“Can I see where you work?”

Lincoln cast me another curious look. I clearly hadn’t masked my eagerness.

“I guess. I’m supposed to be heading back from my break in a couple minutes anyway.”

He pressed something on the black box and then peered into it. Of course. It was a magic mirror. It had to be a lot handier being able to carry your magic mirror with you and having it fit inside of a pocket. I wondered why ours had only hung on walls or had big awkward handles. The humans may not have been as lacking as I’d thought.

I stood up from the bench and waited for Lincoln to move first. He started walking towards a building painted a bright yellow with orange trim and a red door. Lime green awnings covered the two windows facing the walking street. Tables filled with a variety of fruits and vegetables were set out in front of the store. I hadn’t seen anything like it since I was a child. A perfect bright red apple caught my attention and instinctively my fingers wrapped around it.

“Do you have money to buy that?” Lincoln asked half-jokingly.

“Money?”

“Yeah? Cash or a credit card? That is, if your parents would trust you with it.”

His smirk made me question whether he was being serious or making fun of me.

Loosening my grip, the apple fell back into the beautiful basket with the others and I followed him into the store. Whatever this money was, I needed to get some.

“Where do you get the money or the card of credit? Do you get yours from your parents?”

I hoped it didn’t have to come from parents or else I would be out of luck.

“You can. I get my spending money from this job. This wonderful job I love.” Lincoln raised his voice at the end for the benefit of someone else I imagined.

“Are you clocking back in, Lincoln?”

The question came from a man stocking a shelf, his back towards us.

“In just a minute, Mr. Pickens.”

Mr. Pickens inhaled the air deeply as if he’d caught a whiff of something and was trying to identify it. He turned slowly, searching out the source of scent. His gaze fell on me, awkward and still.

“You’ve brought a friend?”

He was standing up fully to study me. A sudden pang in my stomach made me double over as his piercing blue eyes met mine. His hair, a dusty blonde, was cropped short to his head and he towered even from across the store. I wanted to shrink away or be invisible like Rose.

“Yeah. She’s passing through town. She just wanted to see your store.”

“Passing through, eh? From where?”

Mr. Pickens asked his question without allowing his gaze to waver.

“Me?”

I looked back at him unsure of how to respond. Where was I from? Sorseluna? An enchanted forest? What would that mean?

“Out of town,” I answered.

“But of course. If you are passing through, you must be from out of town,” he smiled. “What town are you from?”

“Oh, not that far from here. You’ve got a really nice store. I love fruits and vegetables. Back home we don’t have anything like this anymore.”

I’d hoped to change the subject but realized too late that I’d done a loop.

“Yeah, really? And where’s that again?”

Lincoln, meanwhile, only watched the strange exchange. “Hey, I’ve gotta clock in, Mr. Pickens. What do you need me to start working on now?”

I thanked the stars for him saving me from the question I had no answer for. I needed a story. I was out here in the world and had materialized practically out of nowhere.

“It was nice meeting you, Lincoln. Maybe I’ll see you around.” I walked towards the door to escape.

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll see you around. I’m here pretty much every day.” He shot me that crooked smile again.

“Okay.”

I eased myself out of the brightly colored produce shop. Sparrow waited by the bench on the walking street and eagerly greeted me when I stepped out. She peered into the window and let out a low growl.

“It’s okay, Sparrow. Strange, but okay.”

She wasn’t feeling okay about this. It was different out here and I would have to get used to it. My senses were different but there was still magic in this place, which brought me a small amount of comfort.

___________

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