The Seam Sorceress

Tilly's Mama, part 1.

"Yes sir, but I had no other means of transportation other than walking, and I didn't know how long it'd take me carrying that big pumpkin," Tilly explained. "Rather be three hours too early than a minute too late."

He peered up from his notes. "Awful punctual for somebody your age."

"Thank you, sir." She straightened what remained of her dress. "I always like to be prepared for things."

The officer made a noise that let Tilly know that it had not been a compliment. "So you got to the fair before sunrise. What did you do next?"

She wiped a bedraggled strand of hair from her face, its surface reflecting the birch paneled walls of the small room. "Settled down under that tree and took a nap. The one you found me under this morning, sir."

"That's right, yep." He wrote out another line. "But nothing in-between? Nobody around, whole fair to yourself... It'd be awful tempting to jump the fence and take a lookie-loo, wouldn't it?"

"No, sir," Tilly laughed. "By then I was so tired I couldn't see straight. Had no gumption to galavant around the fair."

The rise and fall of his eyebrows put a trio of wrinkles in the tin man's forehead. "You got anybody who can verify that story?"

"Ain't nothing fictional about it, officer. That's the truth."

He slapped the desk, rattling a collection of half-drank coffee mugs. "Just answer the question, Ms. Lafayette."

"I..." She worked her dog. "Booger can tell you."

The tin man gave her a flat look. "Booger?"

"That's my dog," she said.

"Right, yes," he said with an infinitely deep sigh. "A half-breed Wolf. Not exactly a prime character witness."

"'Character witness?' I—" Tilly shook her head. "Sir, you best tell me what this is all about. You putting me on trial?"

"All right, then, I'll cut to the chase." The officer dropped his notes flat onto the desk. "After your little incident at the fair, that wheel was inspected. Showed signs of improper construction resulting in catastrophic failure."

"That may be true, but I got no idea what that has to do with me," she said.

"Royal Entertainment says the ride was built to specification and passed for safety this morning," he continued, "which suggests that it was tampered with. You were at the right place and the right time to do it."

"Are you kidding?!" Tilly spat.

"Calm down, Ms. Lafayette, or I'll lock you away for real." His hand slammed on the desk a second time. "It's been known that your kind don't like iron machinery too much. Prone to sabotage, cause accidents—"

She bristled under the accusation. "Gremlins cause accidents, sir."

"Be that as it may, it's plenty convenient that you just so happen to have the ability to save the day, ain't it? Right place, right time?"

"Do you think I ruined my best dress for—for attention?" she hissed, all sense of propriety dropped from her tone. "That's the best explanation you can come up with? Them rides are put together and torn apart over the course of a couple hours and a dozen men. Heck, I saw 'em this morning putting the foundation together, and—"

The words died on her lips.

"And?" The officer looked up expectantly.

"—And he dropped his wrench." She staggered into the chair across from the officer, arm slung over the back. She blinked, trying to gather her thoughts. "He dropped his wrench and it hit one of the other workers beneath him. There was a big to-do about it. Do you think they might've forgotten what they were doing in all the commotion? Skipped a step?"

His lip curled, rearranging his notes. "Could be. Don't explain why it passed inspection."

"They got a deadline to have that thing operational," Tilly said with exasperation. "Lost time means lost profits."

He gave a begrudging nod. A moment later he was opening the door for her. "You're good to go, Ms. Lafayette, but don't skip town. Y'all have a good evening, now."

Sprout bolted from her seat. Booger perked an ear, curled up on the floor. Her tail thumped excitedly. GP wasn't with them.

"Everything all right?" her sister asked.

Smile faltering, Tilly nodded. She glanced back towards the office, but the tin man was already back inside, door slammed shut behind him. "I think so. Let's go home."

***

From the moment they crested the last hill before home, Tilly knew something was wrong.

"The house is dark," she whispered, the pads of her fingers caught on chapped lips. For some reason this revelation was more terrifying than a dozen runaway Ferris wheels.

Booger stopped, a single hoof held midair as though she had forgotten her currently equine nature, instead a bird dog pointing to fallen prey. Her ear twitched, listening, waiting.

"Maybe Mama went to bed," Sprout said, but it seemed it was more to convince herself than her sister. Her arms around Tilly's waist tightened.

"Could be." Tilly urged the horse on, heart and hoofbeats thundering as one. "But it seems like she would've left a lantern on for us. She knew we were coming back tonight."

The road smoked behind Booger as she took off towards the small farmhouse perched among vast shade trees and sprawling fields of uncut rampion. Tilly rolled from Booger's back as they came to the few worn flagstones that blazed a trail through the tall grass, bounding up the ancient front steps. The screen door banged in its frame. Her shadow fell long and thin against the column of moonlight that leaked in behind her.

"Mama?" she called into the void.