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Numb fingers were never steady. Shaking hands measure out ingredients: precious redstone and glowstone dust purchased from the market, a fermented spider eye that made the entire shack smell, and carefully crushed poppy seeds.
All of them were placed into a brewing stand that, while it released some heat, was not enough to warm Sil up. She shivered, bringing the tattered scarf and coat closer to her in some attempt to conserve heat. She watched the potions brew with dull eyes, painfully aware of the rumbling in her stomach and the bite of the cold at her nose and fingertips. These buyers would be paying well. If all went well, Sil would be able to put away some of the diamonds for some extra food, maybe something hot if she was extra lucky. It cost so much to buy ingredients for the potions, not even counting the extra supplies for the boosts and the more... experimental potions, that all the money she was able to set aside for food was only just able to buy a few old loaves of bread.
Sil blew out a breath, watching as it clouded the air briefly, before stumbling over to go sit on the cot she called her bed, wrapping a few more tattered blankets around herself. As she watched the potions brew, a tiny voice in her head nagged her again about what they were for. This buyer was a frequent one. He said he needed tranquilizer potions for mob transportation, but... no. Sil couldn't question it. She needed money.
The cheerful bubbling signaled that the potions were done brewing. Sil sighed, trudging over to the brewing stand, pouring a little from each bottle into the tiny test vial. She stared dubiously at the milky gray liquid, shaking it around before making her way over to the door. After making sure it was locked, and checking the clock on the wall for the time— nine thirty-two— she sighed, sitting down on her cot.
Sil really did hate this part.
Without a second thought, she brought the vial to her lips and downed it in one go. It only took a moment before the potion took effect, and she felt the heavy drowsiness consume her, and everything went black.
.
Sil woke up slowly and immediately peered up at the clock with heavy, blurry eyes. It took her a few seconds to register the time: two forty-three. She fumbled for her notepad and, after doing brief math, jotted down six and a half hours.
The buyer did want the potions to last longer than the previous three hours. He would be happy. Maybe this time he would pay her more, and she could eat a hot meal for a change.
While it may have been the delusions of a hopeless child, Sil couldn’t bear to give it up. The hope that things would get better, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. She had to hold onto that hope tightly, otherwise she was as good as dead.
So with a heavy heart, Sil carefully put the glass bottles into her satchel and left her little shack for the marketplace, her mind fixed on the hope of a hot meal and a better tomorrow, because she refused to believe that this was all life had for her.
It couldn’t be.
.
Right?