Sheana sat on a stool, her elbows on the counter and her face in her palms. She stared at a lonely leaf barely hanging onto an empty branch outside. If a customer entered her store, she would happily greet them. Business has slowed down over the past three months as people have preferred online electronic reading.
“Will that leaf fall today?” Sheana asked the racks of used books behind her. She’d hoped a character would jump out and answer, which would make her day. The days felt longer when no one came by, not even to browse.
The door chimes rang. Sheana stood with a big smile. A teenager tossed the town’s newspaper inside and vanished.
“Great,” Sheana muttered, sinking back on the stool. Then, hearing a noise near the window, she suddenly leaped up and shouted, “Hey, move away from there!” She sprang towards the door, but by the time she reached outside, it was too late – the yellow reddish leaf she’d been watching for a week already lay on the ground. Stooping down, Sheana picked up the fallen leaf and returned inside, nearly stumbling over the rolled-up newspaper on the floor. Bending down, she picked it up and noticed the headline.
A MAGICAL SPELL BOOK MISSING, WORTH $75,000
“A magic spell book gone missing. WHOLLY MOLLY, $75,000 DOLLARS1” She continued reading aloud. “Never Do Spells or ELSE has been missing for a week from the Gwen Historical Museum in Seaterville, NY. Upon opening Monday morning, a security guard noticed that the glass case holding the book had been cut open. The only thing left behind was a small, torn piece of paper from the book’s cover. More information will be disclosed after the investigation is completed. The museum manager advises that if anyone finds this book to please call the police or the museum right away. Also, to never open the book. Take this very seriously.”
Sheana looked around her small store. The walls and the standing rack in the middle of the room were filled with all kinds of books. She herself loaded all of them in, so if a magical spell book were there, she would know about it. Although the back room had bags and boxes full of donated books. Within minutes, Sheana was hauling two bags to the front. Then the chimes went off, and in walked two ladies.
As much as Sheana wanted to make a good sale, she was very eager to go through the bags. Instead, she said, “Good morning, ladies.”
Both ladies said in unison, “Good morning.”
“Can I help you find anything?”
The lady with glasses said, “Oh, no, dear. We’re just fine.”
“Okay. My name is Sheana. If you need anything.”
“Thank you,” the other lady answered.
Sheana moved the bags behind the counter and started unloading them. Not finding anything unusual, she priced the sellable books and put the unsellable ones in a recycling bin, except for a book about magic card tricks. Unsure, she discreetly put it behind her back and looked around, relieved to see her customers in the back of the store. Sheana slowly opened the cover and turned a few pages to confirm it was just card tricks. Satisfied, she let out a breath and took the book to the fantasy and magic section. Even though she was sure the missing spell book wasn’t among her stock, she scanned the shelves anyway. She was right.
Almost an hour later, the ladies made their purchases and left. As soon as the door was shut, Sheana retrieved two more bags. Nothing interesting was in them. She quickly sorted, priced, and shelved the books. Then, she brought two heavy boxes to the front, picked up scissors, and knelt down. She was about to cut the tape when her cellphone rang.
“Hello, The Hide Away. How can I help you?”
A man’s voice answered, “Yes. I’ve been on the hunt for a certain book and was wondering if you carry it.
“I’d be happy to look it up. Can I have the name and author?”
“Never Do the Spells OR ELSE.”
Sheana knew her mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. She froze.
“Hello, are you there?”
Sheana cleared her throat. “I’ll be happy to look that up for you. Do you know the author’s name?”
“I don’t have that information.”
“Well, let me key in the title. Just a minute.”
Even though she was sure she didn’t have it, unless maybe it was in with the donations, she typed the title anyway.
“Hello, Sir. I do not have that in stock,” she said, pretending as if she had never seen the newspaper this morning. “I can try to order it for you if you like.”
“There was only one copy published. I need it. Can I leave my number? If it crosses your path, be sure to call me—only me. Do you understand?”
“Um, yes. I will.”
Thinking the man was very strange and demanding, Sheana considered discarding his number but kept it anyway. She went back to the first box that held wood crafting, model cars, and metal art magazines. She pushed it to the craft section for later. The second had a musky odor; when she opened the top book, she found it had water damage. Sheana dragged that box to the dumpster behind her store.
Three more bags sat on the counter next to her turkey-on-rye sandwich. After a few bites, Sheana emptied the first bag, finding children’s storybooks that had gone out on the shelves. The second bag contained mysteries, which she also sorted and shelved. Before opening the third bag, she decided to finish her sandwich and soda while reading the backs of some mystery books she had set aside. As she was reading, she noticed that the last bag seemed to glow dimly. Sheana fixed her eyes on it and was unable to look away for what seemed like forever. Slowly, she used the book she was reading to open the bag. When nothing happened, she sighed with relief. A moment later, a flash of light occurred—but it was just the street lamp outside that came on to illuminate the darkening sky due to a coming storm.
“This is crazy,” she said to the dark-haired man on the cover of the book she had put down a few minutes ago.
Sheana opened the bag and pulled out books on Tarot cards, witchcraft, and supernatural forces.
“Oh, no way, Kage,” she said to the dark-haired man. “I am getting rid of all this. I don’t want any voodoo in my store.”
Just as Sheana was about to tie up the bag, she remembered the spell book worth $75,000. She took a deep breath and quickly pulled all the books out of the bag, checking the titles. Each book that didn’t match was returned to the bag. The last item was a red, hard-covered book, face down. Sheana picked it up and noticed there was no title on the cover, spine, or back. It just had gold-edge paper.
“Sophisticated look for a book. Right Kage?”
