“Why do you know about the store?” Daisy asked Soraya.
“Oh, Pastor John mentioned it in church last week. When he found out it was opening, he wanted to make sure everyone in the church knew so they could guard their ...” She seemed to realize she was saying too much to an audience who hadn’t even wanted to hear half of it. “Whatever.”
That was some growth for Soraya, Nora had to admit.
“I want to check it out. So if you want to stay away from the occult, you can keep going, I guess,” Nora said.
“I want to see it.” Daisy was already walking toward the front door.
“I can’t.” Soraya took a step back.
“You can’t go into the store?” Nora asked, incredulous.
“No. We’re supposed to stay away from even the appearance of evil.”
“I wonder what category dick pics in the church bathroom fall into. Pictures that you were supposed to be fine with, I might add,” Nora said.
Soraya’s face turned pink. “Okay, I can stop in for a second.”
Nora smirked at Daisy, who gave her a hard look. This interaction was oddly cheering, because it reminded her of a time when she didn’t feel so desperately jaded and out of hope.
She pushed the door open, and a bell jingled above the door. The room was dim and cool, soothing music playing over the speakers. A table sat in the center of the room with a sign in the middle that proclaimed tarot readings were available. There was a shelf next to that with boxes of tarot cards on display. Beyond that was a large counter, and behind it were shelves of dried herbs and jars of tea.
Across from that were bookcases filled with books about the metaphysical and the divine feminine. Then there were bins of crystals with cards attached to the front that spoke to the purpose of each one.
For the first time in weeks, Nora felt like she could take a full breath. She walked over to the counter and admired the large jar filled with dried yellow flowers. A small handwritten card was placed just in front of it.
Lady’s Mantle: the patron herb of alchemy, often used in love spells.
“There’s not even anyone here,” Soraya said, still standing at the door. “Let’s go.”
“No.” Nora touched the lady’s mantle card and then moved farther into the shop. “I want to look at some of the stuff.”
She’d always been interested in the idea of magic—what little girl with no control or power in her life wasn’t?—and of course her gothic aesthetic had frequently led her into witchy shops, where she liked looking at crystals and bundles of herbs, but that was all it was. A vague interest. Whenever she picked up a deck of tarot cards and considered buying them, her more practical self told her it was nonsense, and she ended up putting them back.
Everything felt like it was off kilter, which made her feel like maybe this time she would buy a deck of cards. Or some crystals. It couldn’thurtanything.
There was a shuffling sound, a fabric curtain hung over a doorway opened, and a very small woman with long white hair came out and stepped behind the counter. “Good afternoon,” she said. “Welcome in.”
Nora waved awkwardly. “Hi, thank you.”
Daisy walked deeper into the room. “This is great.”
“Is there anything that you’re looking for in particular?” the woman asked.
“Just looking,” Nora said. “We were walking by and saw the store and thought we should check it out.”
“I’m so glad.” The woman smiled, the skin by her eyes crinkling.
“What’s ... an apothecary?” Daisy asked.
“I’m not sure what all the other ones are,” the woman said, “but this one has medicinal herbs, teas, spells. I want to do tea parties and tarot readings, tea leaf readings, though I won’t have my full menu of services ready until I get some employees. I need a bookkeeper and a baker, and I really need someone to run the front counter.”
The same goose bumps that had risen on Nora’s arms earlier rose again now.
We’ll be okay.
“A bookkeeper?” Daisy asked.
