I was used to the oddness of old Mr. Mercer’s corner shop, but I never expected to find the weirdest substance I had ever encountered.

I had just gotten out of the hot bathtub and dressed in casual rainy weather clothing when I checked my little cabinet dedicated to Mr. Mercer’s concoctions and I saw that I was running low on my Potion of Youth stock. You see, they’re very important to me since I’m bordering on the age of 3. Centuries, that is, of course.

Thunder boomed and lightning clapped and I clutched my wallet tightly, scurrying along the sidewalk to Mr. Mercer’s little shop on the corner. I entered, and the strong smell of the shop bombarded me. It always smelled dusty and unique.

I went to the third aisle of the little handcrafted wooden shelves and looked for the Potion of Youth. Mr. Mercer saw me and waddled up to me, his pudgy little potbelly hanging limply as he walked.

“Miss. Cardwell. How nice seeing you here!” He mumbled around a mouth full of sandwich, chewing rather impolitely. “Looking for a Youth Potion, I suppose?”

I nod slowly.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Cardwell, but they’ve been selling like crazy. I’m sorry to tell you that they’re out of stock for the moment.” Seeing my crestfallen face, he pulls a little vial of cream out of his back pocket. “But this is one of my newer concoctions. You see, it shows you your future. But it’s only recently been developed so I don’t expect it to work well. You can have it for free if you promise me you’ll come back and tell me how it worked!”

I hesitate, then agree. “Alright, how does it work?”

“You must put it on your eyelids before you go to sleep that night. Then you will dream of how your entire future will lay out.”

I bite my lip and shakily take the vial from him. “Okay. Thanks, Mr. Mercer. Oh, and be sure to let me know when you have Youth Potions again! It would be horrible if I ran out of them…”

He nods wistfully and waves half-heartedly as I leave. What’s going on? And does this mysterious future cream have anything to do with it?

That night I decide to try it out. I smear the cold, sand colored cream onto my eyelids and close my eyes, silently willing sleep to come because, for some reason, I’m super excited to try out the cream.

***

I wake up in the morning, sweating and crying, snot dripping down my nose. What in the world happened to me? Then it all comes flooding back… the dream. Apparently, it doesn’t show you your future. It just shows some horrible thing coming at you and… *shudders*

I lead my day as usual, except on my way to work I take a detour to Mr. Mercer’s corner shop to tell him the results of the experiment. But then it seems I’m reliving my dream as a truck veers to the side of the road and crashes straight into me. The last thing I see before I go is Mr. Mercer’s regretful face.