by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2024
(May 4, 2024) — Grumio, with tears in his eyes, hovered over the work table of the late Master Toymaker. He stared down at the well-worn, yellowed pages of the ancient book lying open there. A shiver slowly rose up his spine till it shook his shoulders. With a swift, sudden movement, he slammed shut the leatherbound book of spells and locked the latch thereon.
Grumio stood motionless for a moment, gazing at the cold metal hand at the end of his mechanical right arm. He recalled how, when he was still a small boy, the Master Toymaker had given him the first prototype of that limb and had taught him how to use it. With human growth and the advancement of technical knowledge, the arm had, in a way, grown with him.
Grumio sat down in his old master’s chair. Having been taken in by the Toymaker after his infant self had been left on the doorstep of the Workshop, Grumio had always believed that he was loved and cared for. But now came the recent revelation that the Master Toymaker was only using the Workshop, his pseudo love for children and Christmas itself as a cloak to hide his personal agenda: the evil genius had devoted his life to discovering a way to bridge a gap between this world and the underworld, with the hopes of ruling both. Grumio saw, now, that the man he had trusted as his own father had only seen him as one of his automatons to do his bidding and, perhaps, aid him in his wicked plans.
Lost in a tumult of emotions, Grumio did not hear Nickolas enter, nor was he aware he was standing near him, till the kind elder placed a small, rudimentary toy atop the book in front of him and declared, “This is my favorite toy you ever made. Do you know why? Because it was your first. For that reason, there is much innocence and heart in it. Therefore, a child can see their own reflection in it. This is everything a toy should be: a mirror of the one who holds it and an inspiration for all they can become.”
When left alone, Grumio studied the toy. Suddenly, the sound of children’s singing wafted through the open windows and kept time with the ticking of the grandfather clock behind him. “Dear little girl and boy land.” The new Master Toymaker realized there was hope, yet, for Toyland, because he would put all his heart into his work, inspired by the innocence of childhood.