Home Again
A new chapter from The Impossible Apothecary
For anyone that just stumbled onto our story through this chapter, I linked the table of contents below so you can go back and start at the beginning of our cozy fantasy adventure with Fluidity, our favorite little goth witch. And make sure you subscribe for chapters every Thursday, and possibly bonus releases on off days that you wont want to miss!
Chapter 12
Home Again
The walk back had been quiet as Fern replayed events in her head. She couldn’t believe she had actually followed Flu into that cave full of vicious goblins. That wasn’t like her. Fern was not one to shy away from what needed doing, but she also did not make a habit of running headfirst into danger. Then again, dangerous scenarios weren’t really Tansy Vale’s usual thing.
She looked at the cottage as they approached, the evening light peeking through the canopy above to speckle the Apothecary in gentle dancing lights. While the cottage wasn’t all that different in appearance to any other building in the village at first glance, aside from the odd angles and mismatched building materials, it felt like more of a beast looming among the foliage than a house.
Most cottages didn’t open the front door as you approached, either. She wasn’t sure that she would ever get over the wonder and strangeness of the building… creature... entity?
As she entered, Fern felt a shift in the density of the air around her that she hadn’t noticed on her previous visit. Granted, previously she was a bit distracted by the impossible mismatch of the space inside compared to the much smaller exterior. Her thought was cut off by the door closing behind her causing her to jump.
“Would you like some tea or something?” Flu said, bringing Fern back to the moment.
Her voice was tired, the usual cheerfulness that Fern never believed matched what was happening inside of the witch’s mind was absent.
“Um, sure. Tea sounds great.”
Flu disappeared down the hallway and Fern was left unsure of what she should be doing as she stood alone in the front room. Then the room creaked into motion as cabinets opened, and the white, rope-like tentacles the Apothecary had so memorably strolled into town on appeared and got to work grabbing mugs, tea and a kettle.
Not alone, she reminded herself. Choking down the urge to run back out the door, she politely looked around the room taking it all in.
Shelves of jars, boxes and various other containers lined the walls, somehow managing to look like disorganized clutter and cozy hominess at the same time. She tried to ignore the cottage working on tea behind the counter as she ran her fingers over labels describing herbs, plants and various things she had never heard of.
Skulls carved with strange markings watched as she respectfully browsed the space, candles perched on their heads and dripping wax over empty sockets. She almost commented to herself how strange and unsettling Flu’s world was, but she remembered that whole not alone situation and kept it to herself.
And while the world Flu inhabited was somewhat odd, the witch herself, with her forced smile and eagerness to fit in, somehow offset it, making it feel almost normal. Almost.
When Flu returned, the white dress, soiled from their time in the cave, was gone. She had changed into a fluffy robe that looked a couple of sizes too large for her small frame.
“Mmm, thanks, buddy.” Flu said as a prehensile appendage offered her cup of tea. Another held a cup out for Fern, patiently waiting for her to take it.
“Oh, um… thank you,” she said as she cautiously accepted the mug. Another arm lifted from behind the counter offering a small bowl of sugar. She almost laughed despite herself at the absurdity of a nightmare horror offering her sugar for her tea. “No, thank you. This is fine,” she said, and the arm retracted, disappearing to wherever it resided when it wasn’t entertaining guests.
Flu padded to a large chair and set her mug on the side table before collapsing into the seat.
“I am beat. If you want to check out the library for whatever Nana had on goblins, it’s just up the stairs, first door on the left.” Flu let out a large yawn and closed her eyes. “I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a minute.”
Fern smiled as she watched the diminutive witch in her oversized robe sink into an oversized chair. It was hard to feel spooked by the weirdness of the room when she was doing that in the middle of it.
“Sure, I’ll just take a little look around if that’s ok,” Fern replied.
Flu waved her hand in a “go ahead” gesture but didn’t open her eyes.
Tea warming her hands, Fern climbed the stairs and stepped into a room beyond anything she could have imagined. Books lined the walls to the high ceiling, no inch of space was wasted. Even the large table in the center of the room was covered in books marked at various pages. Fern went to set the mug down, a ropey tentacle placing a coaster down just beneath it.
“Oh, thank you.” She almost giggled at the absurdity of it.
Looking over the stacks, she reverently ran her finger down the spines of some very old, but wellcared for, tomes.
“This is amazing.”
There were books on a myriad of subjects, histories and things Fern couldn’t even make out written in languages she had never seen.
“Excuse me?” Fern looked at the ceiling, unsure of where to direct her attention. “Do you know if there are any books on goblins here?”
After a moment, another arm appeared. It seemed to look through the spines of books thinking about what to offer. Pulling a large unmarked tome, it extended across the room, bringing the book to the table and started flipping through pages until it found what it had been looking for, and retracted into the floor.
“Thank you.” Fern said, still in disbelief that she was talking to a house. Taking a seat at the table she sipped her tea and began sifting through the material. The book seemed to be handwritten, more like field notes than a comprehensive study, but it did give some interesting information about goblins that she had previously been unaware of.
It didn’t take long to get through what was there, and she curiously looked at other books on the table.
A large purple book caught her attention, and she turned to a random page.
Dear Nana, You would love the spot I found for the Apothecary. It reminds me a lot of home…
Fern looked at the words written in neat, precise penmanship. Something about it struck her as odd, finding letters written in a book like this. Seeing it in front of her felt like peeking in on something private, permission to browse or not. This entry was something personal, so she read no further and turned the page, hoping to move past it.
Dear Nana, I had my first real customers come into the shop today.
A realization crept over her as she looked at the bound pages, and slowly she closed the book. This wasn’t a drafted letter or copied collection. It was a journal, and none of it was meant for her eyes.
Fern sat in thought for a minute as she rolled things over in her mind. This was clearly some kind of journal, and she felt a twinge of guilt at invading Flu’s privacy, even if it was not intentional. She felt like a space had been invaded, and she was a trespasser.
“I should apologize,” she said as she stood from her seat and walked back down the stairs.
“Flu, I’m sorry. I was looking through your books and…” a snore that didn’t quite match the little witch rose from the chair.
She found Flu still in the same place that she had left her, sound asleep. Looking around the room, Fern found a blanket draped over a sofa and gently covered her friend. There would be time to talk later. An arm slowly emerged from the floor and took the cooling mug of tea from the side table, placing it somewhere behind the counter.
Returning to the library, Fern took advantage of the time and began looking through other books, avoiding the purple journal. The books didn’t seem to be in any particular order, but she started to see a system revealing itself. Regional flora were placed next to books on magical creatures. Remedies and tinctures were alongside curses and rituals.
Finding a few books on geography that caught her attention, Fern sat back at the table and continued reading. As the light through the window faded, the candles in the room sprang to life, lighting the space.
Fern wasn’t sure if this was the Apothecary or just something that happened through whatever magic the room contained and she decided not to ask.
The night wore on and Fern could feel herself growing tired, her mind wandering from her studies. She let her mind drift to what it must have been like for Flu to grow up in such a rich and wondrous, if creepy, environment. What she wouldn’t have done to have access to a library like this when she was younger.
Eventually exhaustion caught up with her, and Fern sat in the stool, her face resting on an open book as she slept.
Slowly, one of the Apothecary’s arms silently crept up behind her, rising up unseen by Fern as she slept. Gently, it placed a blanket over her, while other arms removed the book she rested on and replaced it with a pillow. Fern never stirred as the candles silently snuffed themselves out.