Java Goddess

My dear friend Antoine had just returned from a tour of India and had brought me back a gift of a hookah. It was an exceptionally beautiful item, crafted of blown opalescent glass and gilt in fine designs accented with jewels. I was beside myself with delight – I had always secretly wanted one. I couldn’t wait to have this exotic item lounging casually on my coffee table. “Well, let’s try it out!” said Antoine, extracting a small velveteen pouch from his pocket. I gave up smoking some time ago and my hookah fantasies had never ventured much past the purely decorative, but I was feeling adventuresome. “Hey, how about some coffee to go with?” he suggested, indicating a special blend he had brought back as well. He busied himself with the hookah and I busied myself with the French press and we bubbled and sipped for some time thereafter out on the back porch, under the light of a very bright, full moon. I felt more than a little peculiar and concluded that Antoine’s tobacco blend must be especially strong. Eventually his jet lag kicked in and he regretfully called it a night and went home. I went back out on the porch and stared, wide-eyed, at the ponderous moon, recalling why I don’t ever drink coffee after 2:00 pm. I glanced at the offending cup and saw this very entity hovering about 2 inches above it, clutching a diminutive donut. I calmly closed my eyes, rubbed them very hard, took a deep breath and opened them again. She was still there. There was also a small lizard twining its tail around my teaspoon. I began to wonder just what the hell Antoine had me smoking. After taking a delicate bite out of her donut, she informed me that she was a Java Goddess, an ancient deity who had been trapped in the heart of the bean and released with the aroma of the brew. Also, her lizard’s name was Sumatra. “That’s nice” I said, slowly backing away, “You two make yourselves perfectly comfortable – help yourselves to anything you’d like. I have to go to bed now”. I made a mad dash for a bottle of Ambien and figured that I would realize I’d been dreaming in the morning. But of course, the next morning I found donut crumbs in a saucer and tiny lizard prints on my teaspoon. And that coffee? I have brewed a pot of it every morning for the past 2 years and I haven’t run out of it yet. The goddess hasn’t visited me again, but maybe she will visit you. 4" x 6" original hand cut collage on canvas with passementerie, Dresden trim, lace paper, silver mask This original artwork and story are copyright Ramona Szczerba 2008. Neither image nor story can be reproduced without my express written permission. Thanks!

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