J The Mender

J looked out the window of the grimy workshop, W-L Family of Magical Items Repair Company of Hills Lakes, also known simply as W-L, where she had been employed for the past eight years. She was responsible for making sure all of the magical bags were repaired correctly. It was advertised as a paid apprenticeship since fixing magical items, especially bags, could be dangerous and this position was legally considered a hazardous career. There were many precautions that had to be met and much care was needed to perform this job. When she took this job all those years ago, she believed she had won the largest bet of her life. This was supposedly an honest job with honest pay, hours, and even security in case she needed to see the local physician. Instead, she was taken advantage of. The company had noticed she didn’t have any self worth and over the course of her ‘career’ there she still made measly wages with no end in sight for a significant raise. The company treated her like a nobody. J hated to admit it, that over time she turned into a nobody. A nobody that was incredibly skilled with mending and an eye for detail, but still, a nobody. She was now severely depressed and wished she had done so many things differently. She wished she was someone else entirely.

She sighed, sniffling, and put her work down and headed to the washroom. As she walked past the small office where the paperwork was done, she overheard the manager of the shop, Lart, say her name. She strained her ear and her heart fell to her shoes.

“She is good at what she does,” Lart said, clearly talking down to someone. Who, J didn’t know. “It would be idiotic to promote her. Just give her some false hope every once in a while. She’s insecure so she’ll believe whatever we tell her.”

Hatred filled every ounce of her being and she wanted to storm in the room and kick the manager in his disgusting face. Instead, she continued to the washroom, ignoring Lart asking someone, “do you think she heard me? Oh well,” he laughed a cruel, obnoxiously loud laugh. “Like it matters.” She could feel her tears building, fully accepting what her life had truly become.

As she washed her hands before using the commode, a good habit after working on magical items, she looked at her sad reflection. She had greasy hair and a sunken, pale face. Even though she walked to work everyday, the sun seemed to avoid kissing her skin. Her grayish-blue iris and the whites of her eyes were dull. She looked sickly, probably because she lived off hard liquor and low quality food because she didn’t take care of herself. She was only in her mid thirties yet felt like she was an old lady; an old lady that hadn’t any life experiences. She turned away from her reflection and meandered back to her work station feeling numb.

She continued her work and walked half an hour back to her just as grimey home. She plopped down onto her used couch and stared at the ceiling. She hated everything, especially herself. She fell asleep with a half empty spirit bottle, still in her dirty clothes and her work boots on.

The next day, to her surprise, she awoke with a little bit of happiness. She hadn’t felt this way in years and was scared it would leave her as quickly and without warning as it appeared. She didn’t want to waste it and decided she was not going to work that day. She knew the company expected perfect attendance, but she could miss a workday here and there, as long as she sent a letter by lunchtime. She decided she was going to have a nice day.

She shot to her feet and sprinted to the washroom. ‘I better hurry. I better hurry,’ she thought, clinging desperately to her hope. She brushed her teeth and flossed, the only hygiene practice she adhered to every morning. She relieved herself and ran her hands under water, without soap. She put a hat on her head, grabbed her small messenger bag with only a few things in it, and in the same clothes from yesterday she left her home she only viewed as a prison.

When she opened the door she expected bright, clear skies and a pleasant temperature. Instead, it was overcast and a cold front was passing through. ‘Nope. I’m having a good day!’ she put a

smile on her face and wondered what her adventure would be that day.

She went to her small garage that held her motorized, one seat vehicle and the worktable with tools and cleaning supplies. Most everyone had a setup like this, making life easier and quicker. It was unusual not to have a vehicle in this town and to travel that way. In truth, her coworkers found it odd she walked thirty minutes to work when she could take her vehicle and arrive in about ten. She enjoyed walking and since the sun was typically out seventeen hours of the twenty five hour day, she took advantage of only living thirty minutes away in walking distance. It seemed to be the only thing she did enjoy in life.

“I need to send that letter for missing work today,” she said. “It would be best to drive there, make sure it gets there on time.”

She checked under the small hood to make sure everything was in working order. There were quite a few requirements to own a motorized vehicle, one being proof that you could display the skills needed to maintain them. This adhered to any type of vehicle one currently owned. And J knew what was needed for this particle model vehicle she lovingly called it Tanis.

“Maybe I could work on these,” she mumbled to herself. “Even if it’s just cleaning them. My work station and vehicle are the only clean things in my life… Why do I talk to myself? … I am so lonely.”

She observed the motor starting correctly by the works of particular magic crystals. Each crystal with their own assignments, glowed the correct color.

She thanked them, not knowing if that was necessary, but she was quite superstitious. She also believed being kind was more of a habit than a character trait and she never wanted to be someone that was a bully or just downright mean.

