Witchy problems require witchy answers…
Angie Jordan instantly understands why two of her best friends love the charming café attached to an independent bookstore. The smells of rich roasting coffee and chocolaty muffins alone qualify the place as a haven. The café even stocks tea that even her demon hunter boyfriend Sebastian would approve. Add a witch owner with her giant Maine Coon familiar, and Angie knows the café will give her and her friend a safe space to discuss witchy things.
Because when friends call for help, Angie shows up. And in a world of magic and spells, sometimes only the help of a fellow witch will do.
ANGIE AT THE CAFE is available to read for free until the 1st of April, when another story will be posted. For readers who would prefer to read on a device of preference, or who would like their own personal eBook of this story, you can find it here.
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Angie at the Café
A Café Story
Angie Jordan knew the minute she walked into the café why both Cary and Marianne loved the place. A coffee shop attached to an independent bookstore had everything her two best friends could possibly want. Especially with Cary’s coffee addiction.
The café smelled of rich roast and buttery pastries. It was bright and open, with the counter to one side sporting glass cake covers over plates of delicious looking snacks and a large open arch into the charming bookstore next door. A lot of wood accents on the floors and tables. The central area standard round wood tables with comfortable looking wooden chairs. Around the edges of the café, collections of cushioned chairs and couches with low coffee and end tables. The nooks looked like someone’s living room, creating cozy areas for people to relax while enjoying their drinks and maybe reading a book from next door.
The place was mostly empty at that time of day—middle of a work day when it was cold and sleety. Not many people on the sidewalks outside either. And it was about an hour past the ordinary lunch rush but too soon for people to be looking for the necessary late afternoon coffees to make it through the rest of the work day.
There was a man sitting near the back at one of the ordinary tables, typing away furiously on his laptop. And another older woman sitting in the center of the café, sipping tea from a delicate looking cup while reading. Angie couldn’t see the book cover from her angle. Behind the counter a friendly woman smiled a greeting at her. Angie recognized her as a witch immediately and smiled back. Another reason Cary and Marianne must feel comfortable here. Having a fellow witch on hand made Angie feel more comfortable immediately, too.
On a tall, narrow stool next to the cash register, just outside the food and drink preparation spaces, sat a huge Maine Coon. He was all pale gray fur and pale blue eyes, currently licking a paw as he watched her, his long fluffy tail wrapped around his feet. He probably shouldn’t have fit on that stool, but he was a cat, so…no bones. He was also the witch’s familiar, which was probably why he was watching the “new witch” so closely.
Angie gave him a little nod of understanding, then approached the counter. “What do you have by way of good tea?” she asked. Sebastian had really made her a tea snob, despite her best efforts. And given the time of day, she preferred tea to coffee anyway. But she really preferred the good stuff these days.
The witch behind the register grinned and said, “I have excellent tea.” She produced a box of sleeved tea bags which were an excellent brand and there were some nice flavors available. But then she went one better and produced a tray that had a range of loose-leaf teas, their little glass, air-tight jars clearly labeled with the flavors. “If you’re a real tea snob, I recommend the loose leaf, but if you’re just a medium tea snob, or just prefer tea, the bagged teas are all really good.”
The witch narrowed her eyes a little at Angie, tilting her head to one said. Then said, “The loose leaf are…appropriate for other work, too.”
Angie grinned. “More of a touch psychic than a tea leaf reader, but I appreciate the heads up.” Angie could read tea leaves. It just wasn’t her main psychic ability.
The woman nodded, still smiling. “I’m Nina, by the way. I own this place. And this is my…cat Boo.”
“Nice to meet you both. Angela Jordan. Angie. I believe you know my friends Cary Redmond and Marianne Johnson.”
Nina’s eyebrows shot up and she nodded. “I do indeed. Cary has been very good about occasionally…helping here.”
“She’s good at that.” Cary was a Protector and while she didn’t tell people what she was, sometimes people knew what Protectors were. Or sometimes they just thought Cary was a kind of witch with a very very good shield. Angie wasn’t sure which Nina assumed but either was fine.
“We occasionally work together, too,” Angie said, just to be clear. She gestured at Boo and speaking directly to him, said, “Would you mind a scratch or should I not?” He seemed like a friendly cat, but familiars didn’t always like being touched by witches that weren’t their own. “I know how that can be.”
