“I’m tired. So, so tired.”
Agamenyan observed the girl sitting across from him. She was a pretty little thing, with golden hair falling around her shoulders and eyes as blue as the sky. Right now those eyes were red rimmed from the tears she had shed. “I understand my dear. So are you seeking an energy potion today?”
“Not at all. I want something to heal my broken heart.” Lucy clutched an embroidered handkerchief that was damp from the tears that would not seem to stop falling. She had heard from women in the village that the old apothecary could help. She hoped it was true.
“Well dear, the only thing that can heal a broken heart is time. To no longer dwell on that ache, but focus on the good things.”
“The pain is so strong. I can think of no good on which to focus.” Another tear slipped down Lucy’s cheek. There had been so many at this point that she didn’t even notice.
“I understand child. You wish to forget.” Hope bloomed on the girl’s cheeks as soon as he said the words. He knew what she desired. They all wanted to forget.
“Yes! That is exactly what I wish.”
“There is a price for forgetting. It isn’t only the pain that is washed away.”
“I don’t care. I can no longer bear it. Can you help me?”
“One moment.” Agamenyan went to the back of the shop to find what was needed. He returned with a small, red bottle that he passed to the girl.
Deja vu washed over Lucy as she inhaled the sickening sweet smell of the elixir. So silly. I would remember if I had been here before. She downed the cloying potion in one gulp.
Agamenyan pocketed her coins as he watched her leave the shop. The ones who chose to forget made the best customers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This week I’m leaving you with no cliff hanger. I don’t know what’s wrong with me either, but I do like this little story, and I hope that you do too. I’m linking up with Trifecta and Write at the Merge. The creative writing prompts were…
From Trifecta, use the third definition of the word dwell -to keep the attention directed —used with on or upon.
Write at the Merge provides two from which to choose, be inspired by the sense of smell and/or the word elixir – a magical or medicinal potion.
Be sure to visit the link ups for some really great writing.
I LOVE it! I loved that dawning moment when I realized she has been there before.
Oh yes, and probably more than once.
Very nice….love it!
Thank you!
Brilliant.
Thanks!
“The ones who chose to forget made the best customers.” <—I love this line! Nice tale!
Thank you. I thought it was quite clever.
Oh, that’s so terrible but so believable; if that could be done there absolutely would be people who’d do it again and again. Well done.
Oh yes. Definitely. I think most people don’t realize that pain is often a teacher. As my husband would often tell me when the kids were small, “let them fall, that’s how they learn.”
What a price to pay!Nice twist;-)Guess it was selective amnesia though or she would have forgotten the pain too,no?
Oh she forgets the pain, but with it the lesson, and when you forget the lesson, you are bound to make the same mistake.
Ah,I see:-)
A wonderful little story.
Thank you.
Nothing like repeat business. She’ll be back. The old apothecary did offer good advice first. A nice morality tale, Jennifer.
Thanks, and yes, she’ll be back again and again and again. And yes, he did try to help her. Of course people that want to forget never want real help.
He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it. What a fabulous theme and that ending — Wow! Packed the desired punch. Love this, Jennifer.
Over and over and over. Thanks!
you know, i was smiling so broadly when i realized that potions are involved! ^^ i really liked the story and that last line “The ones who chose to forget made the best customers.”
god knows how many times she’s taken that potion already.. ^^
Only god and the apothecary.
Hahaha! I love that last line (thought). I’ve known people like this and they couldn’t blame it on an elixir (as far as I know
)
Oh yes. There are many people that never learn.
I love this! Amazing twist at the end, and bittersweet too. Great work !
I love a good “moral to the story” piece.
Brilliant!
Thank you. {takes a bow}
Ah, how often women buy into their own subjection…(Palm-smack.) I like reading pieces that are complete and stand on their own. The end makes the piece. The character herself seemed a little forced at the beginning–the speech was so proper-grammar: “I can think of no good on which to focus” and “I can no longer bear it,” yet the narrative around it is very casual, using contractions and so on. Even her words sometimes revert to casual. So I got a little distracted by the changes in voice. But your apothecary rocks. I was all impressed by him trying NOT to sell her something useless…and then realized how devious he really was.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the critique! I wanted her to be proper, and then the word count started hedging me in and I gave in to the contraction. {sigh}
I think he would like it if she would take his advice, but then he doesn’t mind collecting from people that never seem to learn.
Glad to be of service.
I like this premise. Great story!
This is a very clever story and I didn’t see what was happening until the end. Nicely done!
This is really good!
If you don’t learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them. Loved the ending, with the hint that Lucy had been there before.
I loved the wise apothecary, making money on the forgetfulness of his clients. Smart man!
Perfect love potion story! Those who forget their history, are doomed to repeat it.
Terrific tale. Even without elixirs, how quickly we forget, really. Then it’s déjà-vu all over again!
Ooooo. Nice! Maybe next time she’ll remember a little more and save herself some coins.
Well, he told her she’d forget… it’s her fault for not specifying how much of her memory she’s willing to lose. This was a fun read
Oh, this story was CLEVER! You did an excellent job with the prompt, but also made me feel a sense of delight when I got to the end of the story. It’s always fun when that happens. I didn’t really see it coming. I wonder how many times she might have visited the store. I loved it:~)
What a great little tale! (And talk about finding the perfect way to stay in business.) I enjoyed reading this and thought you captured the melodrama that often comes with heartbreak just perfectly.
~Angela
Thank you.