Moonbean

Gwen took both of her hands and placed them around the crystal ball, wriggling her fingers.

"Call Nick," said Gwen to the crystal ball.

Curiously, Lily stared at the crystal ball, wondering if Gwen had lost her mind.

"This usually works," said Gwen.

A dial tone noise was suddenly heard. Slowly, a picture of a man with grey hair materialised inside the crystal ball.

"Hey, sis, how are you doing tonight?" said the man.

"Not bad, how about you, Nick?" replied Gwen. "How's the cafe going?"

"Everything's fine," said Nick.

"I hate to break it to you, but not everything is fine at the cafe," said Gwen.

"What do you mean?" asked Nick.

"One of the waiter sent a customer of yours my way," said Gwen. "She says that she drank cappuccino, but I think otherwise."

"So what happened?" asked Nick.

"She..." began Gwen. "Why don't I just show you."

Gwen picked up the crystal ball along with the holder and held it in front of Lily.

"Show him your problem," Gwen told Lily.

Lily showed her hairy arm, followed by her sharp teeth.

"My arm is hairy, and my teeth are sharp. Also, I can hear conversations from a distance and I seem to be seeing things that shouldn't exist. These are all my problems which started appearing after I had coffee at Moonlight Cafe tonight," explained Lily.

"You ordered cappuccino?" asked Nick.

"Yes," replied Lily.

"Just wait a minute," said Nick before disappearing.

Gwen carefully placed the crystal, along with the holder, back on the coffee table. Lily and Gwen both waited patiently for Nick to return.

"Ahh," yelled Lily.

Something as black as night had jumped into Lily's lap. It lay in her lap motionless. Lily dared not to move. The last thing she wanted was to disturb whatever this creature was.

Seeing Lily's frightened expression, Gwen said, "That's Ember, my cat. I hope you're not superstitious."

"Superstitious, I wish I was tonight. I wouldn't be in this mess right now," replied Lily.

"Hello, hello? Anyone there?" asked Nick.

"Hey, we're still here," replied Gwen.

"I found out something from one of the barista," began Nick. "The cafe ran out of its usual coffee bean supply and no one ordered another batch. The baristas decided to use the other coffee bean batch, which was reserved for making a special coffee. Turns out they used the 'Moonbean coffee beans'."

"Wait, hold on. They used the enchanted coffee beans?" asked Gwen.

"I asked the barista the same thing," replied Nick. "He told me they were safe to consume for everyone. I pointed out that they are not safe for humans on Friday the thirteenth during a full moon in the month of October. The barista went on to say that no human would dare venture out of their home tonight. I told him that a human had already come and is now cursed."

"My cappuccino was made with enchanted coffee beans?" asked Lily.

"Yes. If it were any other night, nothing would have happened to you," answered Nick. "You see, the coffee you ordered tonight, on Friday the thirteenth in October, was brewed from this enchanted batch, and there happened to be a full moon tonight. For any human, the coffee brewed from this batch before the stroke of midnight turns from enchanted to cursed, but it doesn't have any effect on magical beings."

"Great, now I have to find a cure for the curse of the 'Moonbean coffee beans'," said Gwen, annoyed. "You better make sure this doesn't happen again."

"I'll take care of it, don't worry," replied Nick. "Anyway, thanks for notifying me."

"Anytime, doofus," said Gwen.

"I'll be getting back to the cafe. See you later, bye," said Nick.

"Bye," said Gwen.

"Thanks, Nick, and good night," said Lily quickly before the call was disconnected.

"Those idiots! What were they thinking?" exclaimed Gwen. "They should always check their supply of coffee beans."

"Is there anything you can do about me?" asked Lily.

"Are you questioning my talent for curing curses?" asked Gwen.

"Of course not," said Lily cautiously.

"I'll be looking through the "Cure Curse" book for the cure to the "Moonbean Curse," said Gwen. "You stay here in this room."

Gwen got up and went over to the bookshelf, examining the spines of each book. Lily also got up, walking over to the fireplace to warm her hands. The trophies on the mantlepiece caught her attention.

Gwen came up to her and stood beside her, holding onto a book.

"Are those trophies yours?" asked Lily.

"They are my most prized possessions," replied Gwen.

"What did you achieve each for?" asked Lily.