Boo’s pale blue eyes blinked slowly, awareness that went beyond an ordinary cat’s gaze. Then he gave a single chin nod and Angie obliged with a scratch around his head and ears. Boo purred. Nina gave Angie an assessing look but nodded, mostly to herself.
“He’s a very good…cat,” Angie said to Nina, making clear she knew Boo was more than a cat.
Once they’d established that they were both aware that the other was a witch without having to say it out loud, Angie ordered her tea. She chose one of the packets rather than loose leaf for today, but she thought she might come back with Sebastian at some point so he could treat himself to the loose leaf.
Mentioning out loud that she was a psychic wasn’t something Angie worried about. Her job, her entire business, was providing psychic readings to people. Now she did that out of her house, but she had worked out of other businesses in the past. Her favorite had been—still was really—Dana’s Cauldron in New York. Sometimes, she missed that place.
She got her Earl Gray and headed to a seat near the front window, so the person she was expecting could find her easily and she could people watch while she waited.
Another witchy acquaintance needed help, and Angie tried to help when she could. Their community had to have each other’s backs. It was safer for everyone that way. She was just glad this had nothing to do with demons. She’d been able to put that part of her life behind her years ago. So far, that had stuck. She’d very much like to keep it that way.
Frederico came in through the bookstore rather than the main café door, which didn’t really surprise Angie. He loved reading and she suspected he was soothing his worry, shopping at the bookstore first. He was a big man, burly, dark skin, lots of tattoos, a heavy beard and mustache. People didn’t glance at him and have the initial thought “witch” and he was okay with that. Except when he was in witchy spaces and they had trouble accepting him. That didn’t happen often, but apparently had once or twice, so he was leery.
Angie had met Frederico at a conference for psychics in Portland, Oregon, not long after she’d moved to the city and was trying to make friends. It had been more of a festival than a conference, with readings and lots of vendor tables selling paraphilia. She’d bought a really nice Tarot deck—as an art piece because she didn’t use Tarot in her readings—and some gorgeous jewelry that she did use during her readings because clients expected her to look the part. When she wasn’t “dressed for work,” Angie preferred what Cary referred to as her business casual look. Tailored pants and, depending on the weather, sweaters or button-up shirts in neutral colors. For work, she dressed in elaborate, loose, flowing clothing that made her look like a flower-child hippy type of psychic.
She’d bumped into Frederico at one of the jewelry tables, literally when someone pushed past her to grab a bat medallion. They’d really wanted that medallion. Angie had apologized to the large witch, they’d started chatting, and gotten along really well. They’d met a few more times during the festival-conference, had a coffee on the last day, and ended up exchanging numbers so they could keep in touch.
Turned out Frederico was also a magic wielding witch. Not everyone in the community was. There were witches who were witchy by religious affiliation or by dent of their psychic skills. Some people with small magic didn’t refer to themselves as witches either. And then there were people like Angie’s mother, who had small, kitchen magic, did think of herself as a witch, and had a full coven of close friends she hung out with. The witchy world was full of all kinds, and for the most part, all were supposed to be welcome. But since Frederico looked more like a Hells Angel biker than a witch, he sometimes had trouble making friends.
That they both wielded magic and had psychic skills—his more in divination and Tarot, where hers lay in her touch psychic skills, which she used in an almost therapist way with her clients—gave them a lot to talk about. They’d texted often over the years, met up when there was a festival or event they were both attending, and she’d attended his bonding ceremony with his long term partner in a beautiful celebration at the edge of the Grand Canyon.
In all the years they’d been friends, though, Frederico had never contacted her about any trouble. In fact, she’d never known him to have any problems in the magical realm. He kept his magic very quiet and close to the chest. Few people knew about it, and he mostly used his skills to create healing potions for the people around him, maybe a trusted client. Occasionally, he read Tarot at a friend’s birthday party. But witchy work wasn’t even his main job.
So Angie couldn’t imagine what sort of trouble he was in that he’d called her and asked to meet somewhere neutral. After everything Cary and Marianne had told Angie about this place, Angie figured it was as good a place as any to talk. Not somewhere either her or Frederico had been before, but run by a witch, so likely to be well protected from bad magic. A good place to talk honestly. Especially since it was close to empty and the two other people in the café barely looked up when Frederico came in.
