(FICTION) (Thanks to Judy Hendrickson, awesome newsletter subscriber, for the idea for the story. This is Part 5 of the story. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here and Part 4 is here.)

It took Lavender two days to brew the right potion to correct Trigger’s eyesight. In that time, she’d discovered that his real name was Tehtholonli Smith, and that his mates had nicknamed him Trigger because of his proficiency with a gun. That certainly wouldn’t do.

So she began calling him Smithy. He didn’t like it. Then she tried Tehth, but he asked her why she kept spitting on him. Finally she attempted to call him Lonli, but he corrected her, pointing out that he had Grant to keep him company. All the while, Grant laughed at her, even as she rubbed a salve on his sore foot so he could walk comfortably. Ungrateful beast.

At a loss for anything to address him by other than “hey you,” she added a little something to the potion.

Finally, after two full days of picking up broken vases that had fallen from tables her visitor had stumbled into and one awkward moment when he’d changed into Lavender’s britches, thinking they were his own, she sat Tehtholoni Smith down at her kitchen table and handed him a steaming cup of potion.

“Drink this,” she said.

“Are you quite sure it will work?” the man previously known as Trigger asked.

“I am,” Lavender replied.

So he did. He drunk it all the way down and sat with his eyes clamped shut. When Lavender asked him why he didn’t open them, he said, “Because I’m deathly afraid of disappointment.”

“But if you don’t open your eyes, you’ll never know that it worked and that you can see perfectly.”

“Perfectly? Do you really think …”

He opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times, and shouted “Eureka!”

And then he saw Lavender’s face and his jaw dropped. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve even seen!” he cried.

“Well then,” she said with a smile, “being that you’re the best shot in the land, maybe you should take my picture, Sh—Sh—Shutter.” Yes, that will do for a name, she thought as she handed him a camera.

And lo and behold, he was and excellent photographer. He took crisp, focused, unblurry photos of Lavender, and pictures of Grant, and the trees, and the rich, lush mountainside.

And Lavender and Shutter the sharpshooter and Grant lived happily ever after in their quiet, cozy cabin.

THE END

(Judy’s prompt was “Lavender Quill, a solitary witch that is into crystals, candles, herbs and crochet (hidden spells she weaves for friends and family), is alone at the cabin after her parents both died three years ago.  She finds a man out on a trail, hurt and unconscious.  Grant is a marine sharpshooter who saw too much and wants to find solace in the quiet mountain, but someone is after him and he managed to get away after a desperate chase.  She uses her skills to patch up his wounds and he slowly comes around.  With her visions and other gifts, she assists him in getting to the truth and forms a bond with him, as he gets under her skin and awakens her soul.  Together, they get the bad guys and help each other heal on the mountain.”

This would make an awesome novel! Me being me, and keeping it a short story, I turned the idea on its head a bit. Hope you don’t mind, Judy! *waves to Judy*)

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