The attractive, mahogany-paneled shop was a riot of sights, sounds, and smells. The shelves were jammed with costumes, clothes, candies, jewelry, figurines, books, and other things Meadow couldn't identify. Some items seemed to hum or buzz, and a few instruments were playing otherworldly music without the aid of a human player. Smells as diverse as cinnamon and sulfur wafted through the air. A stuffed hog hung from the ceiling. Meadow didn't believe in animal cruelty, but she had to admit that thing DID add to the wizardly atmosphere of the place.
A raven-haired woman in purple robes (who looked to be about thirty) sat behind the oak counter. Her emerald green eyes darted straight to Meadow. "Good afternoon, Meadow Larkin," she smiled mysteriously. "I had a feeling you'd drop by today."
"How did you know my name?!" Meadow gasped. This woman was a perfect stranger.
"A 3,000-year-old sorceress has her ways," the woman said, smiling that enigmatic smile once again. "The name's Circe. Welcome to my humble shop, where people have a way of finding just what they need to change their lives." She looked Meadow up and down, studying her carefully. "What lovely brown hair you have, my dear!"
Meadow idly ran her hand through her shiny, waist-length locks. "On my head, perhaps," she sighed, "but it's so damn sparse everywhere else! See my legs?" She gestured below her shorts. "Looks like I shaved yesterday, yeah? Guess what? I haven't shaved since I was fucking TWELVE!! I look like a little girl! Why can't I have a proper body like other women? A HAIRY body!" The words came tumbling out faster than she'd expected. It felt good to finally get her frustrations off her chest.
Circe smiled. "Refreshing. Most young women come here looking to REMOVE, hair from their bodies, not add it."
Meadow cringed at the thought of someone blessed to have beautiful, thick body hair would just sacrilegiously chop it off, but she couldn't say she was totally surprised. That was the Man for you, brainwashing impressionable young girls into thinking their womanly plumage made them ugly! "That's awful."
"Of course, you get a bunch of men wanting a hairier chest or a manlier beard, but girls just don't feel a connection with their body hair anymore." Circe sighed.
"I do!" Meadow exclaimed. "I love my body hair like... like my own child! I want to cultivate and nurture it! I want it to be my pride and joy! But it! Just! Won't! Fucking! GROW!!! Please, Circe! You're a sorceress. Please tell me you have something that can make me hairier!"
Circe's smile stretched from ear to ear. "I think I have just what you're looking for."