Just then, a crack of thunder came from the sky, and lightning flashed outside. In that instant, everything went pitch black except for the faint flicker of the streetlamps. The loud noise startled Sheana and made her drop the book. The store lights flickered briefly enough for Sheana to pick up the red book and see the title page: ‘The Never Do Spells OR ELSE.’ The lights went out again. She quickly tossed the book onto the counter and stepped back. Another thunderclap sent chills throughout her body. When the next lightning bolt flashed, she thought she saw a page turn by itself.
“I’m losing my mind.” Sheana watched the pages in the darkness, waiting to see if another would turn. She could hear the rain hard against the roof and the thunder growing stronger. The lights came on, and the writing on the page read, ‘You Been Warned… No Turning Back.’ With the next lightning strike, the light didn’t flicker and went out. Sheana leaned against the wall behind her. “Okay. I’ll keep talking to Kage, then I’ll be fine,” she said as she itched her forearms for the third time. “It’s just a bad storm. I’ll get the flashlight and go to the back to get lanterns. You hold up the front desk for me.” As she walked to the back, she continued talking, “I know I’m losing it. Kage, a sexy man on a book cover, is keeping me company. Yup, crazy, I tell you. Why am I so itchy? First my arms, and now my cheeks.” Sheana found one lantern and turned it on. Looking at her arms, she saw white pimples all over them. She went to the bathroom and held the lantern to her cheek; small white pimples appeared. “What the hell?” A few more rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning occurred as Sheana washed her hands, arms, and face. Another look in the mirror and they were still there. “Kage, it has to be the dust from the donation books. What do you think?” She said, trying to keep calm. Sheana remembered she had anti-itching cream in one of the lost and found bins under the front counter. She dumped the bin’s contents on top of the spell book. She hovered the lantern over everything until she found it. After applying a heavy amount to her skin, she put everything back.
“Kage, what if I have a… no. That’s stupid. There can’t be a spell on me. How would that happen?
When Sheana reached for her cellphone to type in magic spells into the search bar, the letters looked blurry. After blinking a few times, it was still the same. She leaned the lantern over the book, and even though the letters looked jumbled, she reread the title: “Turn For Healing Spells,” but it really said, ‘Magic Spells If You Dare. You’ve Been Warned.’
“Hey, Kage, look at that. I’ll be healed in no time.”
Sheana turned pages until she came to something she could make out. ‘Pimples.’ There was a list: spit, hair, blood, and sugar. She tried to read the instructions and could only make out the words ‘stir three times and drink.’
“This is nuts. I have to see a doctor.” She reached for her cellphone. Another flash of lightning gave her enough time to see her hand, which was covered with the same white pimples that were on her arms and cheeks. This time, they had black spots in the middle of the pimple. They were moving.
If Sheana didn’t believe in spells, she did now. She looked around her store and outside. It was still storming, and she made sure no one was lurking around. She looked at the ingredient to see how much, but again, the letters piled on top of each other. Sheana remembers the three things she needs. After getting enough spit in her mouth, she let it go into her empty soda can. Then, cut the ends of a curl that had fallen across her face and add the few tiny pieces. She grabbed a pack of sugar that was left over from her morning coffee and poured it in. While taking a breath, she pricked her thumb and squeezed a few drops of blood into the can. On the third stir with a letter opener, the sky lit up once again. The thunder was ear-piercing. Sheana looked at Kage on the novel’s cover, which she had propped up, and said, “Bottoms up.”
***
“Excuse me. Hello…Excuse me.”
Sheana felt a shake on her arm as she woke immediately.
“Are you okay?” A man asked, standing over her.
Sheana looked at him with wide eyes, then scanned her store and quickly looked out the window, where it was a beautiful, sunny day.
“Can, can I help you up?”
Suddenly, she looked at her arms and hands. There were no pimples or moving black spots. She touched her face, and it was smooth. Reaching for the top of the counter to stand, the gentleman helped her to her feet.
“I, I must have fallen asleep.” Sheana steadied herself. “I, I have a lot of book donations and have been working for hours. Did it storm last night?”
“I see,” The man said as he looked at the piles of books on the floor. “No storms. It was a clear, crisp Fall night.
“Okay. Please excuse the mess,” she said, walking around the counter. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Pointing to a book that lay next to a can of ginger ale, he said, “I guess you like cooking. I love it.”
Sheana hated cooking. When she looked, her customer was pointing to a red hardcover book with gold-edged paper. Sheana’s heart dropped, and her legs became weak. She had to lean against the counter to keep upright.
“Chef Patrick Dover is my favorite. I have all his cookbooks except that one. Do you have more copies?”
Sheana slowly moved her head towards the book but kept her stare on the man. Something about him. Then she glanced down at the book and said, “It’s a cookbook.” After opening it, she continued, “With real recipes.”
“Yes. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yum, yes, yes. Please, it’s all yours.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.”
“It’s on me. Have a nice day.”
After thanking her, the man left. Sheana grabbed Kage’s book and opened it. The words weren’t blurry. Just as she was about to close it, the name Kage on the paper stopped her. Quickly, she looked at the cover, and the man who had just left looked exactly like the character.
“No way.” Sheana ran to the window and looked in his direction. He was walking down the street. Blinking her eyes, she couldn’t believe the man was fading from his head to his feet. She ran back to the soda can and emptied it into the sink by the coffee machine. It was just soda. No hair or blood.
“I am working too much,” she said aloud, not to Kage but to the books on the floor. “A good romance novel is good for me now.”
Sheana put away the rest of the books on the floor. She looked through the romance section and found one to read. After making a strong cup of coffee, Sheana nestled into a chair by the window. A few pages into the story, she felt a burning feeling on her left thumb. There was a blister with a white head and a black spot.
This was written by our contributing writer, Carissa Kopf.
Image Source: Pexels, Mikhail Nilov
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