Robin sat on that porch for what felt like hours, but was likely no more than thirty minutes.

After sitting for a while, Robin decided to take a walk to calm his nerves and look around Sunshine Acres, careful not to stray too far from the knocker's watchful eye. Robin went and peered around the edge of the porch. From what Robin could see, there was a large pond behind the house with a small bridge going over one corner of it. Behind the pond was a gated pasture where a chicken coop and an old red barn sat, painted a similar color to the house. The pasture went further than Robin could see, but trees rose in the distance, indicating a forest behind the gated land.

As he returned to the wooden chair on the porch, Robin heard the sound of hooves on gravel and quickly rose from his seat once again to peer into the approaching cloud of dust. Through the distant haze, he could make out a white horse and a dark rider galloping outside the fence along Sunshine Acres.

As they drew nearer, Robin could make out that the white horse's rider was wearing a wide-brimmed black hat with long black lace that covered their face. The lace flew in the wind behind them as they rode like a vailed cape. They wore a black leather jacket with red fringes along their arms that seemed to have shiny red stones at the end, glittering as they caught the sunlight. They also wore wide-legged black plants trimmed with the same red fringe down the legs. Their outfit stood out strikingly against the body of the white horse they rode. Robin felt a shiver run down his spine at their appearance, as the contrast of the white horse and its rider felt ominous.

When they got close enough to the house, the mystery rider gracefully swung off their horse, landing softly on the dusty gravel path leading to the house. The rider reached up and rubbed the horse's neck. Now that they were closer, Robin noticed that the horse's body was all white, but its ears and mane were a light brown with black along the tips, a color he had never seen on a horse before. 

Suddenly, the white horse released a loud whinny, rearing up on its hind legs in excitement.

When it landed, the horse had transformed into a little fluffy white dog with brown and black ears, hopping around its rider's legs in excitement. The rider pulled something from their jacket pocket and bent down to give it to the small dog, who quickly grabbed it from their hand and sat back with its tail wagging, joyfully chewing on its snack.

Robin blinked in surprise, not sure of what he had just seen. Neither of them seemed to notice Robin watching from his seat on the front porch. Or, if they did, they were ignoring him.

Despite his growing fear of the beings before him, Robin cleared his throat and stood up from his seat on the porch to greet the rider and their small dog. At the sound, the rider and their animal turned to look at him. The small dog's tail began wagging in a warm greeting, quickly dropping its treat as it ran to Robin.

"Excuse the intrusion," Robin said politely, trying to hide the fear in his voice. "but are you the Miss Ivy of Sunshine Acres?"

The dog jumped up for attention, not appreciating being ignored. Robin hesitantly reached down to pet the white dog that demanded his affection, carefully keeping his eyes on the stranger before him.

"I might be, depending on who's asking," the feminine voice of the rider quipped, with amusement in her voice. She stood with her hands on her hips as she watched her dog and Robin before approaching the front porch where he stood.

"Oh, I'm-" Robin started.

"Let's talk inside," she said, scooping up the small dog at Robin's feet. Walking past him, she strolled through the doorway, pushing the heavy door open with her shoulder and leaving Robin with no choice but to follow.

As Robin entered through the doorway of Miss Ivy's house, a small hallway with a staircase leading upstairs greeted him. The entire hallway had walls covered with art, small sculptures, and numerous decorative mirrors. Robin felt almost like he had found himself in some overzealous art museum instead of an old farmhouse.

To Robin's right was an entryway to the drawing room. The walls of this room seemed to be decorated similarly to those of the hall ahead of him. However, Robin couldn't get a long look into the room as Miss Ivy continued walking to the end of the hall, turning a corner without looking back.

Robin stood awkwardly in the entryway, fighting the urge to remove his shoes. He looked at the sorceress's shiny wooden floorboards compared to his travel-worn boots. However, as Miss Ivy disappeared from view behind the staircase, Robin rushed to follow her down the hall, heaving the front door closed behind him.