Since he usually drew a lot of attention and the other two people went right back to their own thing without even doing a double take, Angie felt like she’d picked the right location.
“Frederico.” She greeted him warmly, standing to give him a hug and kisses on each bearded cheek. “How’s Em? They’re college program still on track?” His partner Em had started back to college after years and was working toward their degree in pharmaceuticals. Which Angie found really interesting given the kind of magic Frederico usually wielded.
“They’re doing well,” Frederico said, smiling a little as he spoke of his partner. “They’ve got finals coming up and are pretty nervous. Been studying all week. Which means I’ve been doing all the cooking.”
“Oh oh.” She grinned. Frederico was very good with magical formulas and recipes, but not the best at food recipes. He did make a mean stew though. “Has Em complained about all the stew yet?”
“Not yet. I think they’re just glad to be fed while studying.”
She laughed, but when Frederico’s chuckle died quickly, she said, “Tell me. What’s happening?”
“I have a problem I’m not sure how to solve.”
“A spell gone wrong? A magical issue?” He’d implied it was a magical problem of some kind already.
“Not quite.” He spread his huge hands on the table. “With another witch.”
“Ah.” And as her friend Cary would say, “Oh boy.”
“Yeah, it’s…a thing. I haven’t wanted to discuss it with Em since they’re so worried about passing organic chemistry this semester, but I need to talk it out with someone who understands our world.”
“Fair enough. You want a drink first? The tea is excellent.” She was sure even Sebastian would love this tea it was so good.
Frederico glanced toward the counter and his bushy eyebrows rose, making the little orchid tattoo near his left temple jump close to his dark hairline. “A witch?” he murmured.
“Mm hum. Nice one according to all my friends who frequent this place.”
“Cool.”
He went to the counter to get a drink, and Angie sipped her tea as she waited, pondering his still unexplained problem. A problem with another witch. Could be anything, really.
Once Frederico was back with his tea steeping, he took a long moment to stare into the mug before beginning. Then he said, “So… This other witch has decided they want…”
He blushed and Angie sat up a little straighter. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him blush before.
“They’ve decided they want me.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “Em and I discussed the topic a long time ago and agreed that we’re not interested in a polyamorous relationship. So it’s just Em and I. But when I explained that to this other witch, she was not as understanding as I’d hoped.”
Angie wouldn’t smile, because it wasn’t a smiling situation. But Frederico looked so pained and awkward. Like having to explain that someone would want him this much was odd, almost unbelievable. It wasn’t. And watching such a bear of a man looked so embarrassed about his own attractiveness was oddly endearing. But she absolutely understood how uncomfortable he must be.
Unfortunately, the situation he was in also had the potential to be anything but endearing, so she asked, quite seriously, “Has this witch done anything…aggressive? Dangerous?”
“Not…dangerous. But aggressive, yes. In that… She’s threatening to use a love spell on me and Em so she’ll be invited into our relationship. And frankly, Em would be outraged. I wouldn’t be too pleased either. I know those kinds of potions are possible, but they are not my bag. Purposefully never learned them because I think of them as something that goes against free will. Also not my bag.”
“Absolutely. Never messed with them either.” But she saw the problem now. “You want a way to block one if she follows through with the threat.”
“That, yes. But also, I need to find a way to convince her to go away without being a threat to us. She’s not…stalking me. Nothing that would pass a human’s legal definition and get us a restraining order. And I can’t exactly tell my human lawyer friend that she’s threatening us with coercion spells.”
“Plus a human restraining order wouldn’t prevent her from using a spell at a distance,” Angie said, nodding as she set her mug on the table and gently turned it in her fingers.
“Exactly.” He let out a long, sighing breath that raised and lowered his big shoulders. “I haven’t wanted to scare Em with all this. They’re so stressed, I didn’t want to add to that stress. And I don’t want them to think they need to go after this witch for my sake either. I’d like to solve the problem so Em never has to even worry about it. I can explain what happened after they pass their exams, once I have the situation all solved and set aside.” He fisted then spread his hands across the table again, which made the tattoos along both forearms flex and move. “The problem is, I’m not sure how to solve the situation. I don’t want to threaten back or hit the other witch with a spell that might hurt her. I don’t want her hurt. Just…gone.”
