The Man and The Nutcracker

Coleen Jill F. Sajo @HSaijou

By the border that separates the suburban and the rural area, a man is traveling by foot after getting off his ride on a pedicab. He surveys the surroundings with an observant gaze, looking up and down while scanning any buildings he sees.

The buildings by the border, although well-built like those in the suburban area, are now abandoned and lifeless. Some of which have signs of damage, indicating that there were attempts to get them demolished. Despite the seemingly heavy and gloomy atmosphere, the man continues to walk forward.

Eventually, he spots one peculiar establishment that made him stop in his tracks. He pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket to examine something, then he raises his head to look at the peculiar establishment once again.

His eyes twinkle in excitement, for he has finally found the building that he has been looking for. Thus, he quickly makes his way to the front of the peculiar establishment.

As soon as he arrives, however, he notices someone outside of the house. They are sitting on a wooden rocking chair, their elbow leaning on the armrest. Their face is lowered, so their facial features are obscured. Their only article of clothing is a thick red robe, and a turquoise shawl to protect themselves from the current heat.

The man slowly approaches the mysterious person while maintaining a safe distance between them.

“Excuse me,” the man softly calls out to them. “May I speak with you?”

The mysterious person slowly raises their head, revealing their face to the man.

It is made out of wood, and their facial features are painted–their short black hair that parts in the middle, their black eyes made of dots, their black mustache that curves at the tips, and their thin pinkish lips. However, the colors are definitely faded, perhaps a sign of aging.

This mysterious person wearing a red robe and turquoise shawl is undoubtedly a worn-out nutcracker doll.

Upon realizing this, the man’s eyes twinkle in excitement. He calls out to them once more.

“Excuse me, good sir. Are you perhaps Sergeant Tinsley?”

As if recognizing the name being called out, the toy soldier’s eyebrows furrow. They squint their eyes, and they stare at the man for a good few seconds.

“Marty?”

The smile on the man’s face visibly widens upon his name being called.

“Yeah, that’s me,” he says. “It’s been so long since I last saw you, old Tinsley. How have you been?”

“I’ve been better.” Tinsley smiles. “However, it’s nice to see a familiar face after so long, especially if it’s yours.”

“Ha!” Marty guffaws, his cheeks visibly turn red. “You’re embarrassing me, old friend.”

Tinsley simply chuckles. “How about you? How have you been, seeing that you’re all grown up now?”

“Well, it’ll be quite a long story. But first…” Marty looks at the porch from left to right. “You got a stool for me to sit on?”

After Tinsley gestures a direction with his curved, hook-like hand, Marty spots a wooden stool. He carries it and places it next to the rocking chair.

Tinsley watches as Marty sits down on the stool. Now that the young man is sitting next to him, Tinsley can clearly see how much Marty has grown taller. Who would have thought that he used to be a small, snot-nosed kid who once got lost in this part of land?

“I’ve become a merchant now,” Marty explains. “Though I still haven’t found a good guild to join in, so I’m currently freelancing.”

“What brought you here, then?” Tinsley asks. “There aren’t any guilds here–Heaven forbid, every single building here is in ruins except for mine. There’s no way a guild would operate here in the first place.”

Marty looks at Tinsley with a frown. “Why, I wanted to visit you, of course! Is it wrong for me to pay you a visit, especially after so long?”

Tinsley is about to retort, but he can’t help but allow himself to smile.

“I suppose, you’re right,” they say. “I meant it, when I said that it’s nice to see your face after so long.”

As soon as they look at Marty, Tinsley notices a faint scar on his forehead. It has definitely healed now, but it is very prominent to remain unnoticed.

However, as Tinsley’s mind begins to wonder, Marty interrupts their thoughts as he speaks up.

“You gave this scar to me, remember?”

Tinsley’s eyes widen upon realization, and they reach out their hook-like hand to gently touch Marty’s scar. Memories begin to flow in their mind, as they begin to recall what happened.

“Well, it was your fault to begin with,” Tinsley says. “I warned you not to get too close to the construction, yet you ignored me.”

“I…You’re not wrong,” Marty slowly says, as he now recalls his mistake. “But I mean, can you blame me, though? I was a young kid, full of curiosity!”

Tinsley scoffs. “With magical brick roads? You know very well that anything with magic cannot simply be messed with. You remember the tale of Lady Alabaster?”

Marty sighs. “Right, right. She got too curious with the beautiful angel statues, so she ended up turning into one.”

Tinsley simply harrumphs, as they turn away to look at the scenery in front of them. There is nothing of interest to admire–not the lifeless buildings or the bumpy, rough dirt road. In fact, seeing these only make Tinsley’s heart sink a little.

Then, they feel a warm hand touch the crook of their hand. They turn to their side, and they see Marty giving him a smile. As if, he is telling them not to worry, and that he is right by their side right now.

“So, is it true?” Marty asks. “You were able to finish building it?”

“Curious as ever, I see,” Tinsley remarks, before nodding. “I don’t know how long it took us, but we finished building our own yellow brick road. Now, anyone who walks along it can finally be led to their happy ending.”

As they say this, Marty finds himself looking forward. He does not look at the scenery in front of him, but he thinks about the many adventures he has experienced as a merchant. He traveled to many different places, he met many different people and creatures alike, he discovered many different treasures no one has ever seen before.

After a brief moment of silence, he speaks up. “You think if I look for it, I can find my happy ending?”

Suddenly, he feels a hook-like piece of wood on top of his own hand. He turns to his left, and he sees Tinsley. Despite how old and worn out they look, Marty can barely see their thin pinkish lips offering a reassuring smile.

“You don’t ‘look’ for the yellow brick road, Marty,” Tinsley says. “You simply ‘stumble’ upon it on your own. That’s how every adventure has ever been for you, right?” haiku