Detective Mystic

At the sound of the bells ringing, Elaine Potts shot up in her seat, flashed a smile, and said, “Welcome. How may I help you?”

The person waved a hand in front of themselves as they said, “Sorry, I think I got turned around. Can I have some directions?”

Without showing a sign of dissatisfaction, Elaine helpfully gave the visitor directions and watched the person leave immediately. Once they were out of sight, she sighed and slumped over the table with a groan.

Why was it so hard to find customers?

Okay, maybe setting up shop in the smallest town in the entire republic wasn’t the best idea, but at least she didn’t have to worry about competition. She was the only bookstore in the entire town, so they had to come to her for new books.

Despite her attempts to psych herself, she knew better.

Her bookstore hadn’t seen a single customer since she had set up shop months earlier. The only reason why she hadn’t been shut down was because of the money in her bank account funding the business. She was pouring all her savings into this.

Elaine rolled her head to one side and stared at one of the bookshelves filled with books.

Maybe everyone was right. She wasn’t cut out for this. Perhaps she should just pack up and return home to help with the family business like everyone expected of her.

She continued to stare at the bookshelf for a couple of moments before snapping her head up.

No, she refused to give up that easily. People said that businesses could take a few years to become successful, and she had only been at it for a couple months. She should at least wait a year before making any decisions.

After successfully propping herself up, she waited for customers to arrive with a grim determination.

However, not a single person showed up.

Even when she waited until closing time, no one showed up asking to see her stock of books or requesting to buy any books from her. It was just her and the books for hours on end like any other day.

Elaine went through the motions of checking everything and securing the place to ensure no one would break in and steal anything before retreating to the kitchen.

As she grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and warmed it in the microwave, she checked her phone for anything interesting. She swiped through the feeds on her social media pages, watching everyone she knew live their lives successfully.

Everyone looked so happy and so sure of themselves.

She sighed and set the phone down to eat in silence. After a couple of bites, her phone rang, causing her fork to pause in mid-motion at her mouth. Elaine glanced at the face-down phone, hesitating whether to answer it or not.

Before she could make a decision, the call ended.

Just as she was about to go back to her meal, the phone rang again, and she reluctantly set her fork down to answer it. The moment she accepted the call, a familiar voice spoke on the other end.

“Elaine, I haven’t heard back from you in so long. How’s Grenesmyri treating you?” her mother said in a cheerful tone.

Elaine winced and said, “I’m doing fine, Mom. Nothing to talk about here.”

“Well, you know you can always come back home. You will always have a place here,” her mother said in a voice that Elaine knew all too well.

It was the voice her mother made when she thought someone had made the wrong choice and wanted to rectify it.

“I know, Mom. I just like it here,” Elaine said with false cheer.

The silence on the other end made it clear that she had failed to trick her mother.

After several moments, her mother sighed and said, “Elaine, you know I worry about you. When you suddenly made the decision to move practically across the country to do business, I couldn’t believe it. If you really didn’t want to join the family business, you could have still set up shop in Gladsbotn. You didn’t have to move away.”

If Elaine had done that, she would have been accosted by so many people she knew. While Gladsbotn was a lot bigger than Grenesmyri, so many people knew the Potts name. She would have never known peace if she had stayed in the city.

“Mom, I have to do this. If things don’t work out, I’ll just come right back home,” Elaine said.

“...Alright, if you’re sure. You should still come and visit sometime. Everyone misses you,” her mother said.

“Okay, I promise,” Elaine said.

When the phone call ended, Elaine stared at the phone screen for a couple moments before tossing it onto the table without a care. She turned her attention back to her food and decided she wasn’t hungry anymore, tossing it back into the fridge to save for another day.

She took a quick shower and settled in bed with her laptop to watch something to relax.

An episode of her favorite show had just been released, so she played it, but her eyes weren’t focused on the screen. All she could think of was her family back home, and before she knew it, the episode was over. Elaine blinked a couple of times and opted to just go to bed early.

Maybe she should open the store early tomorrow. She might get customers looking for something to read early in the morning.

After turning off the lights, she snuggled under the covers and tried to sleep.

Unfortunately, her mind was suddenly determined to keep her awake as all kinds of scenarios about tomorrow played out in her head.

All of them ended with her failing to get a customer.

“Elaine, don’t let it get to you. Tomorrow is a new day. Things will get better,” she muttered to herself.

Eventually, she fell asleep with thoughts about tomorrow and about whether or not she would really be able to succeed.