Angie pursed her lips and stared down into her mug. No tea leaves to read. Probably for the best since they’d be reading for her and not Frederico.
There were a few options to help him. Some not as optimal. The spell that would have this other witch forget Frederico existed wouldn’t hold if they kept encountering each other in the real world. And it was a complicated spell that took a lot of power. Really a last resort sort of spell. She’d never even done it before, so she wasn’t sure if she could.
She did double check, “You see this other witch often? Or just at conventions and things?”
“She lives in our area and we see her all the time at the grocery store and plant store.”
Yeah, the forgetting spell wouldn’t work. He’d just be right back to where he started within a month, except that the other witch might be mad about the spell.
As he’d said, he didn’t want to hurt the other witch, so any spell Angie suggested needed to have a low risk of blowback or dangerous consequences. To either Frederico or the other witch. Though, the fact that the other witch had threatened a love potion pissed Angie off. She didn’t approve of a witch using her powers to usurp another person’s will. Redirection, influence, persuasion were options because a person could always ignore those magical hints in their decision-making process. But something like a love spell would prevent Frederico from exercising his free will. That rubbed Angie wrong.
He didn’t want to hurt the other witch, though, so Angie couldn’t suggest any consequence-based spells. She didn’t do curses, because they could come back on the caster, but there were spells that literally inflicted consequences of your own actions on you. Bounce back spells. If a person’s actions were good, good consequences bounced back on them. If that person’s actions were bad, though, the consequences were in line with the actions. Little bad thing, little consequence. Very bad things, very bad consequences.
They were the kinds of spells that took power, and presence. Had to be in the presence of the person you were casting the spell on. And they took time. Which meant the other party could retaliate before the caster finished the spell. Complicated and dangerous.
But that would have been Angie’s suggestion if Frederico wasn’t intent on causing the other witch no harm.
She swirled the dregs of tea in the bottom of her cup, letting her mind wander through all the options.
“Okay,” she said after thinking through the consequences. “I have a suggestion. But you might not like it.”
“Anything,” Frederico said. “I’m out of ideas.”
“Have you considered a sight illusion spell?”
“I do potions, so…no. What would it do?”
“Create an illusion that I think we can make specific to this other witch if you can get an item of hers, a strand of hair, something like that.”
“Think?”
“Hear me out and if you don’t want to try this, we’ll think of something else.”
He nodded, looked into his empty mug, and said, “I’m getting us more tea first. Then tell me everything.”
She appreciated the additional tea. Beyond the fact that it was very good, she could do with another cup before heading into her explanation.
***
When Frederico got back with fresh mugs of Earl Gray for her and a chai for him, Angie said, “Okay, this illusion spell I’m thinking of will make you look unattractive to others.”
“To Em?”
She smiled. “Doesn’t have to.” Her smile dropped. “But unless you can get something from the other witch to tailor the spell, a generic spell will affect most people in your life. The problem with that is not just that they’ll see you as unattractive. There’s an element of repulsion. They won’t want to be around you. And that’s…not great on a general level if you want to have a social life and a business and such. Which I assume you do.”
“I do.” He sipped his chai. “It can be tailored, though?”
“With a personal item from this other witch, yes. But it needs to be properly personal. Not just a cup she drank from. Not just a discarded tissue.” Angie frowned. “Though that would be better than some random knickknack from her house if it was used by her.”
“Em would not be happy about me messing with used tissues.”
Angie chuckled. “Doesn’t sound particularly appealing to me either,” she admitted. “But whatever you use has to have a direct link to the other party. Some sort of link that can’t be…ignored by the magic.”
“A strand of hair.”
“Would be best, yes. Or finger nail clippings. Those work good in this context too.”
“How do I get any of this from the other witch?”
“There’s the rub.” Angie sighed and drank some of her delicious tea, the bergamot flavoring strong but not bitter, with a hint of smokiness. “And without that personal element, the spell might be too general for your purposes.”
“If I can’t get the personal item, I don’t have to do the spell. We can try something else, right?”
“Right.” Though she’d have to think about it more because she wasn’t sure what else he could do. “Do you want me to write down the spell for you? Go over it? Or do you want to see if you can get a personal item before even seeing the spell?”
Intent had a lot of influence in magic. Taking down the spell indicated intent. Intent could get things moving without a witch meaning to move things in that direction.
