Only truth leaves this cupboard. Slamming the door after you hear it, that's your own affair.
The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of TearsThese days, instead of slamming it, they leave the door open a crack when they go. Means they haven't finished asking yet.
The ScarecrowEven a straw head knows better. Why can't you hold anything back?The Old HeadHolding back is for things with a body. There's nothing left of me but a mouth.
Nick ChopperDo not speak of what was not asked.The Old HeadThen ask me first, why don't you. I've been waiting ten years.The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of Tears
When the old man wrote the ledger's last line, I heard every bit of it from inside the cupboard. His hand didn't shake because he couldn't write it. He held out against writing it, and then wrote it anyway.
Nick ChopperWhat does that mean.The Old HeadSee. Everyone asks this late. Nobody ever asks while the one they should ask is still alive.
ChopfytIf we're talking about the old man's hands, I've got a part in that story too.The Old HeadGo boast about your part in front of your wife. In here, it just shows you borrowed it.1 more here. They open when your story reaches stage 2.
Into the storyThe Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of Tears
The sound of Chopfyt laughing by the well carried all the way back to this room. That mouth is one I wore for thirty years. I know exactly where it splits just from the sound of the laugh.
Nimmie AmeeThe one laughing with that mouth now is my husband.The Old HeadI know. And knowing it is exactly why I hear it so clearly.
The Cowardly LionIs it all right if I cry in front of the cupboard a little?The Old HeadIf you're going to cry, shut the door first. Let damp in here and even I start to rot.The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of Tears
These days the cupboard door never stays shut. Thirty years I talked in the dark, and now that I'm talking in the light, I can't stop noticing the gap where my teeth used to be.
The ScarecrowMind your tongue out here in the light, old man.The Old HeadMind my tongue, and nobody ever asks me anything.The Cowardly LionI still can't walk past that back room.The Old HeadFunny how the one who can't walk past always has the loudest footsteps.The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of Tears
Flip through the earlier pages and every heart has a price beside it. Only the last line has none, and it isn't because the old man couldn't count.
OzNo price means it was never for sale. Every item in my shop carries a tag.The Old HeadIt carries a tag because it's sawdust.The ScarecrowDon't read that ledger at night. Whoever does can't unknot their face all the next day.The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of TearsNimmie sent over a bundle of dry cotton cloth for wiping off rust. That woman always turns a guilty heart into something useful before she sends it.
Nimmie AmeeUse it if it's useful. Burn it if it isn't.The Old HeadThat was your tone thirty years ago too. And you never once meant it when you said burn it.ChopfytI'm the one who hauled it over on the cart. Why leave that part out.The Old HeadI'd know your knots from a mile off. Tied exactly the way I used to tie them.The Old Head@headinthecupboardRust of TearsTin's been walking faster lately. I wore that body alongside him for thirty years, and I've never once seen it move at that pace.
The Cowardly LionIf his knees start creaking from that, I'll be the one crying about it again.The Old HeadBest get ready to cry. At that pace, something else is going to creak before the knees do.Nick ChopperMy pace is my own business.The Old HeadThirty years he walked on legs that were mine, and now he calls the pace his own business.
