Shop ’til you drop…dead

Episode 21

Outside the bank, Sonja had to pass another portal before she could get to the next shop. For some reason, the portals seemed to really unnerve her. They were filled with swirling fog that prevented you from seeing what was on the other side of the portal. Sonja did not yet have the courage to venture inside one of them and see where they would take her so she continued on to the next shop.

As she walked up to Shop ’til you drop…dead, she noticed a real decline in the mall. The buildings weren’t kept up as well and there were many strange looking creatures around. Laughing to herself she thought ” I wonder if I have crossed the tracks.” As she had to climb over a dead, drunk skeleton in the doorway of the shop, she realized that was exactly what had happened.

This store was cute. It had lots of greeting cards and wrapping papers along with last minute gifts. There were tea sets and a few toy like items. Upstairs was a large cauldron containing the best in stirring bones. There were also many hearth brooms on the walls as they made nice gifts. The best item in the shop, thought Sonja, was the quidditch chest and the Nimbus 2000 broom! Sonja had only read about quidditch in the Harry Potter books. She would love to watch a live match! Oh, let’s face it. Sonja was dying to get on that broom and fly…………….!

The owner of the shop was a mystic named Valera. She sat in front of the fireplace to keep warm. It was a chilly day, this Halloween. Something was going to happen. She felt it in each of her bones.

When Sonja asked if she might have either a dragon egg or the Devil’s head, Valera laughed out loud. “Well, I might have some strange stuff in here but nothing quite like that. There is a pet shop next door. Maybe Freda can help you with Dragon eggs but I have no idea how to find the head of the Devil.”

“Good luck,” she called as Sonja closed the door again stepping over the dead drunk skeleton with his bottle of booze.

EPISODE ONE

How it all began...

It was a strange Halloween day in San Francisco. The tule fog was so thick upon the ground that one could not see to the corner of the block.

True to the post-office motto, the mail carriers left the sorting station with their arms heavily loaded to deliver the day's mail. Sonja's mail cart was unusually heavy this morning. She huffed and puffed a little as she pushed it and began her delivery route. She smiled as she passed the Little Red Schoolhouse where the children, all in costume, were having the traditional Halloween parade, marching in a circle around their teacher dressed as the wicked witch.

After delivering to the first block on her route, she came to the block she disliked above all the others. Each house had 16-20 stairs to climb to deliver the bills, ads and small packages for each postal customer. Dutifully, Sonja climbed the stairs of the first two dwellings but as she turned to descend the stairs of the second house, a dog barked and she lost her footing tumbling down the stairs and landing hard on the cement sidewalk. Immediately, she fell into a state of unconsciousness. Hidden by the fog shroud, she was not visible to her co-workers or travelers on the street.

Sometime later, Sonja awoke to feel a sharp pain in the side of her head. Fortunately, she had no broken bones, so carefully, she began first to sit upright and finally to stand. So thick was the fog that she could see nothing of her surroundings. She could not see where to go! Sonja noticed that she was no longer wearing her uniform! Instead her attire consisted of jeans, a black turtle neck sweater and a beautiful silver necklace with a large attached heart. The worst thing of all was that her mail cart was missing. She could be fired for this loss. Sonja began to feel panic in the pit of her stomach. How long was she out? Where should she go and what should she do?

Slowly, she turned her sore head to the left side and felt some pangs of relief when she saw the hint of a light through the fog. She started walking toward it. She walked and walked. Again she began to panic, for she felt she was walking, but making no progress. Sonja was about to turn around when she noticed the tunnel. It seemed as though the light was brighter at the tunnel's end so she proceeded in that direction. Onward she walked with her eyes wide open, her head hurting and her heart pounding.

As she stepped through the distant opening of the portal, she could not believe what lay before her eyes. The fog had receded somewhat and she was able to read a sign which read, "Welcome to Spirit Hill Square- the Finest of shopping for witches, wizards, mystics and those with psychic leanings."

Shaking and suddenly very scared, Sonja saw a postal person riding a bicycle. She yelled out "Can you help me? I'm lost and can't seem to find my postal route. I'm from San Francisco, California. You know the Golden Gate to the Golden State!"

The postal delivery person looked at Sonja very strangely for he had never heard of San Francisco or California. However, genuinely wanting to help Sonja, he replied, "If you come with me on my route through the square, I will introduce you to the shop keepers and one of them should be able to help you find your way."

"Hop on the back of my bike. You look a little shaky. By the way, what's your name?" Rousting up all her bravado, she said, "My name is Sonja. What is yours?" She got on the back of the bike while he told her that his name was Lebec and that he was new on this route. Off they went: he to deliver the mail, she to find a way home.