Luminvale was a town full of surprises. And the biggest surprise of all?
That Milo still had a working brain cell left after every single one of the daily disasters he found himself in.
Today, for instance, he was preparing a simple beauty potion—a glowing skin tonic for Ms. Briar, a local seamstress who had a slight obsession with radiance. Milo had heard rumors about her long-lasting love affair with sparkly things. It wasn't so much a "let's add a little glow" as it was a full-on "I want to light up the entire town with my face" situation.
Alma stood by his side, flipping through one of her ever-expanding potion manuals, while Luca sat cross-legged on the counter, balancing a pastry on his knee.
"So," Luca mused, popping a pastry into his mouth, "what's the deal with this potion?"
"It's for glowing skin," Milo explained, concentrating on the delicate mix of herbs and magic. "She wants a natural glow. I've got all the ingredients: sweet marigold, moonstone dust, a dash of star nectar."
"Okay, but 'glow' or 'glow glow?'" Luca asked with a raised eyebrow. He leaned forward, intrigued.
Milo sighed, slightly exasperated. "Luca, it's a beauty potion, not a sunbeam-blaster."
"Right, right," Luca said, with an exaggerated nod. "So, like... just a little glow. Maybe some glimmer? Just enough to make the townsfolk go 'hey, you look like a daisy on a rainy day,' but not so much that you need sunglasses to talk to her?"
"Exactly."
Alma, who had been peering over Milo's shoulder with intensity, suddenly gasped.
"I think I found something!" she said, flipping through a page with exaggerated excitement.
Milo and Luca both turned to her in alarm.
"What did you find?" Milo asked, worried.
Alma's finger hovered over a sentence. "This section says that the skin-glowing potion, if not prepared correctly, can turn the person into a 'temporary human lantern.' I mean, it's just a side effect if you get the ratios wrong, but—"
Milo froze, staring at her. "Human lantern?"
Alma nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! It's not too common, but I did see a recipe for it once. Something about the balance of moonstone dust and starlight causing a radiant glow that is so intense, you can light up a whole room."
"Uhhh," Milo said, clutching his head as if it were about to explode. "That's... that's not exactly the look Ms. Briar is going for."
"No, no, no," Alma said, flipping back through the manual. "It's only if you mess up the proportions. If you're not careful with the starlight, the glow can become permanent. But—"
"Permanent?!" Milo screeched, already imagining the absolute worst. "She'll light up the town! She'll blind people! She'll be seen from the next village over! We'll have a walking, talking lighthouse on our hands!"
"Well," Luca said with a mouthful of pastry, "that does sound... bright."
Alma was already busily scribbling notes in her oversized potion book. "Okay, no worries! We can fix it. We just need to—"
"NO!" Milo shouted, putting his hands up. "We can't fix it. I can't have a glowing customer wandering around town! The last thing we need is another crisis."
But before Milo could continue his panicked tirade, the door to the apothecary flew open with a gust of wind, and Ms. Briar herself walked in. She had the look of someone who had spent hours perfecting her appearance, a tightly pulled bun, a dress that sparkled like a constellation, and—of course—skin that already seemed to glow.
"I'm ready for my potion!" she announced dramatically.
Milo, frozen at the counter, forced a smile. "Of course, Ms. Briar. Just one moment."
He quickly glanced at Alma, who gave him a thumbs-up and whispered, "Don't mess this up."
The problem was, Milo had already messed it up. He could feel it in his gut—the potion wasn't going to be just a glow. It was going to be something... much, much more.
As the potion settled into the vial, Milo cautiously handed it over to Ms. Briar. Her eyes practically sparkled as she took it, excitement practically vibrating off her.
"This is going to be perfect!" she exclaimed, uncorking it and taking a deep breath of the scented vapors. "You've outdone yourself, Milo!"
Milo tried to smile, but his smile was more of a wince. "Enjoy! Just a small amount on the skin, you know? Just a—"
Before he could finish, Ms. Briar had already splashed the potion onto her face, neck, and hands. There was a soft, ethereal shimmer in the air as the potion started to work its magic. Milo's heart skipped a beat. It was beautiful, radiant, and... glowing. Almost too glowing.
And then—BOOM!
The lights in the apothecary flickered. The entire room brightened. Milo blinked. Was the sun... coming inside?
Ms. Briar looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face had become a full-blown lantern. It was glowing like someone had switched on a lamp behind her skin.
"W-Wait!" Milo stammered. "You're... you're glowing a bit too much!"
Ms. Briar grinned. "I feel amazing!" She spun in a circle, her skin casting light across every shelf, every corner, every nook of the apothecary. It was like living in a light show. "Oh, this is perfect! I've always wanted to glow!"
"Y-You're blinding everyone!" Milo protested, holding up his hand to shield his eyes. "Please, just... maybe a little less—"
"I look fantastic, Milo! No one will be able to resist me! It's... I'm radiant!" She started doing pirouettes in front of the mirror, each turn sending beams of light flashing in every direction. "I feel like a goddess."
Luca's voice came from behind him. "You know, I'm just saying, but that could be useful for a night watchman's job."
Milo spun to face Luca. "This isn't about practicality! This is about a light show!"
Alma was already reading through the manual. "We need to lower the starlight proportion. I think it was the star nectar you added. It makes the glow too intense."
"No kidding, Alma!" Milo snapped. "We've turned Ms. Briar into the human equivalent of a disco ball!"
The room was now completely lit up. Milo had to cover his eyes as he made his way to the back of the shop, trying to find something to tone down the glow.
Ms. Briar turned toward him, her skin now glowing so brightly that it was casting dramatic shadows on the walls. "Milo! I love it! I feel the energy! I'm going to start glowing everywhere I go! Do you think I could get a job as a lighthouse? I could just stand on the dock and keep ships from crashing!"
"NO, no... don't!" Milo groaned. "You'll blind the poor sailors!"
Luca casually strolled up to her, squinting slightly. "Yeah, the sailors might get a bit too distracted by that... radiant energy."
Ms. Briar didn't seem to notice the sarcasm, dancing in circles around the shop, her glowing skin lighting up everything.
Finally, Alma held up a small vial of counter-potion. "Okay, we just need a few drops of this. It'll reverse the glow back to a reasonable level."
"Good!" Milo exclaimed. "Let's—wait. You've been holding that the whole time?"
Alma shrugged, a grin spreading across her face. "I had a feeling."
With a few careful drops, Ms. Briar's glow started to fade. Slowly, but surely, the radiant beams dimmed, and soon her skin was simply a lovely, soft luminescence—like someone had kissed her face with moonlight.
Milo sighed in relief. "See? Just a little glow. Not... not this." He gestured to the chaos of light around the shop.
Ms. Briar looked at herself in the mirror, still glowing with a soft, ethereal glow. "I... I look perfect. Thank you, Milo! I'm going to be the talk of the town!"
As she exited, Luca stared after her, shaking his head. "You know, I think that might be the least chaotic thing she's ever done. This town has standards."
Milo slumped against the counter, exhausted.
"Next time," he muttered, "we're just selling perfume."
"Don't jinx it," Alma warned, glancing at the potion manual again. "Next time, we might accidentally turn someone into a firefly."
Milo looked up, blinking. "Don't."