At the end of the hall was a powder room, where Miss Ivy was putting away her shoes, Prompting Robin to begin taking his off as well.

"There's no need if you don't feel comfortable, " the woman said. The floors are charmed to clean themselves."

"Clean themselves?" Robin asked, intrigued. He untied his dirt-crusted laces and watched as the pieces of dirt that fell from his shoes disappeared without a trace once they hit the ground.

"Yes, a sweet sorcerer I know specializes in cleaning magic. I traded him a necklace for those floorboards." She said, removing her black hat and placing it on a peg next to a door at the end of the powder room—a door that appeared to lead outside to the back of the house.

" I got the better end of the deal," the woman said, shooting Robin a wink.

Now that Miss Ivy had removed her hat and turned around to face Robin, he was surprised she appeared around his age, if not a couple of years younger than him. She appeared roughly in her mid-twenties, not as old or monstrous as Robin had expected a feared witch to be. Her hair was a warm dark blond, with her roots darker than the ends. Her hair was slightly disheveled from her hat and fell to her waist in an inconsistent wavy texture. The shade of her skin was porcelain in the mudroom's dim lighting, almost as light as if she had never stepped out of her house. Surprisingly, she was wearing makeup, something ladies in London society often wore, but Robin hadn't seen much of it in his time in the Great Plains. She wore a pink blush over her cheeks and nose, with a matching shimmering pink on her eyelids, making her green eyes pop under her unnaturally darkened eyelashes.

She gave him a kind smile, and Robin thought she didn't seem like a fearsome sorceress.

The woman turned to a doorway to the left of the one they entered from, which had a stained-glass green tulip in its center and reached for the doorknob. The old door creaked on its aging hinges as she pushed it open.

Robin lined up his shoes against the powder room wall and followed her through the door.

Through this doorway, Robin found himself in a vast and ornate kitchen. This kitchen was very tidy, with off-white shiplap covering the entirety of the walls. The kitchen was mainly a creamy white, except for a decorative blue wallpaper that circled the top along the ceiling. Unlike the rest of the house's decor that Robin had seen, there was no obnoxious amount of art or wall decor that covered the plain cream walls in this kitchen. As Robin entered the room, he quickly noticed that to his right was another door that led to the backyard with a blue and cream-colored tulip in its window. Sitting beside this door was a sizeable cream-stone hearth with a small fire already blazing inside.

Miss Ivy went over to a tall wooden cabinet beside the hearth and pulled out a pear before leaning back against one of the kitchen cabinets and looking him up and down.

"So, what kind of jewelry are you looking for? Let me guess... Engagement ring?"

She took a bite of the pear and motioned for him to sit at a tall wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. As Robin sat himself at the table, the small white dog creature leaped into his lap. Robin was usually more of a large dog fan. He had only met spoiled and mean little dogs in London, but as this small dog curled up on his lap, releasing a big sigh, he couldn't help but feel attached to it. Robin carefully started petting it, trying not to disturb it from his lap.

Miss Ivy stood watching them with an amused look on her face.

"Um, no, sorry," Robin said, clearing his throat after a moment of distraction. My name is Robin Prakash. I am a doctor from Kingsbury, and I'm here because I believe my brother, Otto Prakash, might have written to you to help with his research."

"Hmm.." Miss Ivy responded, looking amused. Her head turned to the stone hearth.

Robin followed her gaze and saw a tall pile of letters and papers in a cast iron holder sitting on the hearth.

"It is entirely possible that he did." Miss Ivy mused.

"No man has come by Sunshine Acres with that name?" Robin said, a bit annoyed. The disappointment of another failure had started to creep up on him.

"No, " Miss Ivy said with another bite into her pear. "but that doesn't mean he won't." She seemed completely unbothered by this whole situation. "What does he need my help for?"

Robin really wished he knew.

