The wind is pushing against my body, a biting cold that flings my hair around and makes my cheeks turn pink as I pedal.

I'm on my way down Main Street, zipping past buildings and bushes that line the road towards the end, looking for an old tea shop.

There! Leaning into my handlebars, I take a sharp right down a narrower side road with walls on either side. I finally come to a stop at the end, where, nestled into the forest, is a small cottage-like building.

I step off my bike and put down the kickstand, take off my helmet, and let the wind whip my hair back.

"Fey was right," I say out loud. "There is a tea shop off Main Street. But how come I've never seen it before?" I come down this way often, to run and play in the forest with Jackson, my little brother.

The trees say nothing back, just rustle their leaves. They're a wonderful audience.

I sigh. I guess it's time to figure out what's going on with this thing once and for all, and that means going up and looking at the shop.

I carefully walk towards the building, but with each step it doesn't look as abandoned. The ivy seems to shrink back to a reasonable amount. The windows have a soft light coming out of them, like someone inside lit a candle. But that's impossible, because no one's seen this place in twenty years.

The porch creaks as I step onto it, but not in a creepy way. In fact, it almost feels welcoming, like a wave hello from the floor.

A sign hangs above the door. I reach up and swipe away the dust with my sleeve to reveal a circular logo with a teacup in the middle, with old-fashioned lettering around it.

"Spellbound Sips."

A branch cracks behind me, and I jump, heart beating wildly, but it's only a squirrel. I smile at it as it runs around collecting acorns to store for the winter.

"Come on Aletha, stop being such a scaredy cat," I scold myself lightheartedly. I'm jumping at squirrels, for goodness sakes!

Chuckling, I turn back to the door and sign. Except, it isn't closed anymore. And the sign isn't dark.

Instead, the door is cracked open, and the circular logo has a glow around it.

What's going on? This place is uninhabited, and no one other than me and Fey have even heard of it, much less gone inside!

"H- hello?" I call out, my voice shaking. I didn't realize, but my hands are too. I take a small step forward and peer inside. It still looks empty from out here, and I can see a small living room type area with a little space where a kettle and tea bags clearly used to be. "Is anyone here?"

I take another step over the threshold, then another. The floor is worn wood, and the wallpaper looks... well-loved.

It smells like freshly baked cookies inside. Yet another thing to add to the list of strange going on in this tea shop, which doesn't look like a tea shop. It looks more like a small house that someone decided to make a business out of, and succeeded, clearly.

It's also unnaturally warm, especially considering I left the door open when I came in. This place is odd, and I don't know if it's in a good way.

"Please don't kill me for trespassing if I walk in further," I call out hesitantly, reaching behind me to shut the door before advancing towards the center of the room.

The door was in a little alcove with walls blocking a complete view of the room, so when I step out I see a fireplace I didn't know about earlier. That would explain why it's so warm.

I run a hand along the fabric of the couches, and it feels so soft despite its apparent age. Maybe this place isn't as weird as I thought it was.

"Hello dearie. Would you like some cookies?" a voice says from behind me.

Scratch that. Way too weird. I scream at the top of my lungs and run out of the shop, hopping onto my bike and pedaling away before even putting my helmet on, leaving whoever's in the building behind.