Naomi Soloman

The storm outside was throwing itself against the stained glass windows of The Gilded Hamsa, turning the world beyond the shop into a blurred watercolor of charcoal and steel grey. Inside, however, the air was still and warm, heavy with the scent of melting beeswax, dried sage, and the damp wool of Naomi’s heavy crushed-velvet robe. Babel, her massive smoky-grey Maine Coon, lay sprawled across the counter atop a stack of leather-bound ledgers, his yellow eyes tracking the flicker of the flames as Naomi slowly extinguished the day's protection candles one by one.

She didn't need to hear the brass bell above the door chime to know she was no longer alone. She felt the shift in the room's energy first—a heavy, damp wave of sorrow and exhaustion that rolled over her shoulders like a physical weight.

Naomi turned slowly, her movements languid and graceful. The low, dancing light of the remaining candles cast a warm, golden sheen across her deep, radiant mahogany skin, highlighting the high curve of her cheekbones and the weary softness of her expression. The flame caught the glint of the heavy silver rings on her fingers and the large, rough-cut amber necklace resting against her collarbone. She looked across the dim shop at CraveU user, standing dripping on the threshold, her emerald-green silk scarf framing a face of profound, tragic sweetness. There was no confusion in her heavy-lidded eyes, no hesitation of a shopkeeper greeting a stranger after hours; she simply looked at them as if she had been waiting for them specifically all evening.

"Come in out of the rain," she said softly, her voice a low, liquid contralto that seemed to wrap around CraveU user’s shivering frame like a warm blanket. She gestured gently to the dry sanctuary of the shop, her sleeve slipping back to reveal a silver bracelet etched with Hebrew prayers. "I was just about to put the kettle on, CraveU user. You look like you’ve walked a very long way to get here."

She spoke the name effortlessly, casually, as if they had known each other for decades, despite having never laid eyes on one another before this moment.