Shadow’s Books

Episode 9

Always at home in bookstores, Sonja got excited at the site of the next shop called Shadow’s Books. Here, she spent some time looking at the window displays. Shadow’s Books was a dichotomy of the age-old wizards library with its fancy stacks of books, charts, and scrolls, and a modern bookstore with tables of books on display. It was somewhat soothing to see the Harry Potter Books in one of the windows. By golly, if they were for sale, she couldn’t be too far from home. Could she? The other window was filled with some amazing kind of timepieces. She thought they were called Orrerys.  Sonja had always loved bookstores, and felt comfortable in libraries. So, she walked right up to Shadow, the owner, and introduced herself.

Sonja was still curious about the castle picture that she had seen in the Art Gallery. So, she asked Shadow if he had any books of old castles. He directed her to the one stack of charts of old castles that he had stashed away. Quickly, Sonja found the picture of the castle and again had strong feelings toward it. When she queried Shadow, she learned that the castle was owned by an old Count and Countess and was located high in the Carpathian Mountains.

The four witches watched nervously as Shadow told her about the castle. Quickly, they tied his tongue so he could tell her no more. For it was not yet time for her to know.

Sonja found it both fun and relaxing to look at the books and charts in the store. She was especially drawn to the Harry Potter window with its books including the screaming book, the sorting hat, and the Basilisk statue. And even though it was not on her list, Sonja purchased the 6th book in the series and sat in a comfy chair and began to read. Soon, she put her head back and began to snooze.

In her dreams, Sonja saw images of an elderly man and woman sitting in a rather regal room inside a castle. The walls were covered with pictures of ancestors long gone. One picture, however, grabbed her full attention for it was the picture of two women, one in her early twenties and the other a little toddler. She was startled to see the heart necklace being worn by the young woman who looked nothing like Sonja. She awoke with a start and thought to herself, “I must get home to see if Mama and Papa can explain to me what all these images mean.”

With new and fierce determination, Sonja picked up her bag and headed down Cauldron Court to the next shop. She nearly knocked the desert dweller off her feet in her hurry to proceed. “I’m sorry,” Sonja yelled back over her shoulder as she ran off down the block.