LUMITY: illuminate

Chapter Two: The Gift

CHP 2

Amity

The morning after our portal disaster, I have plans to meet Luz for a picnic at Goblin Park at noon. I get up at 7:00 AM, attempting to avoid my parents and their daily interrogations and demands at all costs. I don a magenta turtleneck and a black coat and make my way to the town market. I'm on the hunt for a gift... no, the perfect gift.

I need something as special and beautiful as her.

I weave through people crowding to view each of the carts and stands lining the street. A troubadour plays folk songs as the aroma of freshly baked fairy pie flows through the air. I pass loud merchants who yell out in an attempt to lure in a potential buyer.

"Fresh mugwort and lizard tails, 10 Snails a piece!"

"Want a ring by Spring? Try this love potion!"

"Do you just KNOW your partner is lying about where they were last week? Sneak just 2 drops of this truth serum in their morning Apple Blood, and you'll finally know everything you've ever wanted to know about them... and then some!"

I'm almost to the end of the street, frustrated by the lack of gift options at this week's market. I can't exactly present Luz with a bouquet of lizard tails, and though she was kind about it, I don't think she was fond of the fairy pie I had baked her before Grom..... Perhaps pixie pie is more her taste... they aren't as bitter and fight back a lot less during the mixing process...

No, no I need to give her something different, something more meaningful, something as unique as her. I am pondering other possible options as I get to the second to last booth and almost walk straight into the merchant's sign, which displays in bright lettering:

"ONE-OF-A-KIND JEWELRY! MAGICAL AND MEANINGFUL!"

Huh, that's actually... kind of perfect! I walk up to a table lined with all sorts of jewelry: bracelets and anklets composed of intricately threaded thin lines of silver, rings of amethyst and ivory, and necklaces of interwoven colors. Two necklaces catch my eye. The first with a white base cord, a black thread wrapped around it, and the second with a black base cord, and a white thread wrapped around it, the first's inverted twin. Each is fixed with a jet black stone orb at the base. The wrappings are delicate and mesmerizing.

Matching anniversary necklaces: exactly the kind of cathartic, meaningful, mushy thing Luz Noceda would love. I'm about to grab the pair when I hear a voice.

"It's buy-one-get-one today, miss! Let me know if you'd like any help picking something out," a short old lady croaks from across the table. She's a demon. Lilac-colored scales cover her skin, and she gazes at me through 3 kind eyes.

"Actually," I reply, "I think I've found exactly what I was looking for! I'm getting these for my girlfriend and me." I hand her the necklaces, as she hums in approval.

"Ah, yes. Eternal soul necklaces, a personal favorite of mine. These necklaces are made with material so strong that it can last centuries before the color begins to fade!"

'Oh... wow... I probably don't have enough for them then, if they're that high quality." I begin to put them back, but stop when she gasps. I turn my head, concerned, and she looks back at me, a peculiar look on her face. "Oh... you're a Blight, are you not? Your parent's security system is the reason I'm alive today! I had a series of burglaries before that ultra-powerful defense abomination ended my problem... permanently!"

The mention of my parents and their gory "defense" projects makes me uncomfortable, so I just nod. "Yes, ma'am, I'm a Blight."

"I'll tell you what Miss Blight," she says with a sharp-toothed grin. "I'm gonna cut you a deal: half off ON TOP of the BOGO... so let's say about 200 snails for both?"