Page 53 of Brews and Banishments
Daisy held her breath as she turned towards Tessa, who seemed to be wearing the same expression as her. For a moment, they only stared, all the trouble they went through for the past week flowing between them. But then, the longer they stared, the more their exteriors began to crack, and the easier it was to let the laughter flow through them. Daisy’s laughs melted intogasps of relief, every bit of fear she once had no longer daring to touch her. She rose, following her grandmother back inside the building.
“After all this time,” she kept repeating, shaking her head. “After all this time.”
“Hopefully this tells you to visit your elderly grandmother sooner!” Grandma Lotta teased as she looked through her books.
“What’re you looking for?”
“Well,” Grandma Lotta turned, one fraying book opened, “I thought you didn’t want the spell on you anymore, but if you’re so keen on laughing at your grandma, than I might as well -”
“Go ahead, grandma,” Daisy interjected, the genuine smile finding her face in an instant.
Her grandmother smiled. “It’s funny. For all the trouble the spell caused, a simple incantation is all the fix it needs. That’s how I create all my spells, especially now that my spells sometimes… go haywire.”
“That’s all?” Daisy asked, her mouth dropping open.
Most spells required an antidote… a potion that undid what the original potion caused. Only a very skilled witch could weave into the spell such an easy fix. As good as Daisy was with potions, her grandmother was still far superior, even in her old age.
“Well, show us how it’s done!” Tessa said excitedly.
Grandma Lotta stepped forward, taking a deep breath. Her power crackled through the air before she’d even spoken her first word. “Oh, great Mother Hecate,” she began in a low voice, “deliver your power onto me, deliver your compassion onto me, and -” the air grew heavy within the room for a moment “- reverse what you have already given!”
Daisy wasn’t sure what she expected to feel. There was a light feathering of pins and needles up and down her arms before it turned to her legs, as if the magic was being pricked out of her, sliver by sliver. Eventually, the feeling subsided, the airreturning to its gentle flow throughout the room. Birds landed on the patio outside, curiously peering into the room. Daisy let her eyes close. The swirling that once rested in her stomach, the odd unease that had lived within her since the potion arrived at Fields’ Herbals,finally seeped out of her skin. Daisy took in a deep breath, and she couldn’t have felt more at ease.
“All better?” Tessa asked.
Daisy grinned. “All better, though…” She paused, her mind traveling back towards Ethan and whatever their relationship meant now that the spell was gone. Her spirits deflated for a moment. “I wonder what this will mean for Ethan and I.”
Grandma Lotta snapped her book shut. “You two went on a date, didn’t you?”
Daisy nodded. “But he could’ve been affected by the spell.”
“I doubt it.”
“Well, how can you possibly know?”
Grandma Lotta shrugged. “Perhaps I just know.”
Daisy watched her grandmother waddle back towards the patio, shooing away the birds and returning to her half-eaten slice of cherry pie. Tessa followed after her, immediately engaging in conversation about her upcoming empath tests. Daisy watched them from within the little room, her heart feeling light but burdened still with the unknown. She couldn’t believe it. All this time, all this stress, and the potion had been a gift from her grandmother.
She laughed, shaking her head.
Only in Willowbrook.
18
Daisy
Night fell quietly onto Willowbrook’s main street. Most of the stores were already dim inside, their respective owners heading home for the evening. Daisy lingered in Fields’ Herbals that day, eager to catch up on the brews she had forgotten about and to give the shop a good deep clean. Despite the spell being lifted off Daisy’s shoulders, business continued to thrive at the store. Apparently, the burst of sales that had come from the spell managed to gather willing customers, ones who weren’t affected by the spell whatsoever.
Daisy eagerly took the business wherever it came, determined to keep it flowing as much as it once had. Not only were they able to afford hiring Susy and Anne part time, but the financial burden that once drove Daisy and Tessa into a pit of despair no longer crept over the horizon. Everything, as surprising as it was, seemed to be taking a turn towards the better. Daisy finished running a rag along the counter and restocking the aisles for an (expected) busy day tomorrow.
There was only one thing still lingering on the counter. Daisy ran her hand over the tin box, her fingers following the carved grooves and lines. A small card was on top of the lid, the handwriting familiar and bringing a tingle to her spine.
To Daisy, a chocolate for every day we are apart.
Thinking of you always, Ethan.
Reaching into her back pocket, Daisy pulled out her aged flip phone, searching through her contacts till she landed on Ethan’s number. The small, rectangular screen pulled up a few texts they had shared earlier in the day, when she had first seen the chocolate box being delivered to the shop's door.
