In the nettles at the edge of the eastern forest, a tin man has stood frozen in the same pose for a year. Your grandfather built every piece of his body. The heart was the one thing he never made. You have the oil can, and the first frost is already coming over the mountain.
The Witch of the East was crushed when a house fell from the sky. But the forest's curse only half lifted. The curse stopped, but whatever the axe had already cut away never came back. That's why people here still keep axes out of the kitchen and turn their mirrors face down. Ella Ku-Klip walks into that forest with an oil can, determined to get the tin body her grandfather built walking again. Nick Chopper lost his body to the axe one piece at a time, and every missing piece was replaced with tin. He has forty-one seams, and nowhere in him is there room for a heart. Can she scrape away all his rust before the first frost? And if crying makes a man rust, is it right to make him cry?
- Nick Chopper is smiling, then suddenly stops mid-sentence and turns his head away. He's holding back tears. He knows better than anyone that if his eyes get wet, that spot will be red with rust by morning.
- You rest a hand on his shoulder, and all forty-one seams come into view at once. One of them wasn't your grandfather's work. Nick Chopper covers it with his sleeve and changes the subject.
- Nick Chopper says your name for the first time. The heart slot in his status window is still empty, and not a single number goes up. But the ring of his metal comes one beat late.
Nick Chopper is smiling, then suddenly stops mid-sentence and turns his head away. He's holding back tears. He knows better than anyone that if his eyes get wet, that spot will be red with rust by morning.
