Connected

Chapter 1

The day we met was just like any other day, but it felt as though everything aligned to that exact moment for us to meet. It was my day off. I was sitting in my small apartment meditating over my cards when Alyssa called me to tell me her son was sick. I needed to open our shop. Normally I would fuss but my cards had irritated me and I needed the change of scenery. Our shop was small but had a lot of things. We worked with local witches for all of our herbs and spices and sourced all of our crystals from sellers that practiced. We had a variety of teas that we brewed for new witches to drink while they studied in our small library corner. It wasn’t much but it was a happy place.

Usually, our customers were those interested in the craft, those looking for supplies, or those curious about what it meant. Moon Brew was in our town’s downtown area surrounded by other small boutique stores, a few small restaurants, and more than a few busy bars so it wasn’t a surprise when a random group of men wandered in. They never stayed long. He and his friends realized their mistake when they looked around. A few of them made jokes and walked back outside but he stayed for a moment. I’m still not sure what drew me to him. Nothing about him was my type.

          “Hello…” he jumped a little when I spoke. I don’t think he even noticed me sitting at the counter fiddling with my casting stones.

          “Oh… uh… hi” his voice was deeper than I thought it would be. Warm like cinnamon.

          “Can I help you find something?” the question seemed silly. His eyes darted around the shop and a small look of concern, no, confusion crossed his eyebrows before he looked back to me.

          “I don’t know… what is all this stuff?” I walked around the counter to where he was standing.

          “Witch supplies” I could feel the impatience entering my body as I prepared for the comments and continuation of the jokes his friends had started. He nodded his head as he looked around again.

          “Cool s**t. I’m John.” Then he turned and walked out the door. I didn’t think much about it until later that evening long after I had closed the shop and gone home. There was just something about him. I thought about his hard expression when he first walked in and how it softened in our short and small interaction. The uniformity of his haircut on his chestnut-colored hair. The deepness of his green eyes.

          The following day I watched his group pass by the window outside the shop again. I could swear I saw him pause by the door but he didn’t come in. I didn’t see him again for a week. The same group of men passed by around dinner time. I lit a candle, read my cards, and brewed tea for one of our newer witches. She had been in every night until about 9:30. Her parents were quite conservative and Moon Brew was her safe place. I didn’t mind. She was quiet and mostly just read. She was packing up her notebook when John walked in.

          “I never caught your name.” his voice was just as warm as I remembered but something about it was shaky.

          “Aella. My name is Aella. Would you like some tea?” The question came from nowhere. I don’t even know why I asked.

          “Uh… sure…” He walked over to the small table we had and sat in one of the chairs. I finished helping Eliza put her stuff away in the cabinet and brewed some more tea. The silence was deafening.

          “What brings you in this evening?” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

          “It was rude of me to not ask your name. I was going to come by earlier but I was in training.” He leaned towards me.

          “I promise I wasn’t offended.” I shrugged as I poured his tea “what kind of training?”

          “Mission training. I’m in the army.” He told me but somehow I knew that already. “One of the guys from this unit got injured so I was transferred to take his place. Got the orders 2 weeks ago.”

          “Where did you come from?” I asked as I set down his tea. He told me he was from a small town in Florida. How he joined the army to escape small town life and the washed up junkies that never left there. When I looked at the clock again it was nearly 1 am. The hours we had been talking felt like minutes. He asked me for my number as he opened the door to leave. I still have no idea why I actually gave it to him There was something that felt safe about him. Exhausted, I closed the shop and drove home. His face still stuck in my mind.