Potion Shop

 

            Helga smiled as she leaned over her potion. Mixing up the Sleeping Death always put her in a good mood. The sticky sweet smell of the apples mixed with the cinnamon and nutmeg always made her think of cool fall mornings.

            The spring season had just started, and she’d gotten a surprising amount of requests for the Sleeping Death Potion. Who would have thought that when the Wicked Queen used it on Snow White all those years ago, that it would be so popular today? Nowadays there were women who used the Sleeping Death just to try to get a handsome prince to kiss them.

            Helga nearly laughed out loud. No one had been kissed by a prince, but her potions still flew off the shelves nonetheless.

            The bell above the door tinkled, signaling the arrival of a customer. Straightening up, Helga went over to meet them. Her good mood improved when she saw it was Dana. She came in at least once a week looking for magical cures for all of her problems. “What can I do for you today, Dana?”

            The look on Dana’s face was one of exasperation. After letting out an annoyed huff of air, she said, “I need something to take care of the slugs in my garden.”

            Helga raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Weren’t you having problems with your garden last week?”

            “Well, it was the crickets last week. I used what you gave me, and the crickets have all disappeared, but now I feel like I’m being overrun by slugs.” Dana folded her arms and stared at Helga. “Do you have anything that can help me out?”

            Helga tipped her head back to think. “Yes, I think I’ve got something that will take care of the slugs, but it needs to be sprinkled over your garden under the light of a full moon.”

            Dana’s face brightened. “Perfect! The full moon is tonight! I’ll take some, please.”

            Studying her shelves carefully, Helga found what she needed and brought a bright purple bottle over to the counter. “This should take care of your problem.” She checked the price and wrote it into her big book. “Would you like anything else?”

            Dana eagerly walked up to the counter. “No, thank you.” She paid for her potion and hurriedly left.

            After watching for a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t coming back, Helga let out a hearty laugh. “Yes, that will definitely take care of your slugs, but you’ll be back next week, looking for a way to get rid of your new mice problem.” Still chuckling, she went back to concocting her potion.

            The thing that most people didn’t understand around here was that once you grew dependent on magical cures for everything, you would always need more. It was an addiction that was more powerful than anything else. Helga had definitely made the right choice to set up shop here. There was always work for a witch.