"This one," said Gwen, pointing to the first one on the left, "is for winning the magical duel three times in a row during my early adulthood. No one has ever done that."

"Whoa!" exclaimed Lily.

"The next one," continued Gwen, pointing to the next one to the right, "is for winning the potion making competition at the end of school, before I graduated."

"And the last?" asked Lily.

"That's for finding ingredients for potions," said Gwen. "That was a tough one."

"Can you teach me everything you know?" asked Lily.

Gwen burst into a fit of laughter before she spoke, "You want me to teach you how to be a witch. You'll have better luck with Ember on that."

"You've won all these trophies," said Lily.

"That was a long time ago," responded Gwen.

"Please," pleaded Lily.

"What the heck," said Gwen. "If you survive this curse, I'll teach you. There's no guarantee you'll be able to perform magic."

"You think humans can't do magic," said Lily, crossing her arms.

"They can after they've drunk coffee made from the enchanted Moonbean," said Gwen.

"That means...," began Lily.

"Your coffee was cursed, remember," interrupted Gwen.

"I'll have another cup of coffee tomorrow night," said Lily.

"It doesn't work that way," said Gwen. "You need to drink the enchanted coffee during a full moon. You should be able to do magic right now and also after the curse has been lifted, if the enchanted element is still there. You certainly can't do magic once the curse has fully affected you."

Lily frowned, her arms still crossed.

"Let's sit down and find the cure to your curse," said Gwen, trying to cheer Lily.

The two of them were sitting back on the sofa. Gwen placed the book on the coffee table and opened it, flipping through the pages.

"I'm glad all the curses' names are in alphabetical order," said Gwen. "Here we are, the 'Moonbean curse'."

Lily leaned over closer to the book.

"Moonbeans are enchanted coffee beans," began Gwen. "When brewed on a full moon night during Friday the thirteenth in October, the Moonbeans turn from enchanted to cursed, affecting only the human who drinks the coffee made from them."

Gwen paused and glanced at Lily, making sure that she was understanding everything.

Gwen continued, "The curse of the Moonbean can be lifted by brewing a potion made out of these five ingredients: one Moonlit Rose Petal, one Lunar Herb, one Celestial Gemstone, two portions of Spectral Moss, and three Barn Owl Feathers."

Gwen read the ingredients again quietly and got up.

"Let's go to the kitchen," said Gwen as she picked up the open book.

Lily followed Gwen into the kitchen. Gwen placed the open book on the dining table and went over to one of the cupboard, opening it up. She began shuffling through the glass jars and pulled out five empty jars.

"Great," said Gwen. "We've run out of the ingredients."

Lily looked at each of the five glass jars sitting upon the counter. Each was labeled with the ingredients that it should contain, and these ingredients were the ones they needed to brew the potion.

"Can't we go to a magical market and buy the ingredients?" asked Gwen.

"We could, but I don't trust those vendors," replied Gwen.

"Why not?" inquired Lily.

"Those vendors say that they are selling you a certain ingredient, but in fact the ingredient they sell you is something else. If you are looking for magical mushrooms, they will sell you a toadstool instead. They can't tell the difference between the two," explained Gwen. "I prefer to collect my own ingredients. At least I know they are the right ingredients."

"Where will we find each ingredient?" asked Lily.

"It's in the book," answered Gwen. "I'll write it down on paper."

Gwen made a motion with her hand in the air, and a parchment of paper and an ink pen appeared.

Gwen cleared her throat and began speaking:

"1. One Moonlit Rose Petal: Found blooming in the light of the full moon within a small glade nestled in the heart of the woods.

2. One Lunar Herb: Wild herbs discovered flourishing under the full moon's glow near a tranquil stream deep within the woods.

3. One Celestial Gemstone: Glistening within the stream bed of a stream, the celestial gem reveals its radiance only during the full moon's night within the woods.

4. Two Portions of Spectral Moss: Harvested from the ancient oak tree's trunk during the full moon's night, the spectral moss exudes an ethereal glow in the heart of the woods.

5. Three Barn Owl Feathers: Collected from a wise old barn owl residing in the hollow of the ancient oak tree, the feathers hold the wisdom of the woods under the full moon's watchful gaze."

The ink pen wrote down everything that Gwen dictated to it.