Miss Melinda's Alchemy and Branding is what the sign would say on this adobe building. But there is no sign. There is a big round clock in the top center, but it may be measuring something other than local temporal reality. The building is a story and a half in size -- the upper floor is pisky-sized for Miss Melinda Naknirore's convenience. The windows are glossy. The sidewalk, made of pale cactus wood and treated to a glossy and slick finish, is polished clean at least once a week. A tumbleweed is stuck in place on the sidewalk. Grass grows to one side of the building. A dead, spooky tree looms behind east corner of the shop. A young saguaro cactus grows between this building and the gray stone building next to it. In the distant background are scrub-covered hills.