to her preparations for her new litter.

*

Cecilia had never been out of the house before, and at first she was very scared. Her family lived in an area of Jerusalem called Nachlaot. The cobbled streets of Nachlaot were filled with twists