MEOW: Magical Emporium of Wares - A Cozy Slice-of-Life Fantasy

I was prepared for someone to enter the shop this afternoon. The conversation from this morning had broken my ability to get lost in the cookbook, so I gave up after only a few minutes. Instead, I found myself wandering the shelves hoping to find a guide or something on the various races that I might come across in the shop. As far as I knew, the cat was still on his chair. Lunch was hot dogs again, this time the cat didn’t complain. Just ate them in that weird way of his. I still wanted to know where all the food went, but at this point I assumed it was a mystery of the universe.

The shelves weren’t dusty, but sometimes I thought they extended out longer than they should. Like from upstairs, the shelves were only five deep, but down here wandering, it felt like I was seven or eight rows in, when that shouldn’t be possible. The wooden sign marked Magic caught my eye, and I quickly jumped ahead of the animal section I had been in. Some titles were in languages I couldn’t read. Hopefully, this was the good stuff.

Bells rang from the front of the store, and I almost stomped my foot. “Coming!” I gave the shelf one last glance then headed back to the front. I’d have to circle back to this area later.

I came out from behind the frontmost bookshelf and found someone standing in front of the register. His head was looking at the sign on the wall. I knew what it said by heart.

Do not upset the cat

The cat is always right

Do not go behind the counter

Do not upset the cat

All I could see of the guy was that his shoulders were broad, and he had shorter blond hair. It looked like a buzz cut that needed to be trimmed up. It was just long enough that it was starting to lay down, and to be honest, it looked really good. He held his hands together behind his back. Military, he had to be military. He wore a dark gray shirt and black cloth pants with combat boots. He turned at the sound of me approaching. Bright blue eyes met my gaze. “Hello, I was shelving books. How can we help you?” I quickly made my way around him and to my correct position behind the counter.

The blue eyes landed on the cat, then came back to me. “I’m looking to purchase a gift of a more magical nature?”

My eyes widened. “Is this about the boots?” I asked. The cat’s head snapped to me, but I ignored him.

The guy’s lips parted, and he nodded. “Yes, I want to order a pair of boots for a young woman I know.” He looked at me slightly confused, but the expression quickly cleared from his face. Whomever this young woman was, she had to be important to him. After all, magical footwear that was comfortable and lasted a super long time was no first-date kind of gift. Maybe I could order two pair, and get one for me.

I grabbed out a pad of paper from beneath the counter, along with a black pen. “What size boots does she wear?” I asked.

The cat shook his head with his eyes on the ceiling. “Ask him who they are for, and why he wants them. Sizes, shapes, we can figure that out later,” said the cat. “The magic can make them fit, anyway.”

The guy’s eyes went back to the cat. “She’s a size eight, and calf length. Something good for being on her feet.”

I took down what he was saying. “Well, he wants to know who they are for and why you want them.” I pointed at the cat.

The guy nodded. “I want them for a Traveler. She will do plenty of walking, and it should have space for a knife or two. Hidden, if possible.”

The cat nodded his head.

That didn’t sound special at all. Boots for someone who traveled, and did plenty of walking. Didn’t Alas say they would be boots for hunting monsters and riding through fields? “So why do they need to be magical?”

This time the cat made a grumbling noise at me, almost like a purr, but deeper. “Sorry, never mind my questions.”

The guy chuckled. “It’s okay. Like I said, these are for a Traveler.”

I still didn’t get what he meant, though I thought I heard a capital ‘T’ that time.

The cat made that noise again before adding, “A Traveler is a special type of person. They can go between worlds. I thought we talked about this. Let him know it will be a couple of weeks, but he can leave a number. We’ll let him know once they’re in.”

“The cat wants your name and a number to reach you at. It should only take a few weeks to get them made,” I replied.

“It’s Carter and here’s my card.” He pulled out a business card of all things. Carter, Guardsman with his number listed. Nothing else was on the white card.

“Thanks, I’m Sable by the way,” I said. Now I didn’t know what to do with the card or the guy still standing here.

“Do you know how much it will cost?” Carter asked.

“Set the card down and tell him we will discuss it once he’s seen the boots. I know he’s good for it - it won’t bankrupt him and she will need them,” said the cat. “The boots are important.”

This time I glared at the cat. This sounded like a creepy back alley deal. and I didn’t want to be that type of person. I set the card down next to the cat. “Once you see the boots in person, we can discuss the price. Though the cat said she needs the boots, and he won’t bankrupt you. I’m sorry, I haven’t had to do an order like this before for magical boots. I swear I won’t be this awkward next time.”

His laughter spilled out of him and filled the room. It took a few seconds to fade away. “That’s okay, I haven’t purchased magical boots either, but I’ve heard of Meow. Plus, my grandfather recommended I come here if I ever wanted anything magical. Until now, it hasn’t come up. So we are in the same boat, it’s a first for both of us.”

My shoulders, which I hadn’t even realized were tense, relaxed. The feeling like I was failing at a test vanished, and I gave him a smile. “Would you like a coffee for the road? I can make just about anything.”

“Sure,” he said with a smile, “how about a mocha?”

“Coming right up.”

The cat looked between us and picked the card up in his teeth before setting it closer to the register. I quickly pulled a to-go cup out from under the counter and then ground the espresso beans.

“So this Traveler, she must be special to you. I mean, magical boots! I’d kill for a pair.”

“You work in a magic shop, you must have access to all sorts of things,” said Carter.

The cat sneezed, and we both looked over.

“Okay, maybe not then.”

“Nope,” I steamed the milk with some chocolate syrup in it. “This is a new job for me. I’m still learning about all the magic stuff.” I added the espresso to the cup and then carefully poured the milk in to create a flower pattern. “The coffee part, now that I have down. The rest of this stuff? It will take all year for me to understand what’s going on.” I set the to-go cup on the counter.

“Thank you, how much for the coffee?”

I waved at it. “You can pay for it with the boots.” I set a lid on the counter next to the coffee and he grabbed it.

“I’ll wait for that call,” said Carter. He gave the cat a nod and headed to the door, opening it with one hand.

“Wait,” I called out. He turned to look at me. “What world are you from?”

“Terra, of course…”

“Right.”

His head tilted at me but he stepped out.

“Terra,” I muttered to the cat. “That’s definitely not Earth.”