As Francis walked in, he noted how quiet it was. Apparently, he was the only shopper. He walked through the isles, looking for something that Emily might like. Really, it all seemed like junk to him. But he was sure that there could be some sort of antique or piece of jewelry that she'd like.
"Find anything you like?" a woman's voice said, breaking the silence and startling him.
"Uh. No, not really."
"What are you looking for?"
"A present for my girlfriend. Um, I mean. She's not my girlfriend yet. But I'm hoping that ..."
"I see. You want to get her a present ... to make asking her out easier."
"Yes, that's it. And, uh ... it's also her birthday."
"Then I have the perfect item for you."
"But you don't know anything about her."
"Oh, this isn't for her. It's for you." She picked up a vial of black liquid. "Drink this and your dreams will come true."
"What?" he asked, not quite understanding what was going on. He came in to get a gift for Emily and now this shopkeeper is trying to get him to buy a black liquid, just for himself.
"Just take a small sip from this vial and what you want will come true."
"I don't understand."
"You won't need to buy a gift for your friend. Drink this and you can make her yours. It's easy."
He thought that the woman was putting him on. No way that something like that would be sold in a dumpy place like this.
"I can see that you don't believe me. I'll tell you what. Try it out and see if I'm lying."
"For free?"
"Yes. For free."
Francis was hesitant, but eventually he agreed. The woman handed him the vial and he took a small sip.
"Now," the woman said. "Think of anything you want."
Francis hadn't had breakfast that morning, because of his urgent task of finding Emily a gift, so he was obviously hungry. And when the woman told him to think of anything he wanted, breakfast was the first thing that popped into his mind.
In the blink of an eye, Francis was holding a breakfast burrito in one hand and a cup of hot coffee in the other.
"Amazing," he said, stunned that it actually worked.
"So, will you buy it?"
She didn't even have to ask.
Five minutes later, Francis left the store, holding the vial with the black liquid inside.
