“Welcome to The Bottle Store,” an old woman croaked behind a marble counter. Her gray hair, streaked with slivers of white, rested over her shoulders as her vulture-like eyes stared at a teenage girl walking in the shop, soaked with rain from the storm bellowing outside.
“Hi,” the customer said, her youth visible from her porcelain skin and silky, brunette hair. Walking around the infinite shelves of glass bottles, the girl noticed that each one was labeled with a different emotion.
The old lady raised her glasses to her eyes and asked, “Can I help you with anything?”
Peering over at the counter, the young girl shook her head, waves of chocolate brown hair blanketing her thin arms. “Uh, no thanks.” She continued to scan the shelves, reading the different kinds of emotions marked on the bottles: “bravery, love, comfort, acceptance…”
The girl picked up a bottle that read “happiness” and noticed that inside of it, a bright, yellow liquid swirled clockwise with sparkles and gems. She walked over to the counter, placing it next to the old woman’s cash box. “These bottled emotions, do they really work?”
The old lady nodded. “Yes, they sure do.”
“How much?”
The lady’s grin was accompanied with the smallest flash of sympathy in her eyes. “Um, I’ll give it to you for free.”
The girl formed a tiny, weak smile on her face as she took the bag with the yellow-filled bottle inside of it and walked out of the shop, into the rainy skies.