"Well," Robin started. "He works for the University of Connecticut and is doing research in the field of Magic and Sorcerers. I don't technically know what he wants, but you are a jewelry sorceress, so he likely wants to feature you in his research paper for your jewelry magic or something... It's probably in the letter he sent you." Robin said with a hopeful glance at the mail pile near the fire.

"Oh! My jewelry magic!" Miss Ivy exclaimed. " Really!? For a paper?"

A giddy smile spread across her face. Miss Ivy excitedly started to take off her earrings and necklace, laying them on the table before him. "Well, I will say I have done quite well in perfecting the art of it. These are some of my most recent pieces."

The necklace was a thick silver chain with a blackish hue. Inlayed into the metal chain were green stones shaped like leaves with tiny red jewels in groups of three. Her earrings were the same green stone, shaped like a raindrop, with a smaller circular red stone above it. The pieces weren't intricate, but Robin would admit they looked well-made.

"I'll even say," Miss Ivy continued, leaning over the table towards him, "you know the new trend of glove charms in Chicago? I was the one who started it." She beamed proudly.

Personally, Robin hadn't ever heard of glove charms. London fashion was quite different than what he had seen in the small towns in the Great Plains. Even so, being a man with the same simple pair of black leather gloves he had worn for years, he wouldn't be someone who kept up with glove trends anyway.

"Impressive," Robin remarked, smiling politely at her before turning towards the stack of letters on her hearth again.

"I'm sorry, but do you think his letter might be somewhere in that pile?" Robin gestured anxiously to the hearth, digging into his bag to pull out Otto's letter.

"Here is what the letter probably looks like. I just want to be sure I am at the right place," Robin said, anxiously handing it to Miss Ivy.

Miss Ivy hesitantly took the letter from him, obviously offended by the lack of genuineness in his praise of her glove trendsetting.

"When did he send this to you?" Miss Ivy asked, turning the worn letter over in her hand.

"Maybe three to four weeks ago."

"Oh, then it won't be in that pile. I would have already burned it." Miss Ivy said, handing him back the letter.

Robin looked back over at the pile on the hearth. There appeared to be easily over two months' worth of mail in that holder.

"Oh...are you certain?"

"Yes, that mail is from this week, so it's likely not in that pile."

Robin looked again at the large stack near the hearth. Recalling the other mass of mail, he had already seen in her mailbox earlier.

Miss Ivy didn't seem to be lying, but Robin wondered why she might have had that much mail from only the last few days.

"Well, I'm sorry. I don't mean to trouble you, but would you mind double-checking?" Robin insisted, handing her back the letter.

"Sure," Miss Ivy shrugged, once again seeming unbothered. The sorceress walked over to the hearth with Otto's letter in her hand. She bent over the pile and ran her fingers along the spines of the letters, each one glowing at her touch.

"No, I'm sorry," she said, turning back towards Robin. "No matches. I wish I could say I remember him writing, but with this much mail each day, I usually just burn my mail without reading it."

A mass of annoyance and frustration churned in Robin's stomach—another dead end.

"Oh." was all Robin could muster.

"But," Miss Ivy continued, keeping her voice cheerful as if trying to improve his mood as she handed him back the letter. "If you want to write to your brother and tell him you are here, you could."

"No, I don't know where he is traveling to write to him," Robin said dejectedly. "That's why I came here. He's been traveling a lot over the last couple of years for his research, and I was hoping I might finally be able to see him if I met him here."

"Ah! Well, that's no problem." Miss Ivy beamed, acting as if this situation was not as big of an issue as Robin was making it out to be.

" I know a spell to enchant a letter to arrive at the mailbox of the person you address it to. You don't need to use the post or even know where they are. Just write to him that you're at Sunshine Acres, and then when he writes back, you can see if you are at the right place."

"Really?" Robin asked, " You can do that?"

Robin tried not to let his hopes inflate again, but if this worked, he was relieved to think he might finally have some answers.

"Of course." Miss Ivy said, smiling at him. " Wait one second."

