After purchasing the book and stationery for 15 Coins, Ruby followed Julian and Milo, who were practically glowing with excitent to buy items for their upcoming house rituals. They strolled through the general store, where her husbands eagerly picked out various ritual items, their enthusiasm infectious.
With that sorted, Ruby realized they still needed essential kitchen appliances. So, they also bought a sturdy stove and a gas cylinder to go along with it, filling up their baskets with everything they’d need to set up their new ho.
By the end of it, Ruby was starting to feel the strain of their shopping marathon. They finally made their way back to the furniture shop, loaded with bags and boxes. Ruby glanced at Julian and Milo, who were still in high spirits, though their arms were full. "It’s been almost two hours now," she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Why don’t you two wait here, I will check if Uncle Otis is around."
"Okay," they said, and Ruby made her way back to where Uncle Otis had dropped them off. As she passed by an electronics shop, her eyes briefly lingered on a simple laptops displayed in the window. She sighed, forcing herself to turn away—it wasn’t a priority right now, not yet.
When she reached the eting spot, Uncle Otis was already waiting with a warm smile. "Ruby, all done with your shopping? And where are Julian and Milo?" he asked, glancing around.
"They’re back at the furniture shop waiting with all our bags," Ruby replied, climbing onto the wagon as Uncle Otis nodded and drove her back.
She spotted Julian and Milo waiting patiently outside the shop, bags in hand. As she hopped down, she instructed, "Go ahead and load the other bags into Uncle Otis’s wagon compartnt. I’ll go inside to settle the bill and arrange everything."
Both nodded, grateful to offload the heavy bags as they carried everything over to Uncle Otis’s wagon.
Inside the shop, the ghostly salesperson was ready and waiting for her. "Is my bill ready?" Ruby asked, and the salesperson handed her the sheet with a smile. At the counter, the boss witch presented her with a neatly handwritten bill, listing each purchase in detail.
Ruby scanned it quickly, noticing the total ca to 59 gems. All things considered, she’d managed her budget well so far—10 gems on other items, and 59 on furniture. With her remaining 200 gems set aside for debts, she still had plenty to work with.
Glancing at her notebook and pen tucked in her bag, Ruby felt satisfied. Now she could start planning more carefully—designing clothes, creating budgets, and setting goals.
"So, any help with moving the furniture?" Ruby asked, hoping for assistance after paying.
To her surprise, the shop’s boss stood up with a cheerful smile. "Yes, I’ll help!" she announced, earning a look of disbelief from the ghost salesperson, whose lips twitched slightly in amusent. Ruby got the sense that this wasn’t a common sight.
As they moved everything outside, Ruby was impressed at how smoothly the boss handled the bulky items, arranging everything in Uncle Otis’s wagon. Though space was limited, they managed to make it work by carefully positioning each piece—so lying flat, others stacked under the bed fra.
With a satisfied grin, the boss witch waved them off. "Co back anyti!" she said warmly.
Ruby nodded and climbed onto the wagon where Julian and Milo were already waiting for her, ready to head ho with their newly acquired treasures.
The sun was still blazing in the late afternoon, and Ruby was sweating by the ti they finally reached Hollow Wood Village. Uncle Otis asked for her ho address, but since Ruby didn’t know it exactly, she guided him through the directions she rembered from her first trip.
As the wagon stopped near her house, Karl and Adrian ca out, looking ssy and dirty from cleaning all day, with Kenji right behind them. Angeline, who had already co ho from work, heard the wagon and stepped outside too.
"Is the house cleaned?" Ruby asked Karl, giving him a hopeful look.
Karl nodded, looking a little worn out. "Yeah, all done," he replied, tired but proud.
"Great! Let’s start moving everything inside," Ruby said, already reaching for one of the bags. Angeline quickly joined her, and together they began unloading the furniture and bags from the wagon.
Karl and Adrian, even though they looked exhausted, perked up imdiately, their eyes lighting up as they saw the new furniture. Karl’s eyes welled up a little as he touched the edges of the bed fra, feeling the smooth wood under his fingers. Adrian stayed quiet, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that showed his excitent.
Bit by bit, with Angeline help, the furniture was placed inside.
"Wow, Ruby, you brought so many things..." Angeline said as they carefully placed the cloud-soft bed in the main bedroom.
"Of course I did! I’ve been dreaming of finally sleeping here after such a long day." Ruby gave the bed a longing look, imagining the comfort waiting for her.
But Angeline’s expression turned serious. "No, you can’t. It’s bad luck to sleep in a house before performing the proper rituals... Do you know what happened to a witch who did that once?" she whispered, glancing around as if checking for sothing.
Ruby’s eyes widened with curiosity and a hint of worry. "What happened?"
Angeline leaned in close, her voice dropping to a faint whisper near Ruby’s ear. "She died overnight," she muttered, looking genuinely spooked, as if the story still gave her chills.
Ruby stared at Angeline’s face for a mont before bursting into laughter. "Don’t try to scare like that!" she chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Anyway, I wasn’t planning on moving in tonight." With a grin, she turned and walked out of the room.
Angeline stood there blinking, feeling slightly embarrassed. But just as she was about to follow, the room’s window flew open with a sudden gust of heavy, humid wind, rattling the fras and sending a chill down her spine.
She almost jumped in place, her heart racing. "R-Ru, wait for !" she shouted, dashing out of the room without daring to look back.
—To be continued...🪄
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