Enchanted Secrets

by Kristen Middleton

  “Um, no,” I said, walking towards some dragon figurines. “I’m just looking around.”

  She smiled warmly. “Well, if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask.”

  I nodded and started wandering through the aisles. The shop wasn’t anything like I’d expected. There were large bookshelves and glass cases throughout that held everything from candles and colorful crystals to books that appeared to be hundreds of years old. It almost felt like an antique shop, without the usual junk.

  “I have some lovely handmade jewelry in the front of the store,” said the storeowner, suddenly standing next to me. She smiled again and I knew at once where Tyler had gotten his vibrant green eyes, although hers weren’t quite as penetrating. “That is, if you’re interested.”

  “I’ll help her, mom,” stated Tyler, coming out of the backroom wearing a different pair of dark sunglasses this time. In this dimly-lit store, I wondered how he could even see anything.

  His mother studied me closely for a minute then went back behind the counter. “Okay, have fun.”

  “Hi,” he said, standing over me. He seemed taller and even more mysterious in the shadows of the store.

  I licked my lips. “Hi.”

  “Find anything interesting that you just have to have?” he asked.

  Besides him?

  I just smiled. “I don’t know, I really just got here.”

  Then he surprised me by grabbing my hand. “I’ll show you around.”

  My heart was doing flip-flops in my chest at the feel of my hand in his warm one. I cleared my throat and grinned like an idiot. “Okay.”

  “So tell me, do you believe in witchcraft?” asked Tyler as he pulled me towards the back of the store.

  Chapter Six

  I stopped I my tracks and laughed. “Witchcraft? Like in casting spells and stuff? Let me think about that. Um… no.”

  “Why not?” he asked, a serious expression on his face.

  I snatched my hand back. “Not you, too? Listen, witches aren’t real and either is magic, so quit teasing me.”

  A slow smile spread across his face and he removed his glasses. “Everything is real, Kendra. It’s what you believe in that brings it to life or lays it to rest.”

  His eyes were hypnotizing me again. “What are you doing to me?” I asked hoarsely. “Your eyes…”

  “Oh, sorry,” he answered, replacing his glasses.

  I took a step backwards, feeling the hair stand up on the back of my neck. “Maybe I should just go.”

  He grabbed my left hand again and gave me a sheepish grin. “No, not yet, please. I have some really cool things to show you.”

  How could anyone resist that smile?

  I nodded. “Well, alright.”

  He let out a sigh of relief. “Cool. Okay, this way,” he said, pulling me towards the door to the backroom. “Back here is where the magic begins,” he said all mysteriously.

  My eyes widened in surprise when we entered another dimly-lit room. This massive area was closed off to the public but it had to be twice the size of the regular store, which seemed impossible. My eyes gazed around the room, which was filled with hundreds of different boxes and containers, in different stages of being unpacked.

  “Oh,” I said as a white cat pressed herself against my legs, purring. “Who is this?”

  “That’s Sicely,” smiled Tyler. “She’s my mother’s cat.”

  “She’s adorable,” I said, petting her soft fur.

  “Believe me, she knows it,” he said.

  The cat meowed and took off.

  “We used to have a cat, but she disappeared last year,” I said softly. My mother had cried for days.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “His name was Salem and mom had him for years. He was a little testy, but we still loved him.”

  “Cats are pretty cool. Um, sorry it’s such a mess back here,” he said, swatting at some cobwebs. “I’ve been trying to help her unpack everything, but as you can see, it’s a lot of work.”

  “How can you have such a large warehouse back here?” I murmured looking around in wonder. “The shop doesn’t seem this big on the outside.”

  His lips twisted into a sardonic grin. “Don’t ever be deceived by what’s on the outside.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah…I know, “Looks are deceiving.”

  “More than you could ever imagine.”

  “You’re so dramatic,” I stated, walking around the room. “I keep waiting for a sinister laugh from out of nowhere, or a loud clap of thunder whenever you hit me with your idioms.”

  He burst out laughing. “Sorry, I drive my mom crazy, too.”

  Tyler was definitely an odd character. But he was also super cute and nice to me, so I didn’t really care about his silly quirks.

  “So, what did you want to show me?” I asked, trailing my finger along a dusty old book about crystals.

  “Well, I was looking for it when you arrived but still haven’t located it yet,” he answered, pulling down a box from a metal storage shelf.

  “Oh,” I said, lifting up something that looked almost like a magic wand. “So, your mom collects some pretty interesting stuff.” I began waving the stick around.

  “No!” shouted Tyler, lifting is hands in the air. “Put that down, please, very slowly.”

  I giggled. “What? Am I going to conjure up something or make you suddenly disappear?”

  He stepped towards me with a stern expression. “Give it here.”

  When I handed it to him, he let out ragged breath, then put it away in a glass case and locked it.

  I stared at him in amusement. “You’re kind of serious about this stuff, aren’t you?”

  His look was pensive. “You… have no idea.”

  “Oh, this is cool,” I said, picking up an ornately designed owl. “I kind of like the stuff your mom’s selling. It’s really different.”