She set down the pear she had been eating on the counter and walked out a doorway behind Robin's seat. Robin craned his neck to see what was through this doorway, as he hadn't noticed it when he had arrived in the kitchen. Robin realized this doorway led back into the front hallway they had just walked through a minute ago. On the other side of the hallway, he could see the entrance to the drawing room he had passed earlier. He must not have noticed this entryway to the kitchen when he first entered.

Just as fast as she had left, Miss Ivy returned with a pen and paper through the kitchen doorway.

"Here you go!" She said merrily. "And be sure to mention in your letter that, even if you are at the wrong Sunshine Acres, he is welcome to come here and study jewelry-making magic if he wishes!"

Robin nodded half-heartedly and started writing his letter as Miss Ivy returned to eating her pear. She leaned back against the cabinets again as she watched him write.

________________________________________________________________________

Otto,

I decided I did need a break. I am here at Sunshine Acres in the town of Adel, and I hope it is the Sunshine Acres you are referring to. This trip hasn't been that much of a break, as I have found it very difficult to track you down. I have visited about six "Sunshine Acres" since I left London, and none of them have received word from you about your visit.

Is this one of your pranks? It has been quite costly, and I should expect financial reimbursement for my troubles if so. Please write back soon so I may know if I am in the right Sunshine Acers or if you are traveling elsewhere. I would love to see you before my money runs out and I must return to London.

Your brother,

Robin

PS. There is a lady sorceress here who specializes in jewelry magic. I'm not sure what exactly you are working on, but she has said she would be more than happy to help you with your research( again, for which you need to tell me, as many people have asked, and I have come to realize I haven't a clue. Including that information in your response letter would be much appreciated).

__________________________________________________________________________

Robin finished his letter and folded it carefully to hand off to Miss Ivy. She happily took it from him and sealed it into an envelope, writing Otto Prakash on the front. The sorceress then walked over to the doorway to the hall and stood facing the living room with her hand pulled back.

Miss Ivy then acted as if she were preparing to throw his letter into the hall before finally tossing it through the doorway before her. Robin wanted to get up and look, but he could guess that the letter was nowhere to be seen, hopefully now in Otto's hands.

"Off it goes!" Miss Ivy announced, cheerily walking back over to the table. "Now, unfortunately, unless he knows how to do that spell, he likely will have to use the regular post. So, it will likely be a few weeks before his response arrives. Where will you be staying in town for the time being? " Miss Ivy asked politely.

"Ah. " Robin mumbled. Robin had forgotten about that; he had hoped to stay with his brother and save money once he arrived at Sunshine Acres. Robin had spent so much money on finding his brother that he had little left to spend on a place to stay when he finally found Otto. Robin had even less to use if he needed that money to travel to a different Sunshine Acres, should he once more have found himself in the wrong place.

"Ah, I am not sure yet where I will be staying... Do you happen to know of any lodgings that would be fairly cheap?" Robin inquired.

"Hmm..." Miss Ivy hummed as she took another bite of her pear before shaking her head. "Not really. Places in Adel have an inflated nightly rate since lodgings around here are some of the only places travelers can stay for miles. Usually, the people who come into town already have someone to stay with for free or are willing to pay the extra to have a roof over their head for the night."

Robin's stomach dropped again. Was it too late to get that letter back and head back home to London?

Miss Ivy loudly took another bite of her pear as she eyed the small dog, who was now asleep on Robin's lap.

"However, if you're low on funds, you can always stay here at Sunshine Acres. We have an extra room upstairs." Miss Ivy offered.

"Oh, I-"

"WHAT! Why would he stay here?" a child's whispered voice sounded from the chair beside him.

Robin jumped.

The dog on his lap looked up at him as if suddenly surprised by Robin's reaction but not by the sudden whisper beside them.

