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I smiled. "Why? Did another troll lose his pet goat?"

"No." She shook her head slowly. "Just..." Her fingers stilled on the lavender. "The woods felt... different this morning."

"Different how?"

"I opened up before sunrise." She glanced toward the window overlooking the forest. "Usually the birds start singing before first light." Her smile returned, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "This morning they didn't."

I tilted my head.

"And on my walk in..." she continued, "I could've sworn I heard someone crying."

"Oh no."

"It only lasted a second."

"Probably somebody still recovering from Frankenfest." I laughed. "After last night, I'd be more surprised if something wasn't making strange noises."

"Maybe."

She didn't sound convinced.

"I mean, yesterday a dragon accidentally set the mayor's scarecrow on fire, someone started a broom race that ended in Mrs. Porter's koi pond, and Steve somehow got glitter stuck between his scales." Mags chuckled. "I'm pretty sure odd is our town's default setting now."

"It is." She smiled warmly, though that tiny crease lingered. "Still..." She handed me the basket. "If anything feels wrong... don't ignore it."

I accepted the herbs with a grin. "I promise."

As I headed for the door, I couldn't help smiling to myself. Poor Mags. Living in Screaming Woods had clearly made all of us just a little superstitious.

A year ago everyone had worried becoming monsters would change who they were. Turns out... it only changed what they looked like.

Steve soared overhead, his enormous dragon wings casting a brief shadow across the street. "Morning, Poppy!"

"Morning, Steve!"

He banked in a lazy circle before disappearing toward the lake. I watched him go with a smile. One year. One whole year since everyone else's lives had changed forever. Some people had discovered they could fly. Others could wield magic. Some had become dragons. Or fairies. Or gargoyles. Or demons.

Me?

Nothing.

Not a single thing. No horns. No tail. No glowing eyes. Not even adorable little fox ears. Trust me... I'd checked.

At first, I'd been disappointed. Not devastated. Just... curious. Imagine discovering magic existed and then finding out it had somehow skipped over you.

Still, life had gone on. And so had my job at Maple Grove Nursing Home, which I loved. All the residents were close to my heart. Like Mr. Hamilton, who had finally started eating solid food again after insisting for nearly two weeks that broccoli was responsible for every apocalypse in recorded history.

Mrs. Daniels had beaten everyone at bingo yesterday. Again. And Mrs. Langton's sister, Mrs. Wilton—retired fairy godmother, expert baker, and honorary grandmother to half the town—had somehow caught the world's most stubborn cold.

People needed taking care of. Magic or not. That was enough for me. As I continued toward the edge of town, I passed another empty storefront. The faded sign still read Harold's Clockworks. Poor Harold. Becoming a gargoyle had been more than he could bear. He'd left in the spring.

A few doors farther stood another vacant shop. Mrs. Ortiz's knitting boutique. Unlike Harold... she hadn't transformed at all. She'd been human. Just like me. Only she'd eventually decided she couldn't live in a town where she felt like she no longer belonged.

Sometimes... if I was being completely honest... I understood. Not enough to leave. Never that. Screaming Woods was home. But every now and then, usually when someone accidentally sprouted feathers during allergy season or complained their tail kept knocking over coffee mugs, I wondered what it would've been like if Frankenpunch had chosen me, too.

I laughed at myself. Knowing my luck... I'd have ended up as a llama. And honestly? That would have been very inconvenient. I adjusted the basket on my arm and headed toward the quiet road leading to Mrs. Wilton's little cottage, where towering pines welcomed me with rustling branches and golden leaves danced across the path.

The forest had always been my favorite part of town. Peaceful. Gentle. Alive. But then a patch of white caught my eye. Snow. I frowned. It hadn't snowed here in... months. The little patch clung stubbornly to the forest floor beneath a stand of pines, no bigger than a picnic blanket. Frost feathered the surrounding grass, while only a few feet away the fallen leaves glowed gold and orange in the warm October sun.