A Stitch of Magic

Ophelia took great care in choosing the types of threads that she used and the ingredients for her fabric dyes. She kept all of her threads and fabrics at the front of the shop for all the customers to see. Wooden drawers of sewing tools lined the wall behind the counter. The different threads were lined up in spools on a wall display. Bolts of fabric on rolls went up to the ceiling while the shelves beneath them displayed handkerchiefs, scarfs, and small purses with spells infused in fabric and thread.

Ophelia’s Grandmother would always scowl at the sight of pre-made spell work, but she had lived in a different time and scowled at a great deal of things nowadays.

The workshop where Ophelia spent most of her day was visible from the front of the store. If someone wanted they could stand at the counter and watch her sew. There was something calming about watching a person do slow methodical work. When Ophelia was young she would spend hours watching her grandmother create her careful even stitches. Any bad mood could be fixed with time in her grandmother's workshop. It had always been home more than the apartment above the shop where the two of them lived.

Ophelia slipped the needle through the fabric mimicking the precise even stitches of her grandmother. She sewed the smallest of seems on the scarf just as her grandmother had taught her.

The brass bell above the door rang and Ophelia stood up from her stool quickly. She started towards the counter, but stopped when she saw it was only some girls chattering brightly as they walked in. 

She tried not to purse her lips. Her herb and flower supplier, David, visited every week on the same day. They had known each other since they were children. They used to be together all the time, but now they only talked when he visited the shop for work. Recently she had become eager for his visits in a way that made her feel a bit childish.

"Welcome." Ophelia smiled at the customers. "I'm working on a project at the moment. I’ll be in the back if you need me." 

She could see their mass market spells immediately. They were infused in their clothes and charms on their purses. Some of the magic had already faded to mere residue, but they had no way of knowing that. Mass market spells were chintzy and didn't last.

The mass market spellwork had started before Ophelia’s grandmother had retired. Everyone had called it revolutionary, but her grandmother’s word for it wasn’t as flattering. The mass market spellwork was the main reason that Ophelia's grandmother gave for retiring. She always said, “I’m too old to deal with people who couldn’t see quality if it was a dragon destroying their house.”

Ophelia’s Grandmother still came in every once and a while and helped, but her fingers ached if she worked for too long. That was the real reason she retired. She had been pushing through for years, but as the orders became smaller and less fulfilling it was no longer worth her putting in the effort. Now she spent most of her time complaining about the world changing with other witches her age over tea and brandy.

Ophelia heard the girls whispering as she went back to her workshop about how cute the shop was, homey and cozy. She heard those sorts of words all the time. They meant that the girls were only exploring and they might not buy anything. Ophelia couldn’t help the unpleasant pang in her chest. The amount of people that left with a purchase seemed less and less each month.

Customers who only explored were the reason why she decided to begin sewing handkerchiefs with simple spells. Explorers were more likely to buy small items instead of making custom orders like dresses to help dancing and coats with heated cloth. Custom orders were rare and far between. No one wanted to spend a lot of money for spellwork they could find elsewhere for half the price.

The girls shuffled around the shop cooing at the cute decorations until one of them finally picked up a small item and came to the counter. Ophelia rang them up with a pleasant smile which fell to pursed lips as they left. She glanced at the lap top under the counter biting her lip before going back to her workshop.

She started up her stitches again on the scarf she was working on. This particular piece was meant to bring calm. She had dyed the cotton with indigo leaves infused with lavender. The thread had been soaked with jasmine. She kept quiet thoughts in her mind as she sewed thinking of her cups of tea as the sun peeked over the tops of the buildings and her visits the flower market on Saturday mornings. 

Her grandmother had always taught Ophelia that thoughts and intent were just as important as the material used. Not all witches agreed with her grandmother, but Ophelia did believe that it at the very least only made the spellwork stronger. Ophelia’s grandmother had always been prone to older ways of thinking. She balked at the use of sewing machines even before mass production. She even spun her own thread, though Ophelia rarely did anymore. It took too much time that could be put to making something that would bring in money.

The brass bell rang and Ophelia froze in her stitches as she looked up. David backed in through the door with his crate of dried herbs and flowers. Ophelia carefully set her sewing aside as her heart sped up.

David put the crate on the counter as Ophelia stepped out of her workshop. He leaned on the counter casually and gave her a smile that made her heart glow. Ophelia had always wanted to bottle up his smile so she could have it whenever she wanted.

