Treading carefully so as not to turn an ankle on the cobblestones, Filomena made her way towards one of her favorite wizarding cafés in the city. She had been delighted to receive Thomasina’s letter earlier in the month asking her to tea and then an afternoon at the Louvre; Mina had already been planning to be in Paris for a day or two to visit an old colleague (whose home she was just departing), and so this was fortuitous timing. It had been some years since she’d last visited the museum and the prospect of returning was a pleasant one.
Thomasina caught sight of her and waved as she approached, and Mina raised a hand in return as she closed the distance between them. Upon reaching her friend, she greeted her with a brief kiss on both cheeks.
“How lovely to see you again,†she replied warmly in French, giving the other woman’s hand a quick squeeze. The Italian witch was grateful that they shared a common language; goodness knew Mina could bumble through a conversation in English if necessary, but the going would be much smoother in French.
It wasn’t until she’d taken a seat and gotten settled that she noticed the small black box in her friend’s hand. Well, it wasn’t a box really – more like a flat rectangle. And… were those numbers? And letters? Her snow-white brows contracted slightly, puzzled.
“What’s that you have, Thomasina?†she wondered aloud, leaning forward and squinting slightly as she studied the object from across the table.