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WC -793


During her trip to town so that she could buy a few ingredients for dinner she came across something interesting. A new little stall that looked like it had been put together in a hurry. That wasn’t what caught her attention though. What did was the many bottles she saw on the shelf. All different sizes and shapes and colors. Ming’we saw a few that even looked like they were swirling inside the bottles from where she was across the street. So she decided to go and take a closer look.

Once she got close enough she noticed that each bottle had a label that said what it was for and how much it was. That was convenient so that she didn’t need to bother the vendor unless she was ready to buy or had more questions. So she took her time looking over everything. A red bottle said it would help aide with muscle aches. It was interesting because she was sure that the apothecary already had a salve for that and she would trust them before she bought that bottle. Moving down the shelf she saw a clear bottle with a green liquid that claimed to change the skin color of the person who drank it. Now that one made her raise a brow.

She picked it up and eyed it a little. Her other hand flipped the tag over so she could read more about it. According to the tag it only lasted for about an hour. Ming wasn’t sure she’d trust that either, even if it was temporary. How did one know what skin color they were getting? Was there a way to pick? She put the bottle back and looked at the others beside it. A different bottle, one in an oval shape with a shimmering blue liquid in it, claimed to change the eye color of whoever ingested it.

Well now that was interesting. Just like the skin thing she had to wonder how one could pick which color they got. So she turned her attention to the vendor.

“Excuse me.” She drew their attention to her specifically. “How does this work exactly?”

The vendor, an elderly man, smiled at her. “Well, you drink it and it does what it says it does.” He pointed at the bottle.

“I get that you drink it, but how do you pick the color?” Ming was curious about that.

“Oh. You don’t. It’s random. Plus it only lasts for about an hour.” He smiled at her before he moved closer. “I have a sample bottle if you’d like to try it.”

MIng’we thought about it for a second. If it truly worked as the man said then she could imagine Haung’we having fun with it. As long as it was harmless then she didn’t see why he couldn’t enjoy a little enchanted potion. “I’d like to try and see how it works.”

The man nodded his head and moved over to his back shelf where bottles were half full or mostly empty. He scanned for a moment before he plucked one off the shelf and grabbed a cup. The vendor poured a mouthful into the cup and corked the bottle, making sure it was securely shut, then turned toward Ming. Moving back over to her he handed the cup over. “Here you go.”

Ming’we took the cup from him and peered into it. Sure enough the contents were similar to the bottle she’d been looking at. Shimmering and blue. A moments hesitation was given before she took a breath and simply drank what was in it. Oddly enough it tasted like a sweet fruit. She stared at the cup for a minute, waiting to feel something, anything, that would tell her she changed. When nothing happened she looked at the old man.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

He chuckled and handed her a small mirror. “Take a look.”

Ming set the cup on the counter and used both hands to take the mirror from him. When she faced it to herself she noticed her eyes were no longer blue but a brilliant pink color. It made her gasp a little. “Oh wow.” She turned her head to the side and kept staring at her eyes. It was truly interesting. “How long does it last?”

“This one? About an hour. People said they get a new color each time.” He picked up the cup and started to clean it out.

She didn’t feel the change and there was nothing to make her think it would bother her son. And if it was temporary it would be fun for him to use for pretend play or to play pranks. It would certainly be funny to see Zenith’s reaction. “I’ll take the small bottle.”