She sat down on her freshly cleaned blanket she kept on the seat and put her messenger bag in the little trunk right behind the seat. She went ten miles an hour, which was the normal speed for vehicles, to the post office which was on the same stretch of road as her work. She hurriedly sent her letter to her job, which the carrier would deliver in just a few hours, and realized she had no idea what to do with herself and this happiness. She didn’t want to be inside her sad home, or even in this town where she felt choked. She liked the idea of simply driving around in Tanis but she wasn’t sure how far she could get before she needed to turn around. She sighed, knowing she had to work tomorrow. Her happiness started to dim.

She shuffled out of the way for people entering the post office. She overheard the woman complain of J’s stench and her heart broke, her happiness withered to the size of a pen prick. With tears in her eyes, she wondered to herself if she should just go back to her unkept prison and sleep. She shuffled to Tanis, letting herself plop into the seat. She pushed a button on the dash and the top of the vehicle became see-through. She raised her head and watched as the clouds started to turn a threatening shade of gray.

Without warning, a rather large, blue colored bird flew mere inches from her vehicle, then across the street and landed on a tree branch slightly above her eye level. “Oh, my,” she said in awe. The bird was breathtakingly beautiful. The royal blue feathers glittered, their long talons shone, and it wore a white gold necklace. She opened the door carefully, slowly, and started across the road. The bird watched her every step. When she made it across and took a step onto the new grass she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She took a few more steps forward, not sure if she should make eye contact with the majestic bird. She looked over her shoulder and gasped, the post office and every other sign of human civilization was gone. ‘Where am I?’ she turned back to the bird. “Hello,” she said. “You are very beautiful,” the bird made a sound like a flute. She stood and listened, closing her eyes at the beauty. The music stopped and J sighed a large sigh, knowing the beautiful bird would be gone. She opened her eyes and saw that she was right. She turned around, trying to gather her bearings. “Oh, no,” she clapped a hand over her mouth and fell to her knees, vomiting. When her stomach was empty, she spit for good measure then stood on shaky legs. “I need a drink.” With only spirits on her mind she walked back the direction she came and the town materialized in front of her. She headed straight towards Tanis, not even paying attention as she crossed the road. She hurried into the seat and lowered the top completely, needing the fresh air. She closed her eyes and swallowed, feeling like she was going to start dry heaving.

“You look near death,” she heard someone say outside her door. Trying to have some composure she looked over at them. It was an old woman, hunched over and hair flowing free and into her face. “Fighting the drink?” the woman asked. She tilted her head and her hair shifted to the side revealing that the woman had cloth over her eyes.

J was instantly embarrassed. She wanted to put her vehicle in drive and speed off. Instead, she decided to clench her jaw, close her eyes, take a deep breath, and not say anything. She exhaled, and opened her eyes to look at the woman through building tears. The old woman now had a straightened posture, her hunch gone and eye covering removed. Her eyes were crystal clear with deep pools of wisdom. “You don’t want this life,” the woman said, her voice full and layered. “Throw this life away and start again, since it is what you desire.”

A tear fell down J’s cheek and her jaw slacked. “What?” she asked, her voice wet. A large bird screeched and with hope she turned to the direction of the sound. She didn’t see the bird, so she disappointedly turned her head back to the woman. She was hunched over again and leaned on her vehicle. “See you around, J,” she said as she wrapped the cloth over her eyes and knotted it under her hair. She shuffled off down the sidewalk.

J didn’t know what to think, but she knew she wanted a drink. One that would burn on the way down. She drove a little down the road, the opposite direction the hunched woman was walking, to the Crystal Station. She walked into the small building, grabbed some mints for her vomit mouth, jerky and other junk snacks, some fresh lemonade, and some spirits. She placed it on the counter, her hand over her mouth. “May I have a blue crystal?” she asked the worker.

The worker nodded their head yes. “Do you have the old one?”

“Oh my goodness, I didn’t grab it,” J closed her eyes.

“No worries,” the young lady said, her face void of expression. I can ask Drurnaak to grab it for you.”

“Drurnaak?” J tilted her head, looking at the ceiling in thought, her hand popping a mint into her mouth while the other was removing her coin for payment. J didn’t notice that the lady was now looking at her, her eyes large and full of fear. “I’ve never heard that name before,” J said. “It’s a nice name,” she smiled. She looked at the lady who now had her head down, breathing in and out quickly. “Oh, are you-” J wasn’t sure what to say or do. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

The lady stood up straight, brushing hair out of her face. “Yes, I’m sorry. I suddenly was lightheaded.”

J knew this was a lie. “Alright,” she said.

“Did you still want to replace your crystal?” the worker asked.

“Oh, yes. Please. Where is Mr. Drurnaak?”

“If you don’t mind, he likes to go by Kline,” she said.