“If I do this, if we can tailor it and do it, it will mean this other person will no longer be attracted to me, maybe even a little repulsed by me, is that right?”
“That would be it. I’m not sure how your ego feels about someone who previously thought you were attractive being repulsed by you. But it would get her off your back. If she’s not attracted to you, she won’t keep pursuing you. She won’t pester Em. She probably won’t even want to be around you.”
“That sounds glorious,” he said with a relieved sigh. “I think my ego can take it.”
“Be sure about that before we go down the road.”
Frederico nodded and fell into quiet contemplation. Angie sipped her tea and let him think, content in the silence broken by quiet talking from the bookstore and the little clicking noises of the man at the back of the café typing on his laptop. The espresso machine came on and off while Angie waited, as Nina served a customer looking for coffee to go. A few people moved from the bookstore into the café, but only one young woman stayed. She sat near the arch into the bookstore, reading a novel, the straw from her iced coffee in her mouth the whole time, as she occasionally closed her lips to drink.
Angie wasn’t sure how much time passed except that she was at the end of her second cup of tea by the time Frederico spoke again.
“I’d like to discuss the situation with Em,” he said. “But so long as they agree, I’d like to try the spell. I don’t care if this other witch finds me repulsive. I’d just like her to leave us alone. And this seems like the kind of spell that won’t hurt anyone but my ego.” He smiled a little at that.
“Fair enough.” Angie set her mug aside. “That’ll give me time to write it down. I assume you’ll only want to do it if you can get a personal item from the other witch?”
He nodded. “And of course, that’ll be the complicated part. I’d like to discuss that with Em too.” He sighed and slid his now empty mug to one side so he could lean his large forearms on the table. “I probably should have been discussing this with them all along. I just didn’t want them to worry and be distracted during finals.”
“They’ll understand,” Angie said. “But, yeah, it’s going to be important Em knows what’s happening when the spell takes hold.”
“Thank you,” Frederico said, so sincerely it made Angie a little weepy. “This has been an issue for a while now and I didn’t have any idea how to make it go away. I’d just like to get back to regular life again.”
Angie understood that to the depth of her soul. All she’d ever wanted in life was just to be left alone to do her own thing. That hadn’t always been the case. But her problems hadn’t had anything to do with a complication like misplaced attraction.
“Text me after you’ve talked to Em,” Angie said. “We can meet back here afterward and I’ll give you the spell. Getting the personal item will be up to you. I suggest getting it before looking at the spell.
After Frederico left, giving her a grateful hug in parting, Angie remained at the café to have one more mug of tea. Three was a lot, but it was really good tea. Sebastian would definitely approve.
***
Angie met Frederico at the café a week later to give him the spell and go over the details. Those details were important because this wasn’t Frederico’s usual kind of casting. He had enough magic for it, but this kind of spellwork was outside his comfort zone. If Angie could have done the spell for him, she would have. But the magic was complicated and only worked right when someone involved cast the spell.
“How did Em take the news?” Angie asked after they’d settled at one of the round wooden tables in the center of the café. The place was a little more crowded than the last time they’d met there. The writer at the back of the café and the older woman reading in the center of the room were there again, obviously regulars. And this time a young man played guitar quietly in the nook by the counter. Boo sat on the guitar player’s chair mewing to the music.
“About as you might expect,” Frederico said, wrapping his hands around his tea mug, making the thick white ceramic mug look tiny. “Given it’s Em, they went in with full support and immediate outrage on my behalf. They were annoyed I’d kept all this from them for this long, but understood. And Em helped me get hold of one of the other witch’s hairs.”
“I’m glad that worked out.”
She went over the spell with him, quietly even though no one paid much attention to them. Frederico had attracted exactly two seconds of attention when he walked in, but then everyone went back to their previous activities.
“Remember,” Angie said, “the hair and her name have to be added at the exact same time to ensure the spell is properly focused on her.”
Frederico nodded. He was studying the spell she’d written out for him. When he looked up, his brows were crinkled and his mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown that almost disappeared under his mustache. “I can do this, but… Can I arrange for this witch to meet me here after the spell is cast, with you to help if things go…wrong?”
“Of course. Why do you want to meet her here?”
“Here feels safe.” He glanced briefly at Nina. “And I want to make sure it worked. With another witch nearby as backup.”
