It was Sunday and as usual I was waiting outside the shop at noon sharp when Selene unlocked the door.

"Come on in hon," she greeted me. "You know you're not working today, right?"

"Hi Selene," I smiled as I walked into the store. "I know I'm not scheduled but do you mind if I keep you company?"

She smiled slightly, "Of course not."

I thanked her then went into the back first and left my bag there. My baseball cap and hoodie were still back there too and I made a mental note for the twenty-somethingth day in a row to try and remember to take them home at some point.

Then I closed the stock-room door and moved to join Selene behind the counter as usual.

"You know hon, you're putting in more hours now than I am?" my boss commented in a slightly incredulous tone, as if it just dawned on her. "You've been in here seven days a week lately, while I'm taking days off now and then."

I frowned slightly, "I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't bother you."

She shook her head and smiled, "Not at all hon. It's just a little remarkable. I've worked here by myself for longer than I care to admit. Honestly, it's nice to have the company. And it's nice getting time off now and then."

After a few moments she added, "I hope you'll eventually take some time off as well hon. I'd hate to see you burn yourself out."

I sighed, "It's only about five weeks till school starts up again. Then I guess I'll have to cut back my days in here."

Selene frowned as she watched me. I was sure she could tell from my voice and expression how much I disliked that thought, but I wasn't sure what bothered her more. That I didn't want to go back to school, or that I thought her store was the best place in the world for me to be.

Fortunately she didn't press the issue, and soon enough we started getting customers trickling in which gave us both something else to focus on.

At one point she mentioned, "The full moon's coming up. August first, that's only two days away. We'll probably be a little busier than usual from now till then."

After the last full moon I asked her if she could recommend any good books, so I could start learning about real magic. She acted kind of awkward and embarrassed as she admitted that the stuff on the bookcases at the back of the store wasn't all that 'real'. She asked me to keep it to myself though. It wouldn't do for her customers to find out she didn't believe in the stuff she was selling them.

Of course I agreed.

She went on to explain it was real to the customers and it was important not to take that away from them, which made sense to me as well. Like how little kids believed in Santa. Telling them the truth didn't make things better, it just upset them.

Selene promised she'd tell me more about the real stuff someday, when I was ready for it. I accepted that too and didn't press any further. When I was ready I'd learn, and that's all I needed to know about the subject for now.

Overall the day was good but not fantastic. I figured tomorrow and Tuesday would be busier, since the full moon wouldn't be till Tuesday night.

It was right about four o'clock and we were getting ready to close up for the evening when a last-minute customer came running up to the door. She hurried in and breathed a deep sigh of relief, as though getting in before we locked the door had been a life-or-death crisis for her.

The woman looked to be middle-aged, about the same age as Selene looked when she was working. I'd guess the customer was in her mid- to late-forties. She was wearing a light grey track-suit and had a blue faux-leather purse hanging from her left shoulder. Her short wavy hair was a light sandy-brown, and her eyes were dark.

The woman actually fit one of the types of customer I'd observed since I started working here. She belonged to what I thought of as the 'occult-curious soccer mom' group.

Except she looked stressed, and she looked tired. It seemed to me like she had a weariness to her that went beyond just physical exhaustion. Like something was weighing heavily on her soul and she hadn't been able to relax or get a proper night's sleep in a long time.

Selene and I both watched quietly as the woman took a few deep breaths as if to calm herself down.

The customer looked back and forth between us then asked, "Which of you two ladies is in charge?"

She spoke with a distinctly 'southern' accent. I automatically thought about South Carolina, which was odd because I'd never met anyone from there before. I figured perhaps I'd heard that sort of accent on TV or in a movie. That would explain how I knew where she was from.

Accent aside, I was surprised by her question. By now I was used to strangers mistaking me for a girl, but this was the first time anyone had ever mistaken me for the boss. It seemed hard to believe someone could even make that assumption. Between a middle-aged blonde and a teenaged brunette, who would ever assume the teen was in charge?

Selene didn't take offence of course, she just replied in a calm friendly tone "That would be me, dear."

"I need to talk with you," the customer stated in a voice that sounded like desperation badly hidden beneath a veil of forced calm. "I'm told you may be the only one who can help."

With a quiet sigh, my boss glanced at me and asked "Hon? Would you get the door please. And turn the sign around."

As I walked over to the front door I heard her tell the customer, "Don't worry dear, you can talk openly in front of my apprentice. Anything you say here will be kept in confidence."

It surprised me to hear Selene refer to me as her apprentice. I understood though that she was allowing me to stay and witness whatever was about to happen. I also knew she'd expect me to keep quiet and observe, rather than participate.

