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Chapter Two
On my way back to the shop, I decide to take a detour to the Silver Springs Public Library. It always makes me chuckle that its initials are like ‘spell’. I could do with checking out some herbal remedy books. With tourist season coming up, people often stop by looking for sunburn remedies and hangover cures, and I need a decent supply of magic-free items for the general public. I want to tweak some of the recipes I used last year.
“Hi Violet,” I call to the librarian as I pass the desk. She seems busy checking out some books for an OAP, a long line of pensioners stretching out behind. She looks up and gives me a friendly smile and a brief wave, before getting back to work.
I head straight for the section I need, having spent plenty of time here since I moved, and it doesn’t take me long to locate some books which look promising.
Checking the time, I decide I can open the shop a little later, and carry my small stack over to a desk. I take a seat and begin to flip through the first book,‘Goddess Garden Remedies’. It promises some interesting use for clematis petals, and it’s a good read, but it doesn’t seem to have what I’m looking for. I flick through a couple more books, snapping pictures on my phone of anything that seems useful: newly discovered lemon verbena properties; five unexpected uses for coconut oil; what to do with peony seeds. I find exactly what I’m looking for to help with the sunburn, rosemary, but I can’t find anything for the hangovers.
“Is everything okay, Jasmine?” a voice asks as I sigh. I look up to see Violet approaching me with a soft smile, concern etched across her face.
“Yeah, I just can’t find what I’m looking for.”
“Can I help?” She cants her head to the side, inquiring. “That’s what we librarians are here for, you know.”
“Okay, so I’m looking to work on a natural remedy hangover cure for humans,” I explain. “I’m looking at ingredients but nothing seems to fit.”
“I think I saw a book for that,” she says, heading to a nearby shelf and picking up a large, brown hardcover tome. She flips through it and pauses. “How about the age-old cure of swallowing a whole egg?”
I pull a face and try not to gag at that.
“No? Hmmm, okay then.” She sets the book aside and grabs another one. “Says here that in France they drink thick, hot onion soup to cure a hangover.”
“But I don’t run a diner,” I point out.
She flips to another page. “In Russia, you’d probably be recommended heavily salted cucumber juice and black bread soaked in water, whereas a glass of heavy cream would be the solution in Norway.”
I blink at her as she sets the book down in front of me.
“This book has a bunch of other cures from around the world, if you’d like to take a look.”
“I’m impressed, but those solutions aren’t quite what I had in mind.”
“Hmmm, okay.” She flips to another page. “Guess you’re not interested in rubbing a lemon into the armpit of your drinking arm?”
“What? Who the hell would do that?”
“Puerto Ricans.”
“I think I’ll come back to this,” I say, getting to my feet and backing away slowly.
“Oh!” Violet pouts. “But you haven’t heard about the Outer Mongolians yet!”
“Okay,” I sigh warily. “Shoot.”
“They drink a pickled sheep’s eye in a glass of tomato juice!” She giggles, and this time I can’t help the gagging sound that escapes my lips.
“Please stop,” I beg.
“Well there’s always hair of the dog.” She skims briefly over the page. “In Switzerland, they rely on a hot shot of brandy with a hint of peppermint in it. Believe it or not, it’s actually the mint that’s the cure.”
“Mint?”
“Yeah, says here the stuff is practically magical with all the things it can do. I remember seeing a book on mint and its healing properties if you want me to track it down for you…”
Inspiration sparks, and my face lights up.
“Thanks, Violet! You’ve just given me a brilliant idea!” I race off, then remember the books I’ve left sprawled all over the table, and hastily come back. I shoot Violet a sheepish apology and begin to gather up the books I left.
