Whether it be a child or elder, male or female, a politician or a housewife, my teacher treated everyone the same.
Whether the request be to fix something or for the sake of world peace, my teacher treated each request with the same importance.
This may have been the reason she was so popular and a great witch.
“Let’s go. If there’s one thing Mr. Geppetto’s great at, it’s fixing watches. I bet he won’t throw in the towel like the rest of the town’s clockmakers.”
“Really? I hope he can fix it…”
“But why not just buy a new one? You can get a really nice watch for cheap nowadays. You don’t have to worry about a digital watch stopping on you like that, or maybe you could get one by a famous designer.”
“Yeah, I know. But how should I put this…? I still want to use this watch a bit more. I’m really attached to it.”
“Oh? You’re attached to it, eh…?”
“You were never one to get attached to things like this, Meg.”
I didn’t really understand the idea of being attached to something like a mug, cup, or watch. Either way, I concluded that the watch was special to Fine.
I hadn’t recognized exactly what this watch meant for Fine yet.
The clockmaker we went to had a small shop at the far end of the town market. It had a retro feel…which was putting it nicely; the place was a dump. Most people probably didn’t even know it was a clockmaker’s shop.
But I knew it was. The old man running it loved clocks more than anyone ever had.
We opened the door, and a gentleman with a white beard and round glasses greeted us.
“Hey, Mister. You’ve got a customer.”
“Well, well. If it isn’t the disciple. Welcome. It’s rare for you to bring a friend with you.”
“Oh, this isn’t just any friend. She’s my best friend for life, or BFFL, if you will.”
“Biffle, eh? That’s an interesting name. Judging by her looks, I would’ve guessed she’s English, but I’m guessing she must be from the south?”
“…Does biffle sound like a Spanish name to you?”
While I gave old Geppetto a stare-down, Fine looked around his shop.
“I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I am Meg’s friend, Fine. But wow. Just look at all these clocks… I didn’t know there was a clock shop here.”
I nodded along with Fine’s words of awe.
“This shop is still in business despite looking like one big dustbin.”
“Ha-ha-ha, you were never one to leave anything unsaid. Ha-ha-ha.”
His eyes aren’t laughing.
Whether it be wristwatches, alarm clocks, or cuckoo clocks, the shop’s walls were covered in every clock and watch imaginable. It was easy to tell they were all thoroughly cared for, with each clock being exactly on time. Each clock also had a healthy number of Spirits inhabiting it. This wasn’t the case for a more amateur clockmaker. This man was a true artisan.
“So what brings you to my shop today?”
“My friend here wants you to take a look at her watch.”
Fine handed the older gentleman her watch, and he adjusted his spectacles accordingly with a “Let’s take a look-see.
“Well this is quite the specimen you have here. It’s a very old-fashioned military watch from Germany.”
“You can tell?”
“Well, I am a clockmaker. Whoever made this watch did a good job. You can tell by the handiwork with its finer parts. Germany has a lot of skilled clockmakers, and the craftsmanship that went into this fine watch is very evident.”
“So…do you think you can fix it?”
“We’ll have to see about that. I can’t tell without taking a closer look. But I’ll need more time before I can get to it. As you can see, I am my shop, so I need to be ready for other customers when they come. Let me put this away for later.”
“Oh yeah? Well, how about this…?”
A few minutes later.
“How did I end up doing this?”
With an exhausted expression, Fine let out a big sigh. She and I were sitting at the shop’s front desk, waiting for customers, while Mr. Geppetto worked on her watch.
From the shop’s storefront window, I could see the peaceful town. The shop was at the far end of the shopping district, so there weren’t many people who walked by, especially compared to the town center. Fine seemed dissatisfied with the turn of events, with her elbow on the table propping up her head on her fist.
“Meg.”
I was staring off into space outside a window when Fine said my name.
“Are you really going to die?”
“That’s what I’ve been told.”
“How are you okay with this?”
“I’m not okay with it. It just doesn’t feel real yet. You know I’m bad at worrying about things.”
“You always were a big ball of positivity.”
“I’d go as far as to say that it may be my very best trait—”
I said this with a bit of a grin but was shocked by the expression on Fine’s face when I turned toward her. She was biting her lip and appeared as if she was about to burst into tears. Her eyes were like a dam that was ready to burst.
I panicked and looked for something to change the conversation, but the only things on the walls were a whole bunch of apathetic clocks.
“Uh, Fine? I-is something the matter?”
“Of course there is! I’m sad about your death. Why did you have to die, Meg…?”
“I’m not dead yet!”
Fine was about to cry just at the thought of my passing. I wished she wouldn’t off me in her mind, though. Thinking back on it, this was how she’d always been. She had a good head on her shoulders, but she was very compassionate, empathetic, and nice.