THE MOMENT
It’d been a quiet morning with only a handful of regular customers dropping by. Simone wasn't as widely recognized as some of the other potion vendors, but she made quality goods at a fair price. There were adventurers who appreciated her wares and stopped by every morning on their way to whatever dungeon they might be headed to. It was rare that she got a new customer, and almost never before noon. But, when the door chime sounded again, she looked up from her book. It was a young teen with bushy brown hair stacked on his head like a helmet. He was alone, and Simone shook her head. She'd ran the shop for dozens of years already, and she could more or less guess what someone was looking for by the way they approached.
This kid didn't bother looking around at any of the potions, poultices, and tools on display and instead headed straight for the counter. That meant he knew what he wanted, and he knew it wasn't going to be found on the racks. She had a very small list of potions that needed to be handled carefully that she kept in the back. But, she didn't think he wanted any of those.
"I'm looking for G-Prime, and I'll take as many as you got on hand," he said. Simone froze. In the back of her mind, she knew exactly what he was going to ask for. But, his casualness chilled her. He was just a boy!
"I...," she closed her eyes for a moment to gather herself. It'd been years since anyone asked for it. Not since the one incident that made her decide to stop offering it. She started refusing to sell it to anyone, even her regular customers. And she was thankful that they still kept coming around for other purchases. "I... don't sell Gnosis Prime anymore," she said. "I refuse to sell that reckless potion ever since the incident...," she said. She let it drag out silently.
"Oh, Bummer. Okay," the teen nodded and waved as he turned to leave. "I'll try somewhere else then. It is the witching district," he chuckled as he reached the door and walked out without another word. Simone sighed as tears welled up in her eyes. She was glad she didn't have to explain what had happened, and she wouldn't have even if he asked. It was a traumatic incident that she hated thinking about. And, now she was doing her best to push past it again, hoping to forget it.