At approximately 12 noon today, I was separated from my tumbler. It was, without my consent, taken away from me.
My fugly tumbler.
The events horrifyingly unfolded like this - half an hour before the incident occured, I ordered a grande cup of brewed coffee from the barista at my usual Starbucks hangout and left my fugly tumbler at the cashier. Half an hour later, my coffee had yet to arrive. I went to the barista and asked whether my coffee is ready or not. He then asked for my tumbler to pour the then-ready coffee in, to my huge surprise. I quickly turned to the cashier counter and looked at the exact spot where I had left my tumbler.
It was gone.
Just like that, as if it disappeared into thin air. Without a warning or even a sound.
The baristas on duty frantically searched for my tumbler. Convinced that it was still around, I went back to my seat, expecting the tumbler to be found. After a few minutes, I noticed that the baristas stopped moving and stood still behind the cashier counter, their faces ridden with guilt.
I looked at them and I knew.
I have lost my tumbler.
How the hell did it happened? Who the hell took it? When was it taken? How? What? Why?
So many questions roamed through my mind as I joined the search, my eyes wandering around the counter for any sign of it. My heart prayed in desperation - "please don't be lost, please be here," as if I was talking to my fugly tumbler. As if it could hear me.
We searched for about five minutes to no avail. Somehow, I was convinced that the tumbler was gone. Then, I noticed that the barista who took my order dashed to the racks where the tumblers on sale was on display and grabbed a tumbler to replace the tumbler I have lost. I quickly stopped him.
"Don't you dare use your own money to buy a new tumbler to replace that one," I warned him and adamantly refused his offer. Why did I do that? Well, because it was not his fault. I was the owner of my fugly tumbler. It was my responsibility to take care of it. It was my responsibility to hand it to the barista after ordering my coffee. Did I do that? No. I just left it on the counter to be taken by someone else.
I am wholly liable for breaching my duty as a tumbler owner.
For the first four hours, I was okay. I did not feel so sad about losing my tumbler. Then, after a while, it hit me - I lost my tumbler, the first tumbler that I bought. The earlier days of being that tumbler's owner, I hated the tumbler for being so ugly. I hated it to bits. Yet, after a while, I soon grew fond of my fugly tumbler. I felt proud that I had a tumbler. It somehow solidified my status as a hardcore caffeine addict. I used it not only for my personal use but also my friends'. And I took a good care of the tumbler. Each time after using it, I will wash it properly with soap, soaking it in water for a few hours and wash it again to ensure the smell of yesterday's beverages did not stick on. I may have been a sloppy person but my tumbler was always kept in a tip top condition. Coffee is divine and sacred for me, and so is the tumbler used for me to drink it. Along the way, I swore to myself that I am going to be proud of this fugly tumbler and am going to use it for at least five years to come.
One months after buying the tumbler, it slipped out of my hands.
So much for using it for five years.
Duhhh.
So it's gone - my fugly tumbler. I am hopelessly sad about it - for the tumbler holds so many memories of me as a law student, trying to survive my final year with my friends. The tumbler was there whilst me and my friends wasted hours and hours into the night gossiping in Starbucks, talking and bitching about life. The tumbler was also there as I formed friendships with some of the baristas, inquiring them about their lives outside the Starbucks sphere while waiting for my drinks. The tumbler was also there during the occasions where I preferred to be alone as I drowned myself in my loneliness, sitting by myself at a corner-most table in the cafe with no other company but the tumbler itself.
All in all, the tumbler was there when I needed it.
I will miss you, my fugly tumbler. No other tumblers - as beautiful and pretty as they might be - will be able to replace your status in my heart. For you will always be the first tumbler I got for myself. No tumbler can ever take that away from you.
Adios, my fugly tumbler. I hope your new owner [whoever that might be] treats you better than I did.
I also hope he or she loves coffee as much as I do.
I guess that's it.
It's over.
You're gone.
You're not coming back.
Now I have to think about saving some money to get a new tumbler - a better-looking one at that.
Farewell, my fugly tumbler.
You will be missed.
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