Moon White: Color Me Enchanted with Bonus Content Read Online Free Page B

Willow.”
    “Really?” I say. “That’s your real name?”
    She smiles. “It’s very real. But do you mean is that what my parents named me? No. It’s the name I chose for myself. They named me Cindy.” She laughs. “And for some reason Cindy just didn’t seem very spiritual.”
    “My parents actually named me Heather,” I say, instantly realizing how dumb that must sound.
    “Well, your parents must have had some good insights. And you seem like a very spiritual person to me.” She leans forward now, studying me closely. “Do you keep a Book of Shadows, Heather?”
    “A what?”
    “Come, let me show you.” She motions me over to a shelf on the wall that’s full of books. “Let’s see.” Finally, she locates a stack of ornate-looking hardcover books. She picks up a purple one, and on the front in gilded letters are the words Book of Shadows . She hands it to me, but when I open the book I see its pages are empty. The quality of the paper is very nice, but it’s blank.
    “There’s nothing here,” I point out.
    She laughs. “Of course.”
    “I, uh, I don’t get it.”
    “It’s a book you must write, Heather. It will be your own Book of Shadows.”
    “Oh.”
    “Sort of like a diary, but much more. It’s a place to record personal thoughts, meditations, sketches, recipes . . . oh, whatever. But you don’t let anyone else read it. Well, unless you really want to. It’s very private, you see.”
    I stroke the smooth leather cover, temporarily blocking my vegan conscience as I run my fingers over the embossed letters. “I like that.”
    “I’ll tell you what, Heather, since this is your first time in my shop, I’ll give you a 20 percent discount for all purchases made today. How’s that?”
    “That’s great,” I say. I turn the book over to see that it’s $20. The candle is $15. I’m not that great at math, but with 20 percent off, I’m guessing my total should be around $30. Willow shows me another book that she thinks will be helpful, as well as a few other less-expensive items, including some incense and herbs and stones. The focus of most of the items seems to be self-discovery and power. The total, even with my discount, comes to more than $50, which surprises me, but fortunately I have my debit card, which taps into a fair amount of savings thanks to a small life-insurance policy that Mom put in my name. Then Willow writes down some titles of other books that she recommends. “Just in case I’m not in the shop when you come back. I have a girl working here part-time, but she’s really a novice.”
    “Thanks.”
    “And this is a good website,” she says, handing me a small card.“A friend of mine developed it. A lot of the websites aren’t trustworthy. And some just operate so that they can make money by selling their junk. The items they sell aren’t authentic, so you have to be careful or you can get into trouble.”
    “Thanks, Willow,” I say as she hands me my bag. “I don’t think it was a coincidence that I ran into you today.”
    She solemnly shakes her head. “No, I’m sure it wasn’t. Come see me again, Heather.”
    It’s just getting dusky as I drive back toward Westport. I pull out my cell and hit the speed dial for home. Hopefully they’re not worried. But Augustine answers and sounds just fine. It does bother me a little that I lie to her. Instead of telling the truth, I say that I stayed in town to have coffee with a friend and lost track of the time. I don’t even know why I do this, because I doubt that she cares one way or the other. Dad, on the other hand, wouldn’t approve of me just taking off like that and driving out of town without telling anyone. He thinks my car’s not totally reliable and that he should know where I am if I’m not within ten miles of home. Naturally, I think this is just typical parental paranoia. So as I close my phone I reason that some lies are acceptable, even good. Especially if they’re meant to protect someone,