Sip by Sip

Testy twenties it was…The first cups were always too hot,steam rushing against my face on Shimla’s Mall Road.Books pressed to my chest, laughter spilled too easily,boys roared past on motorbikes as if noise were a language.I drank greedily, let the burn sting my tongue—wasn’t that what being young meant?To mistake heat for certainty,to sip before…