“Oh. Okay… Is Drurnaak a term of endearment?” J asked tentatively.

“I misspoke,” she said bluntly.

“Oh. Yes. Yes, of course. Sorry to intrude,” J fidgeted her fingers. She looked out the window and saw a young man open the hood of her vehicle. For a split second she thought his shadow showed him having a tail. She shook her head and looked away. “How did she?” J said to herself as she watched the hunched old woman walk past the window.

“What?” The worker asked as she handled J’s coin.

“Oh,” J rubbed her forehead. “I just saw that woman outside the post office… I must be moving slow,” she rubbed her hands down her face and swallowed the now minty spit that built up.

“You saw that woman?” the worker pointed at the woman who had turned slightly to wave at her.

J did an awkward wave back, her face turning hot. The woman nodded her head and kept walking, never slowing her shuffled stride.

“You know,” J said, fiddling with another wrapped mint. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I want that,” she pointed to the spirits.

The worker couldn’t believe it. Even though J didn’t remember, this worker had waited on her more times than she could count. And everytime J purchased spirits. The worker glanced at where the old woman had just been, at the spirit bottle, and then grabbed a small pastry from the nearby glass container and put it in a small paper bag. “On the house,” the worker said.

“Really?” J asked.

“I’m Klo, by the way,” she said.

“Oh,” J picked at her nails, realizing how often she said ‘oh’. “I’m J,” she said.

“I know,” she said matter of factly. J tilted her head, confused on how she would know. “You come here a lot,” she smiled a very small smile. A genuine smile.

“Oh,” J looked down, ashamed.

The bell above the door dinged and Klo entered. He set the crystal on the counter and turned to J. “You take excellent care of your vehicle,” he said, his voice sounding surprisingly low and gravely. “Give her some extra coin for the crystal recycling,” he said to Klo. He studied her face and noticed her still present smile, albeit small. He stared at her just long enough to make J uncomfortable before he looked at the items J was purchasing. He looked at the bottle of spirits put off to the side then back at J, then back to Klo. She nodded her head in understanding to him. “Throw in some jasmine tea,” he said to her. “On the house.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” J started to protest but was cut off.

“For the next three weeks, every time you come in you can get a tea on the house,” he held up a finger, “if you do not purchase a spirit.” J’s mouth fell.

“What?” she clutched at a seam on the side of her work pants.

“You can always buy a sweet,” he winked at her and went to the back room for employees only.

“What?” she asked Klo.

“For almost two years you’ve purchased a lot of spirits here,” Klo chewed on her lips. She scanned the room quickly and even though they were the only ones in there she still lowered her voice and scribbled on a piece of loose paper, “if you get a different worker than me or Kline, show them this,” she handed her the paper. J looked at it, not knowing what it said.

“What does this mean?” she asked. “It’s so neat looking. Is it a different language?” she smiled as she continued to stare at it.

“It is. We are bilingual,” she said curtly.

“That is wonderful,” J said. “I work with mending magic bags and can recognize quite a few symbols, but I only speak the common tongue. I would love to learn another language.”

“Please come more often?” Klo asked.

“Alright,” J said with a grin.

“Don’t tell anyone about this,” the worker said. She looked back at the window. “Not that you could tell anyone but us,” she said without realizing.

J looked at the lady worker, wondering what such a cool person was doing in this town.

“Thank you,” J said. She took her new belongings and when she stepped outside she almost dropped them, surprised the skies had cleared. She almost skipped to Tanis in joy, putting her things in the seat so she could change her crystal. She did it quickly and efficiently and smiled as she knew her day was already one of the best days she had had in years.

“That’s it. I am just going to start driving. See where it takes me.” She started down the road and within minutes she was smiling more than she had in months, probably in years. About an hour passed andJ decided it was time to eat the snacks she had purchased earlier. It was routine for every ten miles to have a small area designated for stops where a few vehicles and horses could take it easy. The weather was still pleasant and she sipped on her lemonade that surprisingly was still cold. “I wonder when I should turn back?” she said to herself. “I don’t want to…” She looked around. There were not any businesses or houses around. She was surrounded by large, vacant fields. She was used to being alone, even though she had just broken off a horrendous ten year relationship, so she found herself comfortable. But, also sad that being alone had become her default.

She dug a hand in her messenger bag for her small notebook with her scribbled notes, ideas, and her sad poetry. She turned to her ledger page and smiled sadly. She flipped the pages to see her inventory list and how much money was in the local bank. She groaned seeing how little she had. “Dragonshit,” she said. “That place, that horrible, useless ex, they both took my youth and coin and this is all I have to show for it.” She fought back tears and stuffed her notebook back into her bag. “Things have to change. They have to. But, how?...” She thought of her boss Rokie, who she used to be close with, who had said in passing once that he made good coin being a certified craftsman. He had all the paperwork from some nice school that made his life comfortable. He didn’t want her to tell anyone though because he knew the company had a strict, unspoken policy that you didn’t talk about wages. Anyone who did always seemed to be gone the next week. She absentmindedly rubbed her grumbling stomach, slowly realizing he had been suggesting she go to school. She put her head in her hands, embarrassed how much of an idiot she was. “What was the name of that school he went to?” she mumbled into her fingers.