I locked the front door then turned the sign over to 'Closed'. As I made my way back to my boss's side behind the counter I was surprised to see she'd let her appearance shift back to her youthful look. She'd never done that in front of a customer before, but it was another little indication that whatever this was, it was something special and unusual.

The woman had already begun to talk. Her voice alternated between hushed and strained, and occasionally it broke with emotions. Apparently her daughter was dying, and wasn't expected to make it much beyond the end of the week. The woman seemed to think Selene could help somehow. She'd heard about our little shop yesterday and took a flight this morning from Charleston to Toronto, then rented a car and drove the rest of the way here this afternoon.

I was very curious to know why someone would travel so far in such a hurry, to come to a little occult shop in small-town Ontario when it sounded like what they really needed was a doctor or some other medical specialist.

Selene didn't bat an eye however. She replied calmly, "I may be able to help you dear, but there is a question of cost."

"I can pay," the woman stated. "Whatever you want, I can pay."

She unzipped her purse and started pulling out stacks of money. It was like you saw in movies, bricks of American cash wrapped in paper tabs. There were stacks of tens and twenties and even a stack of fifties. In moments we had between ten and twelve thousand dollars sitting on our counter next to the cash register.

The customer said in an urgent tone, "If you want more, I can get it."

I'd never seen that much money before, outside of the movies. I tried to keep my expression calm as I remained quiet. The whole situation was starting to remind me of that incident back on the thirteenth, with the angry customer. It felt like there was something borderline illegal going on, but not quite. I decided it was unusual, but not illegal.

It got even more unusual as my boss just sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry dear. What you're looking for, that can't be bought with money."

The woman's confused expression mirrored my own confused thoughts. "What then? What do you want? You're my daughter's only hope, you have to help!"

Selene had a compassionate look on her face, sort of like a sad frown as she looked at the customer. It almost felt to me like she was looking inside the woman, maybe right inside her soul.

Finally, in a slightly apologetic tone she said "I can give you what you want, if you're willing to give up the love of your husband."

"My husband?" The customer looked and sounded confused. She frowned, as if thinking it over. Finally she nodded "All right. I'll do it, if you promise my daughter will be saved."

"The magic is guaranteed," Selene replied, "If you follow the directions. Full moon's in two nights, use it then but not before."

"Ok," the customer nodded again. "How do we...?"

I watched as my boss crouched down and slid open the drawer under the cash register. That drawer was normally full of dark green plastic shopping bags and tissue paper for wrapping fragile objects, but now it contained a big old binder and a bunch of large padded manilla envelopes.

It didn't surprise me of course. It made sense that if her stock room door could sometimes open into her kitchen, then the drawers under the counter would occasionally be stocked with different things.

I continued to watch quietly as Selene opened the binder and found an unused contract. A special pen was used, and the customer signed her name in her own blood.

Then Selene dug around through the manilla envelopes till she found the one she wanted. Written in pencil in one corner of the envelope were the words 'perfecta sanitas'.

I recognized that as Latin, it meant 'perfect health'.

My boss handed the envelope to the customer and told her in a firm but kind voice, "Read the instructions carefully, ok dear? And the cautions and warnings. Everything you need is in there. You take care of yourself."

The woman was almost in tears now as she thanked Selene. Her hands shook slightly as she dumped all the cash back into her purse, then picked up the manilla envelope and held it close to her chest.

My boss walked her to the door and let her out, then closed up and locked it again after the client had left. The two of us watched silently as the woman walked away out of sight towards the parking lot.

When it was all over and done with, Selene looked at me with a sympathetic smile and asked, "I suppose you've got some questions hon, after witnessing all that?"

I shrugged, "I'm pretty sure you sold her something magic, called 'perfect health'. She's going to use it to save her daughter's life."

My boss watched me as she asked, "You don't seem to be too surprised by that?"

"I guess I'm curious about the cost?" I asked. "You said you'd take her love for her husband. How? And why?"

"I trade in intangible things, hon. Memories, emotions, skills, talent..." Selene replied. "That poor woman didn't have much left to offer, unfortunately."

She looked sad as she continued, "Her husband was killed in the same automobile accident that left her daughter's life in peril. She's had a lot of tragedy lately. Love isn't actually worth as much as you might think, but I can usually find a buyer."

She sighed as she explained, "I can't just give the magic away, there always has to be some kind of exchange. I want to help people though, so I never ask for something they can't afford to part with. So, she loses her love for a man that's already dead, and in return she saves her child's life."

I nodded slowly. It sounded pretty fair to me. I had one more question though.

"You told her I was your apprentice?"

Selene smiled slightly "Yes hon. I expect I'll be teaching you more about the business we're really in sooner or later. I can't start though, until I know your true name."

I frowned again, "But I don't know what it is either."

She just gave me another knowing smile, "You will someday, hon. You'll figure it out."

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