  He smiled and then grabbed another box. “There are a lot of cool things, just don’t touch them unless you check with me first. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  I shrugged. “Fine.”

  “Is everything okay back here?” called his mother from the doorway.

  “Oh, mom, I almost forgot, let me introduce you. This is Kendra.”

  “Hi, Kendra,” smiled his mother. “My name is Rebecca.”

  “Hi,” I answered. “I love the interesting things you have here.”

  “There are some great finds back here. Just be very careful how you handle them,” she answered. “Some of these items can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  I looked at Tyler. “Yes, I’ve already been warned.”

  “I’m watching her,” said Tyler.

  She smiled wryly. “You be careful, too, young man.”

  He snorted. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  The bells at the front entrance jingled and Rebecca excused herself.

  “Your mom is very pretty,” I said to Tyler.

  “Yeah,” he mumbled. “It gets her into trouble sometimes.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Let’s just say she receives a lot of unwanted attention. And that’s the last thing she needs, right now.”

  I snorted. “Why, is she running away from someone?”

  He froze and turned to me, his expression unreadable. “What makes you ask that?”

  I smiled. “Sorry, I was only joking. Lighten up.”

  He opened his mouth to say something but then seemed to change his mind.

  “So,” I said. “I’d better not stay too long. I can come by tomorrow if you still haven’t found the thing you wanted to show me.”

  He crouched down and opened up another box. “To tell you the truth,” he said, looking up at me, “it might take me awhile to find it in this mess.”

  I looked around. “I can imagine.”

  He stood up. “Here, I’ll walk you out.”

  “Okay.”

  As I turne
d to walk away, I almost tripped over one of the open boxes. I knelt down and picked it up. “You might want to find a better spot for this box; it looks like you have some breakables here.”

  “Okay.”

  I glanced inside and noticed several colorful bottles with labels. I smiled as I read some of the bottles. “Oh, what are these? Magic potions?”

  He moved beside me and picked up one of the bottles. “Promotes hair growth,” he said, staring at the label.

  I noticed a purple bottle labeled “Promotes Thinness”, and grabbed it. “Wow, I wonder if your mom would sell me this.”

  He sighed. “You don’t need that,” he said. “You look good. These potions are too dangerous to mess around with anyway.”

  I laughed. “Magic potions? You really think these are magic?”

  “Let’s just say, I know they work. At least the ones I’ve used.”

  “Oh,” I said, trying to hide my smile. “Which ones did you try?”

  He grabbed a brown bottle and showed it to me. “See, this one kills trolls.”

  “So, are trying to tell me that you killed a troll?” I laughed.

  He stood up straighter. “No, I killed three, in fact.”

  His expression was so serious that I began to wonder if he was a little too caught up in all of this witchcraft nonsense.

  I took a step backwards. “Well, I suppose I’d better go.”

  He removed his sunglasses. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t frighten you.”

  “No.”

  But he was definitely starting to freak me out.

  “I’m just saying these little bottles work, and some of them are very dangerous. My mom will be the first to tell you.”

  “Well, if a little bottle like this can help me get thinner, it’s worth checking out,” I said, deciding to humor him and his belief about potions. I grabbed the purple bottle again.

  He grabbed my wrist. “Seriously, Kendra… you don’t need that bottle. It might actually make you too thin. Besides, you look perfectly fine the way that you are.”

  I was flattered that he thought I looked “fine”, but the threat of looking too thin wasn’t helping his case one bit. I smiled and pinched my fingers together. “Listen, I’ll just try a little.”

  He frowned. “Don’t play with these things, Kendra. They can be very dangerous. You heard what my mom said.”

  “Well, let’s just go talk to her then,” I answered, turning towards the exit leading to the shop. He followed me as I walked through the main store and towards the register, where his mother stood reading some kind of book about “enchantments.”

  “Hey, mom.”

  “Hi,” she said, putting the large book down. She looked at the bottle in my hand. “Did you find something that interests you, honey?”

  “Yeah, I found this bottle and was wondering how much you’d sell it for?” I asked, holding it up.

  She looked at the bottle and her face darkened. “Tyler,” she said, turning towards him, “where did you find this?”

  “It was in a box on the floor.” His lips thinned. “Kendra actually found it.”

  Rebecca turned to me. “This potion isn’t something to mess around with, young lady. It can get you into big trouble if not handled properly.”

  I smiled. “Okay, I’ll be extra careful, I promise. Is it for sale?”

  She sighed. “Although something tells me I’m going to regret this, I will sell it to you, but only if you promise to follow the directions exactly. We don’t want you losing too much weight.”

  I nodded vehemently. I still didn’t believe a small bottle of liquid would really make me thin, but I was really getting caught up in her sales technique. She was pretty darn good.

  “I promise. I will follow your directions to a tee.”

  She stared into my eyes for a few seconds. “Okay, I’ll write them down. If you have any… complications with the potion, though, call me immediately.”

  “What do you mean by complications?” I asked.

  “Well, something more than the typical side effects. Tyler, could you go help that customer over there?” she said, pointing towards a young girl looking at charms.

  “Sure,” he said, leaving the counter.

