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Merle's errand run was not going well.

The Resident Witch, Nemredith, with whom she resided in The Black Hut, had given her a tremendous list of things to complete by dusk if she wanted to get her weekly dose of human energy.

It was what she thrived on. She needed to restock last week's supply soon, or she'd be pale as death with jelly wings and noodle arms and legs.

She didn't know how the Witch got it, but she took her dose without question every Friday evening.

As Merle glimpsed the ground, the sun's lengthy shadows on it served as a reminder that time was running short.

Her last remaining task was to buy a vial of Bergamot oil, return to The Hut, and make black petal crowns for Nemredith. Only after she had done that would she get the vials of energy.

On her way, she bumped into a man. Although he was at her height, his hunchback made him appear shorter. His bald head had a few thin white hairs on it, and his crooked smile revealed little teeth.

Their collision had caused his bag of items to fall onto the ground.

Merle had been expecting him to grumble and fuss around as all humans did to her, but he smiled instead.

She apologised and reached down to help him gather his things. The last thing she picked was a black square box that fit into her palm. He held her wrist as she was about to place it in his bag.

"No. Keep it. It is Tirina's Box." He said.

"Tirina's Box? What am I to do with it?"

"It is a box that will bring you luck, which I can see you are much in need of. But beware, that which lies in it is something the eye can't bear. It only brings luck if the box remains locked. Now off you go, before the sun sets low."

She would have liked the stranger to explain his riddled sentences further, but her circumstances didn't allow it. With a brief expression of gratitude, she departed.

Upon reaching the shop, her shoulders slumped when she saw the closed sign on the door. She looked down at her palm to see the box.

Luck huhn?

She stalked further with a decision to test out this stranger's box. With a firm hold on the door handle and a push, the door opened.

Shouldn't it be locked by now? She ignored the thought and entered.

When she arrived, the woman behind the counter sneered at her. Merle already knew the woman.

She had bought enough things from this shop for Nemredith and she had always been nice to the woman, Caterina.

Despite that, all Caterina did was sneer and yell at her.

Merle's cheery voice said, "I would like one vial of Bergamot oil, please."

Caterina gruffly replied, "We've run out."

"Could you check? Maybe—"

"Maybe nothing! We've run out." Caterina yelled, and Merle frowned.

Before she could say anything else, someone emerged from the curtain behind Caterina. It was an older woman.

"Ah, Merle! You're here again." The woman said.

"She's just leaving, plus we're closed. Didn't you see the sign?" Caterina spoke while maintaining the same scowl Merle usually found on her lips.

Why didn't you lock the door then, Merle would have said, but she bit her tongue. She couldn't gain the trust of humans if she was just as vile to them as they were to her.

"Now Caterina, that is no way to talk to customers. Come, Merle, what do you need?" When the kind woman inquired, Merle grinned.

"A vial of Bergamot oil, but Caterina says you've run out of them."

"For Nemredith, I see. Well, you must be in luck then." The woman said and moved to a corner of the shop where a brown carton lay. From within, the woman brought out what Merle wanted, the last item on Nemredith's list.

"We had run out, and we would not restock soon, but someone returned it unopened when Caterina wasn't here, so this is the last one. Here you go."

Once she had paid and thanked the elderly woman, Merle sped out. There wasn't much time left, and she would have to fly if she wanted to reach The Black Hut by the nineteenth hour.

She got there on time, much to her delight, and found Nemredith in a good mood once she dropped all her things.

She, however, had one last item left in her room and had five minutes to get it. That was enough time, so she strolled away.

She stared at the box on her room's desk while holding the petal crowns she made in one hand, choosing not to leave just yet.

Merle didn't believe in luck. She believed she could make her way out of any situation by making deals and trading spells, not luck. Maybe, that was because it was a type of magic that she was yet to understand.

With her gaze on the box, she wondered what could be in it. What could have such power?

Perhaps she could make a deal with it and gain its power. She took up the box and set the petal crowns on the desk.

This wouldn't take much time, would it?

She ignored the cryptic warning from the stranger and opened it to discover something unusual.

A mist of golden light was swirling inside the box and it enthralled her in an instant.

Merle couldn't move, she didn't want to. She couldn't think, she didn't want to. She couldn't remember that she had but five minutes to get to her weekly dose of much-needed human energy because she didn't want to.

All she wanted to be was the swirling golden light.

The light illuminated her hazy blue irises as her whole mind, being and soul was now enthralled with every swirl and swirl and swirl and swirl and...

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