Visions Unveiled Ch. 01

The moment Sophie was clear of the lower level, Faline reached out and switched the lamp off again. She then made fast work of balancing the cash drawer. She carefully wrote out the deposit ticket for tomorrow's banking and locked the envelope in the small safe below the counter. Sophie's store sold books, but not just any books. There were no best sellers or trendy self-help titles on these shelves. The selections ran more towards the occult and mysterious. The regular customers could be classified as Goth-like teenaged girls and middle-aged spinster women, both groups very serious about their interests. Sophie's shop also sold, in addition to her special books -- many of which were one-of-a-kind prints, a selection of unique crystals, rare scented healing oils and herbal teas. A kettle for the latter was almost always brewing, which Sophie was happy to offer a cup to any and all that brightened her door.

Once she was finished with her closing tasks, Faline took a few moments to straighten the bookshelves. She smiled to herself as she heard Sophie calling from above that their dinner was ready. With a sigh, Faline headed back to the sales counter to retrieve the book she was reading earlier. It wasn't just any book; this small, worn volume was also her prized possession. It had been with her for as long as she could remember. Back when it was just her, bouncing around from orphanage to orphanage, when she had nothing else in the world, this book had always been with her. She'd read the mysterious pages probably a hundred times over throughout her life, and while she did not understand everything written within, one thing she knew for certain was that it would give her the answers to the missing pieces of her life, which she so desperately wished to discover.