Welcome to Twice Spelled

Morgan's introduction to Sebastian's shop

The door swung open, a twinkling bell announcing the arrival of a customer. When Morgan stepped inside, she took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but the air smelled crisp. A new fall day that perfectly reflected the weather outside. Another breath brought the scent of apples and fresh pie. The angled door had led her to expect an angled shop, but the walls to her right and left stretched out in straight lines on either side.

On the left, most of the wall was a recessed window with a bench under it. The seat looked inviting and Morgan wanted to take a seat so she could explore the books that were stacked on shelves on either side of the bench.

Morgan’s attention was pulled away from the books and to the shelves on the other side. Drawers lined the wall from the ground to just above waist height with each drawer holding a label. It reminded Morgan of the pictures of old card catalogs and she wondered if they had been patterned after that or if they were remodeled ones. Above those were an open case that held bundles of herbs. As Morgan stepped close to them, she was hit with a wave of differing scents that somehow didn’t overpower the fall scent. She stepped away and the scents faded, but a step closer made the herb scents powerful again. She tried it a few times, stepping closer and then away before smiling. It was a neat little use of the box to keep the scents contained.

She reached out to touch the herbs, then thought better of it. She didn’t know if touching them changed their intent and she didn’t want to cause a problem. Instead she turned to look at some of the displays in the open spaces. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the variety of products stretched her mind. The bookcases from around the window carried across the wall next to the first wall; this time covering them from floor to ceiling. They were well stocked also with books almost bursting from the shelves. She walked along them for a few minutes, trailing her fingers along the spines as she studied the books. There were a variety of topics, although they didn’t seem to be in any order. As she walked, she occasionally pulled a book off the shelf to flip through it. While she didn’t pick any out to purchase, she found the topics interesting.

As she made it almost to the back wall with the counter that ran almost the entire length of it, her attention was drawn to the stands in the center. A lot of the items looked like they had been designed for tourists, but she was sure there were some actual Wiccan things intermingled. Probably nothing that could harm anyone, but still things that had what the proprietor felt was actual magic.

Now she took the time to look around the shop as a whole. The wood boards beneath her feet were smooth, worn from the years but in pristine shape. While the shelves and stands didn’t exactly match the same warm tones, they complemented them nicely since they were only a few shades off.

She’d passed more than one ‘witch’ shop before she’d entered this one and she wasn’t sure what had drawn her to it, but she was glad she made the choice. Everything about this store made her feel safe and comfortable, as if she was returning to a place that she’d visited many times.

Morgan moved around a display to discover that a dark haired man now stood behind the counter, having appeared as if by magic. A practiced smile slid across his face as he greeted her, “Welcome to Twice Spelled. How may I help you?”