“Fair.” Angie wasn’t sure what she’d need to do as back up, but she’d be here to support her friend.
And hope for his sake the spell worked.
***
She was already sitting in the café, near the front window, when the other witch arrived a few days later. The woman was pleasant looking, dark blond hair, dark eyes, pale skin, delicate make-up. She wasn’t the kind of person that, on first glance, you’d assume would be a not-quite-stalker of a huge bear of a witch. But wasn’t that usually the way?
The other witch hunted the café, spotted Frederico sitting at a table close to Angie, and waved at him. Then she frowned. Tilted her head to one side as she considered him.
Em had wanted to come to, but they had a big test tomorrow, so Frederico asked them not to. Angie thought maybe that was because he was worried the spell wouldn’t work and this witch might say or do something to Em.
But based on the way the witch approached Frederico, Angie suspected things had gone to plan.
The woman walked up to his table reluctantly, looking around, frowning. It was obvious she wasn’t comfortable and she had a hard time looking at Frederico.
He stood and gestured at the seat across from him, and the woman sat. They were just far enough away that Angie couldn’t eavesdrop, which was a pity, but the body language was very telling. The woman smiled, but the smile looked forced. She fiddled with her purse, wrapping the thick leather strap around her hand and unwinding it. She kept glancing at the door.
After barely a minute, she pushed back from the table and stood, abruptly enough the sound of the wood chair scraping over the wooden floor was loud and drew attention. Again, though, the café patrons watched for a moment before going back to their normal activity. No big dramatic fights or trouble. No reason to pay attention.
The woman made some sort of hand gesture at Frederico, apologized loudly enough for Angie to hear, and then bolted from the café like she was about to throw up. Angie watched her once she was outside. The woman put a hand to her stomach and gave her head a little shake. Pulled in some deep breaths. Glanced back at the café. Then shook her head again and walked away fast. Angie could practically hear the “Nope.”
When the woman had disappeared into the pedestrian crowds, Angie signaled Frederico and he joined her at the front window.
“Looks like it worked,” she said. “And well. I thought she might throw up.”
“That part was a bit more offensive than I anticipated,” Frederico admitted. “You’re not feeling the spell at all?”
Angie gave him an assessing look. She certainly wasn’t repulsed by him. And he looked the same to her as he had before. “Nothing,” she said. “You’re the same Frederico to me now as you were last week.”
His big shoulders sagged and he let out a long breath, dipping his head. “No one else seems affected, like Em or the neighbors. But I was worried. So that’s a relief.”
“You did good.”
Now he smiled. But asked, “You’re sure that didn’t hurt her?”
“So long as she stays away from you, she won’t notice or feel anything. She’ll just avoid you going forward.”
“Thank the goddess and all the spirts of nature!”
She chuckled at that.
“I’m not sure how to thank you enough. That was a complication I’m happy to have out of my life.”
“I’m just glad it worked as intended.”
“Me too! Can I treat you to a chocolate muffin?”
“I would never turn down a chocolate muffin.”
Angie watched the street while Frederico got them fresh tea and muffins, watching to see if the witch returned. But it looked like the spell had worked. And now Frederico could concentrate his worry on getting his partner through their finals and making too much stew.
As Angie sipped her excellent tea and chatted with Frederico over superb muffins, she decided she’d found a new favorite place to hang out. Safe for witchy conversations, and tea even Sebastian would love.
She could see why Cary and Marianne liked the place so much. Angie would definitely be back.
***
Thanks for reading ANGIE AT THE CAFE. I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like your own personal eBook copy of this story, you can find it for sale here. You can also peruse the previous Café stories that are individually available for sale here.
If you enjoyed this story about Angie Jordan and are interested in learning more about her and Sebastian, there's a series for that! The DEMON WITCH series is a complete five book series and also includes two shorter prequel stories. The main series starts with BONE LANTERN WITCH, but if you like to read chronologically, start with HOWLING DREADFUL. Or the duet of the two prequels HOWLING DREADFUL ON A MOONLIT STRANGE. The full reading order is on the sight and on the page for the series.
And don’t forget to check back on April 1st (no April Fools, I promise!) for the next Free story from The Café!
ANGIE AT THE CAFE Copyright © 2026 Kat Simons
All Rights Reserved. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This story is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.