Thank you to everyone for all your wonderful reviews. It fills me with little bubbles of joy.
This is a bit of a filler chapter. Background info mostly. This story began as kind of a drabble series, but ends up getting progressively longer chapters. So that's why this one is so short.
Disclaimer: Don't own TMNT. Alas. Que lastima.
Edited April 2020
The bells hanging from the doorknob jingled as I walked into the store. I breathed in the comforting scents. Today was predominately spices, warm scents of ginger, cardamom, and pepper.
"Welcome in," the woman said with a smile. "Oh, hey baby."
"Hi mom," I said, walking over to the counter. I've always been told I look like my mother, ever since I was little. Lately she's been getting her hair colored lighter brown than usual, and I've been dying mine red so there's one difference. I'm also a little taller than her. Her blue eyes were currently lit up and crinkled with laugh lines at the corners and I mourned once again that I inherited hazel instead of blue.
"What brought you here today?" My mother asked, leaning over the counter while shuffling an ornate deck of cards.
"I just stopped by to pick up some flowers for Christi. I'm visiting her today." I smiled slyly. "And I thought I might pick up some tea for myself?"
My mother laughed. She twirled around, almost dancing across to store to pick up a small pot of colorful flowers. "Aster," she explained. "Promotes healing. How has Christina been doing?"
"A lot better," I said, while scanning the shelves for tea. "She going to be released from the hospital in a couple days, right now she's mostly just bored." I spooned a rose lemon loose-leaf tea into a small metal tin, adding some strawberry pieces and
violets from some other containers. I shook the mixture, and smelled it. Mmmmm.
I had always thought that my mother's store was a little strange. Well, I suppose eclectic would be the better term. It focused on loose leaf teas and herbal remedies guided by Wiccan traditions, with a couple of other things thrown in for flair. It was her passion, and something, she told me, that always reminded her of my father. I usually couldn't get much more out of her than that, but a couple of times she had told me he inspired her mysticality. The sadness in her eyes had stopped me from questioning further so I didn't know much about him other then that.
"Here you are," my mother said, handing over the flowers. "Wait." She held up a hand. "I got some new cards. Let me do a reading for you."
"Mom…" I started. "I don't really have time for this." I also was a little skeptical.
"It won't take long. And besides, it's your birthday." She winked. "Good luck to know what's ahead of you."
I decided to concede. "Alright, remind me, what do I do?"
She had me pick out a couple cards, and she laid them down in an elaborate pattern. Eyes closed, she flipped over one last card.
Her straight gaze and narrowed eyebrows mirrored an expression I had seen on my own face, studious, concentrating.
Even though I usually didn't believe any of this, her slight frown worried me. "It looks like you have some big choices ahead of you. You will discover a new strength, but it may upset some things in your life. Be careful….There's something else new too. Perhaps there's romance in your future?" Her voice had turned playful and teasing. "Give Christina my blessings."
I held in my sigh. These things always seemed to end this way. It was always hard to tell if my mother was being serious or just teasing me. "I will. Love you, and I'll see you later."
I brushed the whole thing off. But if I had stayed a little longer I might have seen the frown return to my mother's face as she continued to study the foretold future that might just be the end of me.
Yeah…Really short, and no Mikey *gasp!* It just seemed like a good stopping point? (*hides from disgruntled readers*)
Anyways…Next chapter is longer, promise.
And if you're at a loss for what to say, I ask you this: What's something you want to see happen in this story? Or something you're looking forward to? Any guesses for what's going to happen? ;)