“Who are you talking to?” a voice said near her shoulder.

“Ah!” she recoiled, her hands out in front of her defensively.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the voice said. J lowered her hands and looked at the woman on horseback. The woman jumped down with a spring in her step and walked near her, her hand on the horse’s reign.

J looked at her with awe. The woman had an air of complete freedom about her. She wore gold and silver rings. She donned bracelets with crystals and a long silver necklace that took refuge under her button up blouse. Her trousers were dark brown and she had pull up, red leather boots. Her smile was kind and sported well groomed teeth. She wore a dark green, wide brimmed hat over a vibrant head scarf. Her deep eyes were hypnotic. And J realized that she was clean. Despite riding horseback in the bright sun, she smelled of perfume and soap. She took care of herself, something J didn’t know how to do and longed for the skills to do so.

“Hello?”

J snapped out of her daydreaming when the woman waved a hand in front of her face, repeating “hello?”

“Yes. Sorry,” J shrunk. “Hello.”

The woman smiled. She was polite and forced her nose not to crinkle at J’s stench. The woman tilted her head in confusion when she noticed how well maintained J’s teeth and vehicle were. It was quite a head scratcher. “So what are you doing?” the woman bluntly asked.

“Me?” J pointed at herself.

“Yes, you,” the woman smiled. “Why are you just sitting here? Are you lost?”

J sucked in her lips and blinked. She was lost. “Well, no,” she said. “I do live around here. I just- I just don’t know what to,” she looked down at her lap. “-do with myself,” she felt her face warm.

“Oh! Well, then! You need an adventure!” the woman clapped her hands together.

J felt drawn to the woman’s words, leaning over the side of her vehicle.

“Have you ever thought of leaving this town?” the woman asked.

‘Every day,’ J thought to herself.

“I’m taking that as a yes,” the woman smiled. “Here,” she withdrew from her pocket a small business card. “I am a middle man for merchants. Do you sell anything?”

“No. I… I’m a mender.”

“A mender?”

“I work mending magical bags and clothing.”

“Really?” the woman smiled wide and kind. “Look!” she handed J another card. “This is one of my favorite clients.”

J took the card and read it carefully. It was for a business named Olivia’s that specialized in repairing magical items. “I-I don’t have a certificate or schooling in it,” J said quietly.

“So? If you do it for a living you must know something! Her name is Olivia and she is amazing. She works with any and all kinds of life. You should check her out. Tell her Muli told you to reach out to her. Send her a letter. What could it hurt?”

“Your name is Muli?”

“That’s what I go by!” she held her hand out. J shook it and then recoiled, noticing how filthy her hands were compared to Muli’s. Muli didn’t pay any mind. “Hey! Want to grab a bite to eat with me? There is a tavern just down the way.”

“I know of it,” J looked embarrassed.

“Oh, you have a problem with the drink?” she asked bluntly then cleared her throat. “No worries! They also have food.”

“Yes,” J said, her face warm

“On me?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” J croaked.

“Oh. Well..” Muli rubbed the back of her neck. “To be honest, you remind me of my kid sister. And you look sad and lonely. And. Mostly. Ms. Olivia needs more workers. I get a kickback for anyone who makes it to an interview,” she laughed.

“Are they always hiring?” J raised an eyebrow. “High turnover rate?” she knew that was always a bad sign. She knew because it was common where she worked.

“Actually, no. The company has so much diversity that it seems everyone is considered for. It’s a paid apprenticeship where after completing it, you continue working for them…You have a resume?”

“It hasn’t been updated for years…”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been at the same company.”

“For how long?”

“Like eight years?” she counted her fingers.

“Do you like it there?”

“I like the work. Mending things is so satisfying. But. I don’t know…”

“So, you don’t like to work there but you’ve managed to keep your position there for eight years?...”Muli put her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes. “You . Need. To. Apply.” she said, rocking her hands to point at J with each syllable. J laughed nervously and Muli dropped her hands. “I am serious!” Muli said. “Come on. Let’s get some food.”

J looked at both the cards handed to her, then up towards the trees surrounding the small lot. The royal blue bird was staring at her. “Alright” she said. “You’re buying?” she asked Muli.

Muli laughed even louder and pulled herself up onto her horse while J settled into her vehicle, and the two started towards the tavern.