\nLeira owned the Edge of the Universe. The caf\u00e9 glimmered in the pocket of downtown between the clothing boutiques and the bowling alleys and none of the customers knew the accuracy of the name, or how close they meandered to the brink.\n<\/p>\n
\nFlowers touched by Midas draped its railings, and a tree sprouted multicolored pastel lights. Little stands held up spider plants and aloe vera next to the tables, and Leira had named the margaritas things like \u201cKiss the Frog\u201d and \u201cStay Out of the Forest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nShe had knitted the magic of the place to draw in the broken, the endangered, and those in trouble who maybe didn\u2019t know it. When the girl wandered in, arms folded around herself like wrapping paper, Leira didn\u2019t need the glow of yellow fear radiating from her to understand the situation. She\u2019d seen enough of them over the centuries.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe girl had drifted in alone. Leira smiled at her. \u201cFirst time here?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cY-yeah.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe drinks are all five dollars.\u201d She gestured at the menu on the wall, and then pushed forward a small piece of paper. It read: \u201cPoison Apple,\u201d and had an asterisk: \u201cAsk for this with lime if you feel unsafe.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe girl\u2019s eyes met hers. \u201cI\u2019d like the Kiss the Frog,\u201d she said, with such a small voice Leira\u2019s immortal heart almost cracked.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOf course.\u201d Leira bustled about, getting it ready. The girl settled in the corner of the caf\u00e9, far from the window, where the vines and the books bloomed into camouflage.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHere you go.\u201d Leira set the glass on the little table. The girl started. She\u2019d been staring at her phone.\n<\/p>\n
\nLeira hustled back behind the bar. She ignored the girl and didn\u2019t call attention to her, but then the bell tinkled over the door. A guy strode through.\n<\/p>\n
\nLeira slid the Poison Apple note back behind the cash register. \u201cWelcome to the Edge of the Universe! What can I get you?\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe guy flicked his gaze around, searching. The girl hunched in the back; her legs drawn up on the chair. The magic flickered, hiding her, the vines protective and growing larger, the books towering by the table.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe guy hissed through his teeth. He had that perfect golden Da Vinci sheen, a veneer of handsome that glowed with a rotten yellow green. \u201cJust looking for someone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOh?\u201d Leira tilted her head to the left and the right of the shop. \u201cHuh. We\u2019re fresh out of someones besides you, sorry about that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nThe girl had gone so still. The vines grew thorns, and the books grew more pages. She\u2019d begun to drink the Kiss the Frog, and the magic had given voice to her unspoken wishes. Good girl.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n \nDa Vinci guy set his jaw but didn\u2019t leave. He marched to the back of the shop, then stopped at the wall of thorns. He could probably sense the magic, but humans had problems identifying that which they didn\u2019t believe in, be it common sense or magic thorns. Leira\u2019s heart pounded.\n<\/p>\n \nThe girl didn\u2019t reach out to part the vines. The yellow terror glowed bright like a sun, but she did not show her position.\n<\/p>\n \nThe guy snorted and pulled out his phone, shooting off a text. He pivoted and flashed Leira a smile\u2014the smile that had likely ensnared this girl with its carnivorous charisma. He would prey on other helpless girls with that smile.\n<\/p>\n \nNot if she could help it.\n<\/p>\n \nShe pushed a button under the bar. The Edge of the Universe glimmered outside. The bell tinkled, and the guy stepped through and fell, screaming. The brink swallowed him in seconds.\n<\/p>\n \nFaery would deal with him much better than Earth. All faeries saw straight through veneers to the rottenness beneath. They\u2019d find him within hours and lock him up. Leira was just the gatekeeper.\n<\/p>\n \nThe vines pulled back around the girl. She trembled. \u201cHe\u2014he\u2019s gone?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYeah.\u201d Leira leaned over the counter. \u201cHe was too dangerous to leave on this side. I\u2019m sorry if . . . if that\u2019s not what you wanted.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe girl unwrapped her arms from around her legs. \u201cThis place is like a dream.\u201d The light around her evened out to a warm orange, and her fingers twined around the tabletop. \u201cYou\u2019re sure he won\u2019t come back? Are you sure? I mean if he does\u2014oh God, what have I\u2014\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cHe won\u2019t be coming back.\u201d Leira poured a crystal-colored drink into a vial. \u201cHere. Take this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nHer voice flickered like a light with faulty wiring. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cFaerie Sight. It lets you see a heart\u2019s intent. Drink it next time you\u2019re on a date; it helps to sort out the bad apples.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe girl tucked it in her purse. \u201cThank you. I wish\u2014I wish I had asked for that other drink, now. I wish I\u2019d been braver.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nLeira shook her head. \u201cYou did make that decision. The vines and books responded to you, they did only what you wished. And you wished to stay away from him.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe girl thanked her again and left. A year and a second misted by, and Leira had enough time for a quick muffin and a tea before the bell tinkled. A young man with the body of a girl wandered in, arms wrapped around himself, head tucked, a purple shame surrounding him.\n<\/p>\n \nLeira smiled. \u201cFirst time here?\u201d\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Emmie Christie\u2019s work tends to hover around the topics of feminism, mental health, cats, and the speculative such as unicorns and affordable healthcare. She has been published in Allegory Magazine and in Three-Lobed Burning Eye and she graduated from the Odyssey Writing Workshop in 2013. She also enjoys narrating audiobooks for Audible. You can find her at www.emmiechristie.com<\/p><\/blockquote>\n . <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leira owned the Edge of the Universe. The caf\u00e9 glimmered in the pocket of downtown between the clothing boutiques and the bowling alleys and none of the customers knew the accuracy of the name, or how close they meandered to the brink. Flowers touched by Midas draped its railings, and a tree sprouted multicolored pastel …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107746,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,20096],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-publications","category-tcl-42-winter-2022","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/107746"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138964,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138963\/revisions\/138964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}