  I narrowed my eyes. “What kinds of side effects are typical?”

  “Upset stomach, headaches, heartburn. Those are typical. But if there is anything else, call me.”

  “Okay, how much?”

  “Well, how much do you have?” she asked.

  I laughed. “Well, I have ten dollars.”

  “That’s how much it is,” she answered, holding out her hand.

  I pulled out the money my mother had given me and she rang up the sale. She then wrapped the bottle in tissue paper and stared at me with concern. “I’m not sure why you want to do this; you’re a lovely young girl.”

  I lowered my voice. “No offense, but you’re thin and probably don’t understand what it’s like when you look like me.”

  Her eyes softened. “Listen, Kendra, you are a very pretty girl and I seriously don’t think you need to lose weight,” she said.

  “Thank you, but I’m getting really tired of being teased at school about my weight,” I whispered. “And if this bottle can help me, even a little…”

  She sighed and pulled out a pen and paper. “Okay, fine. Kids are cruel, I get that. Just, follow these directions,” she replied, writing them down. “And don’t take any more than what this says.”

  “I will and… thanks.”

  She folded the up the directions and slid it into the bag. “You’re welcome. Just remember to be very careful.”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  Smiling, she handed me the potion. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope you’ll stop by after you’ve taken the potion, so I can see the results.”

  “I will, thanks,” I said, feeling giddy.

  Just then another customer looking at old books motioned for Rebecca. “Oh, I gotta go. Call the store if you need me for anything,” she said, squeezing my shoulder as she walked away.

  “Goodbye.”

  I waved to Tyler, who was still assisting the young girl, who was now gazing at him like he was some kind of celebrity. He excused himself and walked back over to me while she watched him with open adoration.

  “Looks like you’ve made an admirer,” I teased.

  He turned back towards the girl, who blushed and looked away. He smiled and then turned to me. “So, my mom cautioned you about the potion?”

  “Yeah and I’ll be fine.”

  Sighing, he walked me to the door. “You know, I really wish you’d just believe it when I say you don’t need to change. You look great now.”

  My cheeks turned crimson, all this talk about my weight was beginning to make me uncomfortable. “Um, well thanks. I guess I’d better get going. So, see you on the bus?”

  He nodded. “Sure, see you tomorrow.”

  Who knows, maybe you’ll see less of me by then, I thought with a little smile.

  As I walked out of the store, I had this crazy feeling that I was being watched. I stopped and looked around, but didn’t notice anyone paying me any mind.

  “Enchanter,” whispered a gentle breeze against my ear.

  I turned towards the sound of the voice, but found myself still alone on the sidewalk.

  “Witchhh…” the voice hissed into my other ear.

  Okay, I’m going crazy, I thought, twisting back around again.

  Nobody.

  With my heart hammering in my chest, I clutched my bag tightly and hurried away.

  Chapter Seven

  I didn’t slow down until I was about two blocks from home and I heard someone call my name.

  I groaned.

  Megan.

  I’d forgotten all about her invitation.

  She was sitting on her porch, drinking what appeared to be tall glass of lemonade. She smiled and waved me over.

  “Hi. Where are the other girls?” I asked,
climbing the old wooden steps.

  “Oh, they left a while ago.”

  “Look, I’m sorry I’m late,” I said. “I stopped by that new shop on Main Street, ‘Secrets’, and lost track of time.”

  “Oh, I totally understand. I’ve been there; it has some really cool things.”

  I nodded.

  “You didn’t happen to see Tyler there, did you?”

  “Yes, actually, his mother owns that shop.”

  “Fascinating,” she said, twirling a long black strand of hair around her finger. With her large chocolate eyes and perfect cheekbones, I knew I wouldn’t have much of a chance against someone as pretty as her if she was setting her sights on Tyler.

  “Um, so I only have a little while,” I said, wanting to get off the subject of Tyler.

  “Come on then,” she said, waving me inside of her house, which, honestly, looked like it had been built in the eighteen hundreds and hadn’t been painted or fixed up since then, either. It was kind of creepy-looking and I knew that some of the younger children in the neighborhood were frightened of it, saying that it looked haunted. To me, it just looked old and worn.

  “You have a massive home,” I said as we walked inside.

  She smiled. “Yeah. We inherited this monstrosity from my grandmother. You can get lost inside of this place if you’re not careful.”

  “I bet,” I said. The house had to be over four thousand square feet. “You must have had fun playing hide-and-seek here as a child.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, oh, my God, it was a blast! My cousins and I would hide and sometimes it would take over an hour to find someone.”

  I smiled. “Cool.”

  We walked through several candlelit rooms and I noticed that most of the furniture was covered with sheets, which I thought was kind of odd, since they were living in the house.

  “It keeps the dust off,” she remarked, noticing my confusion.

  “Oh.”

  “You know, it’s just me and my mother, unless we have guests, then she takes the sheets off.”

  “You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I said. “A big house like this, I totally understand.”

  “Yeah, it’s a bitch to clean, too, especially that room,” she said as we passed a small, cluttered library. “Thankfully I’m only responsible for my bedroom.”