A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

by Sangu Mandanna

Meanwhile, across the country, a certain innkeeper was about to discover that when you hold tight to the little magic you find, when years go by and the world loses much of its colour and still you refuse to forget the magic, magic will go out of its way to show you that it remembers you too.

“He was only planning to stay the one night. He might not even be there when we get back.” Nicholas grinned at her. “I remember when I was only planning to stay the one night.” “Trust me, Nicholas, Luke’s not like you.” “He doesn’t have to be. You have a way about you. It makes us want to stay.” “The inn tends to do that,” Sera said without thinking. “No,” Nicholas said earnestly. “Not the inn. You.”

It seemed at first glance like ridiculous theatre, unnecessary and a bit silly, but at the heart of it, weren’t they just a handful of people trying to be good to one another?

Your magic knew exactly who you were. That’s why your spell was a shield, not a sword.”

And yet, for some reason, it felt like that was exactly where they were supposed to be. Like this was a thing that had, somehow, become important. Like his lonely and her lonely fit perfectly into the empty spaces at the other’s side, saying nothing, asking nothing, just keeping each other company.

This is the life I wanted. This life of contentment and unexpected excitement, of little everyday joys, where I don’t just get to be myself but also get to be embraced as myself. It’s miraculous.”

She still longed for the stars and the sky, because they were a part of her and nothing would ever replace them, but there was, nevertheless, something rather lovely about the weird, wonderful, ordinary everydayness of living.

There was something. A single flicker of light. A twinkle. A solitary star. She would never be able to cast another spell, but that single, lonely star was still there because, if you know where to look for it, there is always a little magic in the heart of a person who loves it.

The magic of her past had been a gift, but the magic of her present had been earned.