Witch Season: Book 1

Chapter 5

Juicy woke up three minutes too hungry and immediately rushed to his bowl filled with snacks. It was now half empty. The little pug let out the littlest sigh and ate the remains. Sunbeams lit up a tidy kitchenette and proceeded forth until they reached a curly tail of someone stuck in the door cutout. Juicy reminded to himself to bug his owner and best friend to chisel out a slightly bigger hole for him, as he had no intention of dieting. Why would anyone think to eat less, when the food was so delicious and surely great for your mood, spirit, and all the other things.

Dodging a puddle, he finally was outside. Happy and content he did the usual rounds. Stopping by the oak tree to check on the squirrels, digging up and messing about with their buried acorns, socializing with a stay dog from Block C, avoiding the path of Zucchini (the neighbour's cat), and continuing to wiggle his tail all the way to Stumple Street.

There was nothing special about Stumple Steet, it was your ordinary Brick Corners residential area, filled with brick row houses that were attached to each other with intricate clockwork designs, and had little tomato pots right outside each wooden door that was well-shut and well numbered. One of the doors, specifically door 5 from the left had a bundle of mail jammed into ints crevice. Oh, how mad old dame Peeve will be once she sees the work of that maddening post girl. Juicy snickered to himself and went by to water the lady's tomatoes as a gesture of goodwill and all. That old dame disapproved of everything, including the dog.

And so Juicy continued his day. He stopped by the post briefly, to greet Jimmy and show him a new trick that he's been practicing for a while. It was the most dramatic death scene unrivaled by any Ptorian actor. Jimmy tried to stay serious thought the act, while Juicy has put on a performance of a lifetime. After the well-deserved scrub on a back and a starshaped treat, the actor disappeared behind the scenes and went on to his puppy business.

Out the door and into the world, Juicy headed to his favourite veggie butcher in town Mr. Green. Mr. Green was a well-established fellow, each floor of his house occupied by an indoor garden that spilled into his balconies and the rooftop. He was an acclaimed chef and cook extraordinaire, who could make the most bitter herb taste like melting butter. Being part of a very old clan Mr. Green must have been privy to some secret family recipes, or so Juicy suspected. Three carrot cutlets later, he licked Mr. Green's hand and was ready to forgive the man for any conspiracies or secrets that he might have kept. Tiny claws beat a happy tune on the cobblestones and Juicy trodded on, though noticeably slower and lazier than before.

What Juicy needed was a good drink and entertainment. He turned around and headed east, where his good friend resided. To make his walk all more pleasurable he decided to cut through the park. Most of the mist was gone by now and he hoped that the strong sun poking through would have dried out some of the puddles by now.

Just like his owner's socks, Juicy did not like getting wet.

Green alley greeted him with a few dry benches, several pools of water and a lone stranger who decided to brave this weather. Juicy recognized the man immediately, such a peculiar smell was not easy to forget. And it's not that he smelled of cats, or wore a strong perfume, or smelled like a mine worker who's forgotten a smoked fish in one of his pockets, drying out the poor thing into non-existence. No, this was a very different smell of a man who was not only from afar but also was almost from everywhere at the same time. He smelled of the salty cotton candy of the Shores, and he smelled like firewood of Mire, the scent of Ptorian stage talc mixed with the southern pine of Elderwood, and a hint of nights spent in the Khol deserts lingered too.

The scents were delicate and almost non-existent to an untrained nose, yet Juicy made it his business to develop his canine skills and almost a life calling to meet all sorts of people. He also was a frequent visitor of the 'Trade of the Land Shoppe', where a nice lady gave him pastries and told him stories of the far away lands and produced rare artifacts for his to sniff and lick at. So when he detected birch seeds from the swamps and a freshly baked rhubarb pie, which this gentleman surely smelled of, he was certain that something was very peculiar about this gentleman if he was a gentleman at all.

Juicy's guess was that this man was a personification of a shop, as no human could smell like this. And Juicy was right about one thing, not the other.

The man smiled at the dog and touched a tip of his hat, Juicy stretched to return the gesture. Both stared at one another, acknowledging that they've met earlier today in a cafe. Ah, the mystery tourist. Juicy walked over to the man, he was on his way anyway. And so a deal was struck, as whispers entered dog's little ears, and Juicy's eyes widened and narrowed one word after the next. The man has told him things and Juicy agreed to oblige.

A knee cracked as a tourist in a hat straightened up and looked down at the dog.

"You do understand all seriousness of all this?"

Juicy barked, not too loud. He did not want to attract any attention, yet he did want to convey his full understanding in the matter.

"And you do promise to see this through, without interfering?"

Juicy barked twice.

"Alright, I will take your word for it. Now, remember to bring the item back to me. When no one needs it anymore."

Juicy barked back one last time.

They had a mutual understanding, and Juicy felt it appropriate to depart.

"Goodbye, Juicy" the gentlemen waved his right hand.

Juicy has never told him his name, and yet if this man could foresee the future the likes of him must be able to know so much more.

It's all a conspiracy theory, Juicy thought to himself as he trotted out of the green alleyway and onto the cobbled streets of his beloved town, that now felt different somehow.

He shrugged off the feeling and shook up his fur as he entered his friend's house. Both laboratory, home, and studio Maestro's hideout was a centrepiece of beauty, simplicity, and clutter. Juicy has never seen so much seemingly useless junk and scrap in all his pug life. And he was in awe every time as his friend with a use of a torch and some magic, it must have been so, turned these incoherent pieces into objects of beauty and admiration. Maestro brought his friend a saucer of water and a soft red polka dotted pillow. Juicy took a few swigs of water and settled into a half-nap as he watched his friend busy tinkering and creating something new. Something which surprised both Juicy and Maestro.

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Authors' Notes

Thanks for reading this Chapter! It was brief, but I hope you enjoyed Juicy's point of view and a rather interesting encounter with a stranger in the park. Who do you think he might be?...

Please click the✮ icon if you liked the story and leave your comments. I am always curious to know what you think!