Episode 7: “Steeped in Stillness”

The portal closes. The Phantom Chai fades. You're back—fully—in your own time. But it doesn't feel quite the same anymore.

At the stall, the air hums with low thunder. No magic pulses. No distant echoes. Just the earthy scent of tea leaves, the rhythmic clink of glasses, the hush of real people in real time. You pour cups for familiar faces: the old newspaper uncle who always leaves without paying, the school kids whispering about exams, the woman who reads palms but never her own.

There's no chase today. No portal. No Samar.

Just you, Sweety—barefoot in your chappals, keychain silent in your pocket, and Chiku asleep on the lantern hook above, dreaming crow-dreams. You stare at the rain dripping gently off the tin roof and wonder: Was that all a dream? Or am I only now awake?

You wipe down the counter, tuck a recipe into your notebook, and softly hum a song you don't remember learning. A breeze lifts the curtain, and you swear you hear faint violin notes far away.

Life hasn't stopped. It's just… resumed. And maybe that's the real spell—tea that anchors you, not in timelines or could-have-beens, but in your here, your now, your quiet blooming self.

And maybe, just maybe—that is magic too.