“True love could be one sip away!” lied the handmade sign in the window.

Anna knew it was a lie for the same reason she knew everything inside New Moon Apothecary would be hokey, woo-woo bullshit: magic wasn’t real. Places like this were all the same, promising that miracles would rain from the sky if only you bought the right crystal or pulled the right cards. They preyed on the vulnerabilities of honest, hardworking people and for that reason alone, Anna already hated everyone inside this dingy corner of strip-mall hell.

She scoffed, tapping an impatient rhythm against her steering wheel. Only a completely desperate person would want anything from a place like this. 

Gritting her teeth, she got out of her car and went inside. 

A tangle of bells overhead announced her shame as a waft of pungent incense smacked her face. Everywhere she turned, there was some new insult to all things science and reason: bundles of herbs tied together to mimic tiny broomsticks, packs of cards with