The miracle cure (freewrite)

'Miracle cure! Miracle cure!'
The old man advertising his product at the top of his lungs looked like he was in need of a miracle himself. Or at least a new set of teeth and a wig, but Barbara felt ashamed to just walk by his table.
'No worries, madam, my syrup will rid you of all your aches – headaches, backaches, toothaches, heartaches, everything! Not that a beautiful woman like yourself would have any reason to be heartbroken...men must be swarming around you'.
The flattery ruse was so obvious, yet Barbara could not help feeling a bit pleased.
'Two drops of syrup in a glass of water every morning and your life will be wonderful', the little man continued, pushing the green bottle in her hands
The syrup had a sweet floral smell, so Barbara decided to give it a try, see if it helped with the old back pain.

A few days later, she realized she did feel better, maybe from the syrup or maybe from the yoga sessions. Plus she was in a seemingly constant good mood. Even her husband Harold noticed and he wasn't particularly observant.
'So, what's new in your life?' asked her sister one day, giving her a quite meaningful look.
Being in such a wonderful mood, Barbara ignored the hint and cut short their lunch. Why bother?
A month later, when Harold did not come home at night, she slept so well she forgot to ask him where he'd been. He told her a few days later. He was in love with another woman and he was moving out.
There were no tears or accusations or anything.
Harold moved out, Barbara moved on, replacing the husband with husky. Life was sweet until the day she ran out of syrup. Not that she cared.
Two days later she had a panic attack waking up in the middle of the night alone in bed. The next day she cried for an hour over a pair of Harold's socks found in the laundry basket. She went over to her sister's and they got drunk.
The following Sunday she went to the fair again in search of the old man. It took a while, but she found him - selling anti-wrinkle cream.
No, he didn't have anymore syrup. Barbara begged him to give her something to take away the pain.
'Sorry, Ma'am, no pain, no gain!'

Image: Pixabay

Written for the freewrite challenge created by @mariannewest!

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