The Monster's Love

Epilogue

Epilogue

            “So then Laura goes and punches him right in the face!” Valery said to Eva as she and Laura leaned against the counter of the shop.

            Eva burst into laughter unable to help herself. “You did not!”

            “He said my tail looked like a tentacle, that’s the one of the worst things you could say to a mermaid,” Laura defended, her large fishlike eyes filled with rage at the thought of the lizard man who’d insulted her. “He deserved more than a broken nose.”

            Eva laughed some more, leaning against the front counter as she shook her head. “Oh my god Laura I love you.”

            “Well it was awesome talking to you but we gotta get going,” Valery said as she looked at her watch. “Laura’s got another date to get ready for another date.”

            “Another one already?” Eva asked her brow arching at the new information. “Whose it this time?”

            “This really nice water elemental I met at the beach the other day,” Laura answered as she crossed her index and middle fingers on both hands and smiled an anxious smile. “Here’s hoping everything goes well.”

            “We’ll stop Spectra’s place and get you a good luck spell of something,” Valery reassured as they said their goodbyes to Eva and left her store. She sighed and sat on the stool behind the counter of her shop her eyes moving around the store front scanning over the shelves of jars filled with dried herbs, vials of herbal essential oils, and other remedies.

It was still hard for her to believe how far she’d come so far in just three years. After Bertrand was taken care of she’d moved back in with Jasper and Spectra but for some reason it didn’t feel quite right. Yes she had all her memories and her friendship with Jasper back but she needed more. Her whole life she’d been forced to rely on others, been forced to meet up to the expectations of her Gran, her parents, and then Bertrand when he’d taken her. With her memories returned to her she wasn’t quite sure who was anymore or what she wanted. Did she want to return to school? Did she want to stay with Spectra and Jasper? What was it that she wanted?

The only thing that made sense or felt right was when she was helping customers in Spectra’s shop or healing people. She’d forgotten the joy healing others had given her, how her whole being was consumed with joy and glee when she was able to bring tears of happiness to the eyes of her patience and their families. It just felt so…right. That’s when she decided to open her own practice, a little pharmacy of sorts where she would sell herbal remedies, just like her Gran had taught her all those years ago, and heal those in desperate need. So, after a year of saving her wages, she bought her shop as well as the apartments above in the next village over and opened her practice. It was a huge success right away seeing as healers, or any type of physicians, were in short supply in the underground. People were always seeking out her help and she was always busy.

“We’re still open?” Eva broke from her thoughts and looked to the front door of the shop as Lisette walked in, the setting sun making her blonde hair sparkle. “I thought you would’ve closed for the day by now.”

After Bertrand was gone for good Jasper had lived up to his word and became Lisette’s personal blood donor. Within a few hours Lisette was able to walk in the sun and was relieved of all her vampiric desires, though the need for blood would pop up once a month when she needed to feed.  Like Eva, she’d been living with Spectra and Jasper helping out at the shop when she could but when Eva announced she was striking out on her own she’d vowed to go with her new best friend and help her run the place. Eva was unsure of the idea at the time but once business took off she was glad to have the hard working woman in her corner. She helped organize her appointments, stock shelves, dry herbs, and deal with customers all day.