"What is this weird leaf soup?" The lonely elderly woman asks while looking at me.

"It is a moment with someone, you sit down with someone you want to sit with and you drink this and talk. Find whoever you want, bring them here and drink this tea soup together. It can be whoever you want, a friend, a child, or even a stranger. It is a moment with them." I say to the woman. She nods and then leaves, intent on finding someone to spend a moment with.

"What is this leaf soup that takes so long to make?" The overworked businessman asks.

"This is a drink that helps you relax, so you can think of something outside of what stresses you. This leaf soup is a relief." I tell the man and he nods before leaving to find his own relief from the harshness of the business world.

"What is this ugly leaf soup?" asks the self-conscious teenage boy.

"This leaf soup is like a mirror, you look into the leaf soup while you drink it and as you drink, it makes you stronger. Not everything that makes us stronger looks beautiful when you first glance at it." I tell him and he nods before leaving, intent on finding something that makes him feel good.

I smile and begin cleaning my cups, tea is meant to be something different for everyone and just because it does not have the same name does not mean it is any less powerful. It is a moment, a way to relieve stress from life, and beneficial. Everyone has a different way of making their cup of tea and everyone needs something different with it.

"Grandpa, why do you sell this nasty water? Why don't you sell coffee like everyone else?" My idiotic grandson asked me this one day. I haven't spoken to him since. It's been eleven years.

My name is Franklin T. Bag and I am the last person on earth who sells the magnificent liquid that is tea. People like my grandson don't understand the importance of tea, they think it is simply bitter water. They would rather have one of the new modern coffees that they see on the television, as if they need more energy.

They don't realize that tea has started wars, bankrupted nations, and has been a very important part of human culture since the first cup. Every day I get new people coming to the shop and asking for coffee, every day I am disgusted with the disappointed faces of this generation, every day I ask myself if it is worth it, if remaining the last bastion of tea is worth the bills and the ridicule.

Of course it is, I am reminded of this fact every time I see a grateful face walk into my shop, a smile shining through at the lack of coffee on the menu. As long as there are still people on this planet that enjoy tea, I will be here with a smile and a steaming cup of delectable liquid.

For I am the Teaman, and I will never fall to the likes of the coffee drinkers.