The knock on the door roused Nidra from her doze. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Nidra stumbled across the room to answer the door. Whoever was waiting would be her first customer to brave the afternoon rain for enchanted fruit from her witch shop. Nidra blinked in surprise at the damp young woman raising her hand for another knock.

Her gaze wide and blank, the young woman cocked her head. “Madame Nidra?”

With a frown, Nidra stepped back to allow her neighbors’ daughter to come inside. “Miss Aislinn, what are you doing out without a servant?”

Tapping her cane before her, Aislinn entered and shut the door. “I may be blind, but I am perfectly capable of visiting my neighbor.”

Nidra grunted as she returned to her cozy chair at the back of the shop. “You could have visited on a nicer day. Today is only good for a nap before the fire.”

Aislinn dimpled with an impish chortle. “Not hardly. I could only slip away because the rain had given my maid a headache.”

Nidra eyed the young woman threading her way between tables bearing baskets of apples, blackberries, and other fruit. “Why did you need to slip away?”

Aislinn shrugged. “Because I wish to keep my request private.”

Since most private requests she heard were villainous, Nidra sighed. “I do not provide enchanted fruit that causes permanent harm—no matter the price.”

Aislinn winced and shook her head. “Oh no, I do not wish for anything like that!” She paused, her fingers clenching on her cane. “I would like a spell to cure my blindness. Sometimes I feel like a songbird trapped in a gilded cage—only I have no hope of escaping when a neglectful master forgets to latch the cage.”

Nidra sighed again. “Unfortunately, I have no fruit potent enough for that.”

Her face crumpling, Aislinn drooped over her cane. “I see.”

Nidra took pity on the crestfallen young woman and offered, “My best friend has a witch shop offering enchanted instruments. I could take you if you would like to see if she has something—I had barely any customers all day, so no one would notice if I closed up for a bit.”

Aislinn brightened. “Could you?”

Nidra nodded, but recalling the young woman could not see her nod, she added, “I would be glad to. Just give me a moment to close up.”

Once Nidra hung the closed sign in the window and locked the door, she led Aislinn to her best friend’s witch shop. As Nidra stepped inside, she called, “Afternoon, Shiri.”

Swishing out from behind a rack of instruments, Shiri caroled, “Nidra, good to see you. What brings you by?”

Nidra gestured toward Aislinn. “My neighbor Aislinn wants a spell, but I had nothing suitable at my shop.”

Nodding in Shiri’s general direction, Aislinn added, “I want a cure for my blindness.”

Shiri grimaced as she blew a sigh. “I’m afraid none of my magical instruments are powerful enough for that.”

Just like earlier, Aislinn drooped over her cane. “Oh…”

Shiri suddenly trilled, “But I heard about a witch who might have a spell for you.” She turned to Nidra, “I think I told you about her—she has that tiny shop on Mountainglass Lane.”