All hate had been abolished in the land of Gobbers. Or so the poster outside The Wikkerbump Candy shop declared in large old English lettering. The store was open for another hour.
Marvin Seer peered through gold rimmed spectacles at one shelf trying to decide… Too sugary. Not sugary enough. Too hard. Too soft. Then there was the new brand of chocolate wafers. He’d made the mistake of buying a whole bag last week.
“Blech, hate these!”, he stated aloud, then covered his mouth. The shop keeper froze, his usual cheer dropping from his face, then he returned to helping Mrs. Lavender with her order of McHenry’s Honey Squares. Meanwhile, everyone else slowly made their way out of the shop without buying anything; their roadsters sped down the road as if they all lived at the same house and were late for dinner.
Marvin walked up to the counter to check out his order.
“Everything is lovely, as per usual”, Marvin offered cheerfully. “Love it all”, said Marvin a little too loudly.
“Why thank you”, said the shopkeeper with his typical good cheer. “You’re always welcome back” he said. The shopkeeper gave Marvin a receipt and as he did so he leaned way over, far enough so that he could whisper right into Marvin’s ear.
“Ruuuunnnn” he whispered like a specter from across a graveyard, then he stood up straight and waved with a smile. “Good day, sir!”, he said.