“Morning Ophie.”

“Morning David.” 

David had been brought up by a nearby Naturalist. He and Ophelia had spent all of their lives intertwined with each other. They were constants in each other’s lives, talking and playing when their guardians fell into long winded conversations. 

“Have you checked the website yet?” 

Ophelia frowned. “No.” 

David had been the one to set up the website and lend her the laptop under her counter. She had finally broken down and let him help her make one, and she would never admit that part of the reason she had done it was because he was ridiculously excited about it. She had sat on a stool next to him and told him what to write. That part she hadn’t minded as much. 

“You know you don’t have to keep all of your grandmother’s tradition. You two’s aversion to technology baffles me.” He said as Ophelia pulled up the counter for him to walk through.

“We use what we need and I don’t need a phone that has things on it that I don’t need.” She followed him back as he went to her store room. 

“I know, it just could be helpful you know?” 

Ophelia didn’t say anything as she pulled down jars of herbs and flowers. He sighed and set his jars out on the counter. He took out his scale and they measured out what she needed before pouring the dried plants into their jars. Ophelia's head was only half on the task and at hand and half on the website that she hadn’t looked at since David had created it. It was when David was writing out the bill that Ophelia finally got the will to talk about it.

“If I am being truthful I find it all intimidating.” Ophelia tried to keep her voice as dignified as possible, but she could feel her cheeks warm.

David let a smile slip on his face. Her cheeks burned even more.

“Don’t give me that look.”

“I’m not giving you a look.” He tried to bite back his smile. 

“You are. You find all of this funny.” 

“I do find it a little funny, but that’s because I never thought you would admit that my old laptop scares you.”

“Intimidates not scares.”

“Fine intimidates.” He still had that knowing smile on his face. 

“You are infuriating.”

“And you are stubborn. Now, let’s get that laptop started up.” He grabbed her work stool and set it beside the stool at the front counter. 

He pulled out the laptop as Ophelia sat beside him. She blinked at the brightness of the screen. The light was always so sharp it hurt her eyes. She pecked out the password with two fingers then scooted it back in David’s direction.

“Nope, you're doing it yourself.” He was much too cheery for Ophelia’s liking.

She straightened her back. “Fine, what do I click on.”

“Internet first.” He pointed to the screen and guided her through the steps. 

He leaned in close as he told her where to go, closer than he needed to, though Ophelia wasn’t sure if that was in her head. The encouraging smiles he gave her still made her stomach flutter.

“If you go here you can see if anyone has put in any orders.” David put his hand on her back and she tried not to react.

She clicked on what he told her to and the screen changed. Three messages appeared, three orders. Her stomach tangled into knots that she wasn’t sure were from excitement or nerves. She clicked on the first one, only a scarf for neatness. She clicked on the second order after David reminded her how to go back a screen.

She wasn’t sure she was reading it correctly. She looked closer. Someone wanted her to make a wedding dress. Her grandmother had only ever made two wedding dresses in the days since Ophelia was born. They were some of the most complicated pieces of sewing magic meant to bring blessings on both the couple getting married and the celebration. They were also the most expensive pieces of sewing magic you could buy.

Ophelia let out a laugh. She couldn’t take her eyes off the computer. She couldn’t wait to tell her grandmother. Even her grandmother wouldn’t mind that the order had been made through an intimidating piece of technology.

Would Ophelia have ever gotten an order like this if David hadn’t set up the website for her? She turned to him. He was smiling so brightly and he was looking right at her. Her heart swelled and she pressed her lips against his. 

She pulled back quickly when she realized what she had done and the two of them stared at each other with wide eyes. Ophelia started to stammer out an apology, but David pressed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

When they finally broke apart Ophelia giggled in a way she never had before and covered her mouth. David laughed as she turned back to the computer, her cheeks blazing. They only spoke about the orders after that. How she could contact the customers. How she would mail them their orders. What supplies she would need for the wedding dress. 

Despite Ophelia trying to stay professional David moved his stool closer to her and kept his arm wrapped around her waist. They stayed talking long after her shop closed and long after Ophelia had shut her laptop. The sun was creating long shadows on the street when David finally grabbed his crate of herbs and flowers. 

He gave her a lingering kiss before he stepped out onto the street. She watched him for a while before shutting the door and resting against it. The sun tinted her little shop with its golden light and she couldn’t help imagining all the magic she was about to make.