In the chair next to Robin now sat a small girl who looked about seven or eight years old. She had short, straight black hair with thick bangs that hung around her still baby-like face. She wore a dirtied white shirt and loose overalls. Her dark eyes were wide with horror as they remained locked on Miss Ivy.

Miss Ivy also didn't seem shocked by the child's sudden appearance. She took another bite of her pear and rolled her eyes.

"Jo, remember what I  told you? The spell only stays active if you don't speak."

Ah, " the child muttered, sitting back in her seat. I'm sorry to have scared you, Sir," the young girl said, offering Robin a slight nod in apology before quickly snapping her head back to Miss Ivy.

"Why did you invite him to stay here?" she again whispered to Miss Ivy, but harsher this time.

Miss Ivy seemed to ignore her as she continued talking to Robin.

"It won't be without a price, obviously. I could use a housekeeper and a cook. With these things taken care of, I can focus on my jewelry business. If you wish to stay, you must be willing to do those things."

The child beside him raised her eyebrows and shut her mouth, looking over at Robin, awaiting his answer.

"Oh. Well- Thank you so much for the offer, Miss Ivy. I must admit I don't have much housekeeping or cooking experience-"

"I never said you had to be good." Miss Ivy interrupted. "I just ask you to be willing to do those things."

Robin grits his teeth.

Robin was a doctor back in London. It was a very respectable and distinguished role in society. Not that being a housekeeper or cook wasn't respectable, but his job as a doctor was one he took great pride in. He could feel his ego begging him to say no, but the lightened coin pouch at his hip was begging him otherwise.

Robin compromised with himself that he could always leave as soon as Otto was in town and stay with him.

"Thank you, Miss Ivy. You are too kind." Robin coughed, hesitating once more before deciding his fate.

"I would be willing to do so. I hope it won't be too much of a burden?"

"Not at all! "Miss Ivy said, a grin spread across her face. "I have a spare room upstairs that rarely sees any guests, so you are free to use it as long as you like. "

"YIPPEE!! NO MORE CHORES!!" Jo yelled, jumping off her chair. "No more of Miss Holly's cooking!" She sang as she skipped around the kitchen.

"Hey! There will still be chores," Miss Ivy said, irritated. "And you have no idea if his cooking will be better than mine."

"Anyone's cooking is better than yours," Jo said teasingly. She turned back to Robin and hopped back onto her seat. "Even I am better, and I'm nine."

Miss Ivy scoffed.

"Mr. Robin, this young lady beside you is Mallory Joy Yu. Miss Yu is my apprentice over the summers," Miss Ivy said, coming over to the table and giving the child a stern look. "And Miss Yu will still have the chores of cleaning her own room, doing her own laundry, and fetching the eggs in the morning."

Jo wrinkled her nose at Miss Ivy, making a noise of defeated annoyance before turning to Robin.

"You can just call me Jo," Jo said, straightening her shoulders, putting one hand on her puffed-out chest, and sticking out her other for Robin to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jo, "Robin said, kissing the back of her outstretched hand.

"Oh geez..." Jo said disgustedly, rubbing her hand viciously on her red and green plaid linen dress. "I forgot people from Kingsbury do that. Don't ever do that again."

Robin smiled, and Miss Ivy stifled a laugh.

"My apologies, Miss Jo."

"You are forgiven, Mr. Not Pear Man."

"I would prefer if you called me Mr. Robin if you please."

"We'll see if that's what I'll please," Jo said before jumping down from the table and heading to the hall.

"Try the invisibility spell again, please, Jo. See if you can hold it for 20 minutes." Miss Ivy called before Jo left the room.

"Ugh, that's such a long time! I'm gonna be so bored!"

"Then you can do some of your homework while you do it. If you can hold the spell for 20 min, I won't ask you to practice it again."

"Yes, Miss Holly," Jo grumbled, snapping her fingers before disappearing again.

Miss Ivy seemed to watch Jo leave the kitchen despite being invisible to Robin's eyes.

