Love Letters and Thirst Tonics (Moonvale Matches Book 1)

15. Fiella

“Shut up!” Kizzi exclaimed. “Those old dusty mailboxes that are all over the place? No way.”

Over bowls of veggie soup and rice, I had explained to Kizzi what had happened with the mailboxes and my new mysterious penpal.

“I know it sounds crazy but it’s true! I don’t have the letters here to prove it but I swear!” I had the letters tucked away under my counter in my shop, along with the fancy new stack of paper I had purchased from the market.

“I had always sensed some remnants of magic around those things, but I figured it was just residual crumbs from back in the day. You know those things used to instantly transport anything inside of them to any other mailbox in the realm? Anywhere. Instantly.” She had a dreamy look on her face, clearly swooning over the idea of that vast amount of magic.

I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Snap out of it, you’re drooling.”

“Sorry, sorry, but can you imagine that much magic?” She shoved a bite of carrot into her mouth and chewed distractedly.

“I’ve read about it in a few books, it seemed like they took it for granted back then. Did you know every single building in the realm had enchanted lighting? And it wasn’t outrageously expensive? They had these lines that ran between every place that carried the magical currents. Must’ve been nice.” I was only a bit jealous. That was a lie–I was seething with jealousy. I couldn’t even afford one enchanted sconce for my cottage right now.

“Right! Ugh. If they ever develop a way to travel back in time, we should go back and knock some sense into those fools,” she mused. “So, about this mysterious letter writer–do you know who it is?”

I sighed. “No! I don’t have a clue. I hardly know anything about them. We sort of skipped over all the introductory stuff and dove straight into soul searching. It feels like it’s too late now to ask any of those questions–it would ruin everything.”

She seemed to contemplate this. “I see where you’re coming from. So, you don’t even know if they’re here in Moonvale? It seems like the letters are from here in town, but I suppose they could technically be coming from anywhere.”

I took a sip of mint water. “Nope! Not a clue. I don’t really know any identifying information about them, now that I think about it. They’ve moved away from their family, so they’re feeling a bit lonely. They didn’t mention where they moved to. Or from.”

“Nobody can replace me as a best friend. You better not even try,” she grumbled.

“I would never! You know you’re my person. But a little extra companionship couldn’t hurt.”

“Is there a flirty vibe there? Do you think they’re handsome? Or pretty? Or cute or whatever? Do they give off good-looking vibes?”

I laughed. “I don’t know! Their handwriting is great, and their brain sure is sexy. If the outside matches the inside, I’m sure they”re as hot as Hell’s Realm.”

“You should try to figure out who they are!” Kizzi insisted.

I let the thought sink in. What if I could meet my penpal in real life? It almost seemed too good to be true, but just for a moment, I let myself daydream about it.

And then I snapped myself back to reality and accepted that the thought was nonsense, and having a long distance penpal was a perfectly fine thing to do. I didn’t want to risk ruining one of the only good things I had going on in my life.

“Enough about me. What’s up with you?” I asked.

“Ugh, finally!” Kizzi exclaimed dramatically. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask!”

I rolled my eyes at her, gesturing with my hand for her to continue.

“Well, actually, things have been pretty tense around the apothecary.” She stopped herself, glancing guiltily in my direction. “Well, not nearly as bad as your situation, of course.”

I interrupted, “Kiz, it’s fine. Just because I’m going through something doesn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to have your own struggles too.” I reached over and patted her on the shoulder. “It’s not a competition. Now please, tell me all about it.”

She smiled tentatively, letting out a breath so deep it made her shoulders sink. “You’re right, you’re right. I know. I just don’t want to overstep.”

“We’re way past that and you know it.”

“You’re right, once again. Gods damn, when did you get so wise?”

We both chuckled at that one.

“So, you know how those sprites have been messing with me for a while? Well, of course you know, nevermind.” She tossed a glance at my blue tresses that had remained bright as I slowly worked through my tainted jar of thirst tonic. “Well, I’ve been trying to get on top of it, but they seem to be one step ahead of me. Every time! This morning, the joint-pain-relieving tea leaves I spelled for Ani, you know the old coven leader, were replaced with those relaxation herbs, and mirthroot. You should’ve seen it!”

That was a mental image I wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon. I would pay so many silvers to witness that.

My jaw dropped open. “You’re kidding! Gods, I can’t believe I missed that!”

She nodded sagely. “It was hilarious, and it took all of my willpower to stay professional and stop myself from laughing. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But seriously, it’s getting worse. I’m going to have to try something stronger.”

We discussed strategies for her situation as we finished our meal.

I often thought about how lucky I was to have crossed paths with Kizzi. We had been friends for years, since we were littles, and we had been joined at the hip for as long as I could remember. I truly would lose my sanity without her, and I was pretty sure she felt the same about me.

“Ew, don’t smile at me all nostalgic like that, it’s creepy,” Kizzi said as she tossed a chunk of bread at my face.

I laughed, shaking my head as I snapped back to the conversation.