"I'm going out for a bit, mom!" I said to my mother who was just watching some random tv-show at the time.
"Alright, Sammy. Be sure to come back in time for dinner!" She said back. I hopped on my bicycle and cycled to the street the advertisement told me to go: Tristan Avenue. There were a fair few other stores on this street. A clothing store here and there, a bakery on the corner, a toy store that I, quite frankly, always thought of as being in the wrong place (I mean, seriously, shouldn't those be in a much busier area?). Thinking about it more, I couldn't recall there being any new stores there, but then again, I'm not exactly a shopper.
'Let's see. 36...38...40... ah, 42! It must be here,' I thought to myself. The building itself looked like any other. You could tell that it was a store, but from outside, there was no way you could tell what they sold. 'Well, if they really do transformations, I can imagine you wouldn't just put it out in the open like that...' I thought to myself.
Now, I'm not exactly a brave person. I wasn't going to just walk into there! Instead, I did what I usually do when I need to gather some courage: I cycled onwards. I must have cycled around the block 3 times, and I was about to start a 4th one when I decided I'd had enough. I was going in! Carefully, I stopped in front of the store, placed my bicycle in the nearby stands and locked it. Right away, my heart sank in my shoes again. What was I even doing here? I know, I'm trying to get to the bottom of that strange advertisement, but surely there were other, safer ways, right? But... I suppose, now that I've come here, might as well go all the way. I carefully opened the door and I could hear the tell-tale bell jingle to alert the store clerk of my presence. No going back now I thought...
I didn't know who or what to expect. The suave man from the advertisement came to mind at first, but when I saw an old, bearded man appear from the back room, I must say I was possitively surprised.
"Ah, greetings, miss! Welcome!" he said in a very welcoming voice.
"Uhm, good afternoon uh... sir," I said shyly.
"Oh, no need to be shy," the man said with a chuckle, "take a look around and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them."
I don't know why, but he seemed like a man I could trust. At least, I didn't yet feel like running touside again, screaming. I took up his advise and for the first time, I looked around at the wares in the store. One of the walls was adorned with tons of jars filled with, what I assumed was candy in all different kinds of shapes, colours and sizes. Another wall had all kinds of random items it seemed. I could see a few costumes and... were those wands? I was starting to get really curious now. I even started to doubt that it was really candy in those jars...
"Hmm, hang on a moment," the old man suddenly said. I looked at him surprised. "Aha, of course! Why did I not recognize you right away! My apologies, miss Greane," he said with a warm smile.
I freaked out now. "H-H-How did you..." I started to say but he interrupted me.
"... know your name? Hahaha, it's very simple, my dear. You might not be aware of it, but you are quite special, else my advertisement wouldn't have gotten to you!" he said with a broad smile.
"W-wh-what?" I stammered. I was getting rather scared now and was already planning an escape route in my mind.
"I know, I know, this is all rather sudden for you, isn't it? Well let me explain! Go on, take a seat. I won't bite," he said with a chuckle.
I looked around and noticed a few chairs somewhere behind me. I actually didn't really want to sit down but the curious side of me wanted to get to the bottom of this so I reluctantly sat down.
The man sat himself on one of the other chairs. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gregory Cheston and I'm the owner of this shop. As you might already suspect by now, I'm not an ordinary old man. I'm a wizard."
I looked at him with bewilderment. Was he being serious or was he pulling a very elaborate prank on me?
"I was the one who sent out that advertisement across the internet throughout this village. I didn't think I'd have much luck, but you're one of two people here who have received it! Better than I expected, that's for certain."
"W-what does..." I stammered again.
"... it mean? Why, it means you are a very special kind of person, but I don't want to overwhelm you right away! I think it'd be best for you to see for yourself!" the man said with a chuckle again.