After Jo seemed to have climbed the stairs, Miss Ivy looked back to Robin.

"While you are here, you can call me Holly... or Miss Holly only if you like. Miss Ivy is fine, too, but Holly is my real name." She laughed, seeming a bit embarrassed at that. Miss Ivy is my jeweler's "stage name," if you would. I own a shop called Miss Ivy's Fashion and Jewels, so many people call me Miss Ivy. It's not that big of a deal, so I don't correct them." Miss Holly shrugged.

"Oh," Robin said, feeling awkward for calling her a name that appeared to be a town-wide inside joke.

"I chose that shop name because, you know...The Holly and the Ivy," she said sheepishly. "Thought I was being pretty clever... but whichever you prefer is fine." She shrugged and threw her finished pear into the bin before changing the subject.

"Anyway, Mr. Robin. Let's get you settled in. This is the kitchen...obviously." Miss Holly said as she opened all the cabinets for his viewing. "It should have everything you need to cook with, but if you want me to grab anything while I am in the town square tomorrow, I will grab it for you. I have quite a few cookbooks in here...." She opened a rather large overhead wooden cabinet. It was full of books and antique cardholders, seemingly all full of recipes.

"Some of these are for regular cooking, and some are for using cooking magic, so just be wary of that when looking through them. I can sort them for you if you need," She added, turning and shooting him an awkward smile before sifting through the contents of the cabinets.

"But we can figure that out later." Miss Holly said after a moment of trying to organize it, shaking her head before closing the cabinet

Miss Holly then moved past Robin to the doorway to the hall. " Across the hall is the drawing room. Take a look in there when you have a moment. For now, I'll take you to the room you will stay in while you are with us. It's upstairs. Follow me."

Robin followed Miss Holly as she left the kitchen and entered the gaudy hallway. Robin then began the ascent up the staircase. As he climbed after her, he began admiring the art that covered the walls as he went. They were mainly paintings of flowers or the countryside and a few scattered portraits of people of all ages.

"Pardon me, Miss Holly, but who are these people in the portraits? I can't help but admire your art collection." Robin said, stopping to admire one particular portrait of a cheery young boy in a blue sailor outfit.

"Oh," Miss Holly said, taking a step back to look at that portrait with him. "I don't know who they are." She replied casually, with a small shrug before starting back up the stairs.

"Oh, I see...did they come with the house?"

"No, I bought them all. I like to go to old estate sales or flea markets and buy old art there. None of these works were by anyone famous, so technically, they aren't worth much." She shrugged. "But they all make me happy, and I could never paint something so beautiful, so they are worth quite a bit to me."

"You aren't worried they might be haunted when you buy them?" Robin said, only half joking. He wasn't exactly the suspicious type, but it did seem a bit eerie to have dead strangers' portraits in your home.

Miss Holly chuckled and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Yes, and it's likely they are." She said, her eyes widening at him in fake horror before continuing up the stairs. "However, there are worse fates for unwanted things than to be hung up and admired in an old farmhouse by someone who truly appreciates them."

Robin tilted his head, looking at the painting again before continuing up the stairs. He had to agree with her. These were still pieces of art, after all.

"Besides," Miss Holly continued, reaching the top of the stairs and waiting for him as he followed after her. "I could take any of em' if they ever caused me trouble."

Miss Holly jokingly narrowed her eyes and turned towards a portrait of an elderly man with bright blue eyes as if daring the portrait's ghost to jump out at her. She looked back at Robin with a smirk on her face.

"Oh, I've heard. The lady at the bar told me I should not underestimate you," Robin said, amused.

"Oh. Miss Jackie ?" Miss Holly asked, seeming a bit surprised. Her mischievous grin had faded.

"Well...I don't know all she said." Miss Holly said hesitantly, "But you should believe what she told you."

Miss Holly hesitated, looking Robin up and down again before glancing at the little dog glued to his feet.

"I only say this because, depending on what she told you, I doubt you would have come here if you had."