Snippet no 3 - Blame It on the Weatherman

Susan went to answer the door, and was not all that pleased to find out that the visitor from the other realm was a door to door salesman. He was hovering on the black doorstep, a huge suitcase under his arm, dressed in impeccable suits and with salesman written all over his honest smile. Yeah, Susan could almost smell the deals he brought with him, not to mention the smell of persuasion. It sort of hung around him, and she sighed, reaching to tap the frame, and make her visible to him. He brightened up immediately upon spotting her, and launched into his sales pitch.

“Good day to you, madam, what a lovely day this is, only a mild rain of frogs, I was just telling my colleague that we are indeed lucky chaps who get to go out in this lovely weather, and sell even more lovely weather, my name is Narcissus Smith and I represent Good Weather Incorporated. Have you seen our commercials on the Witch Channel by any chance? We can offer you all the weather you need, and I have here some samples that I would like to demonstrate to you…”

He could have gone on, if Susan had not stopped him.

“Mr Smith, I am afraid this is not a good moment, and if you…”

He continued, still moving briskly with his sales talk.

“I take it that you are a sunshine lady, Madam, and I have to say, we do have some lovely drops of sunshine here. Drop one in your garden, and your plants will grow like mad. Perhaps you would like a drop of rain to go with that, no need for the watering of the plants, my own mother uses this and she swears by it, saves her both time and money she says, and she always knows when to put on her boots in case it is muddy, you can even modify it with this small potion, only costs a few silvers more, and then you will not even have to worry about the mud as the rain will spread evenly over the garden, in the spots you have picked out.”

Susan cleared her throat, a bit more firmly, but still politely.

“Mr Smith, this is not a good moment, and I am afraid…”

“Thunderstorms, maybe? A bit of a rainbow for your party, that is always a classic. I also have some hail, powerful to use on your enemy!”

At this point, Susan was getting very tired of the salesman, and she was in fact sorely tempted to zap him with one of his own thunderstorms. She tried to break off the sales pitch, but it was in fact like talking to a wall. If the wall talked back, that is. She turned lightly with the creak of the staircase, thinking it was Gatsby returning to annoy her, and she pondered if she could in fact sic him on the salesman. It would not be the first time, either.

“Oh, there you are. Please come and help me, he just will not leave!” she said, only to grow silent as she saw who it was coming down the stairs. It was not her cat, but the repairman, who now looked very puzzled.

“Who?” he said, coming towards her. “Are you talking to yourself in the mirror?”