I headed over to the Councilman to see how he was doing. Turns out he had a problem. The Silverglade clock was no longer working!
He asked me to find Big Bonny and ask her to fix the clock.
I’d never met Big Bonny before, and he admitted that he hadn’t seen her in a while, but he also told me where to find her.
I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I then noticed the note that was stuck to the door.
“Away on holiday” with no definitive return date. It looked old and weathered.
I opted to take it to show the Councilman.
Holiday?
He suggested asking Felix.
Felix hadn’t seen her in a while, either.
She apparently sent him a postcard way back…
He seemed to think he’d left it in the clock tower on accident once.
He gave me the key so that I could go look for it.
He warned me to be careful, since no one’s been up there in so long…there were bound to be traps or dangerous parts.
I found the door (quite small!) nearby and unlocked it.
It was dark and musty in there! But I found the postcard and made it out safely.
Felix strained to read her chicken-scratch handwriting.
She mentioned staying at Barney’s in the silo…
…and that an embarrassing incident was keeping her from coming home.
Felix wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but suggested that I ask Barney if she was still in the silo.
Barney greeted me warmly and asked what I needed. He hadn’t seen Big Bonny though.
He told me I’d have to squeeze through the pipe to climb up into the silo.
I headed for the pipe.
Up in the silo, grain filled the space. I spotted a rope on the far side of the room.
It looked like it led up to an upper room above the silo.
I climbed it and came upon this little sight.
Big Bonny was rather surprised to see me invading her space. She thought I was a ghost!
I had to slap her on the back to get her to calm down…she sounded like she was choking on her own spit.
She asked why I was there. When I told her about the clock being broken, she was stunned.
She was none too pleased.
When she went into hysterics again, I had to give her another back slap.
She thanked me and asked my name. She then offered to tell me her whole life story.
She. Wound. The. Key. In. The. Wrong. Direction?!?!? Really!? That’s what all this nonsense is about?!
Exile? Crime? A bit extreme!
She needed to follow me back and repair the clock…now!
It’s no big deal! The villagers aren’t angry! And if they are, they’ll forgive you if you fix the clock!
She liked that idea, but didn’t think she could show her face until the clock was fixed again.
She asked me to come up with a way to sneak her back into the village. Oy!
I agreed to do things her way.
I found an empty sack outside the silo. That should do the trick.
It wasn’t what she’d had in mind…but I didn’t have time to think of anything else. Besides, it was perfect.
She met me outside.
I think she’s got the idea now.
And we were off.
I dropped her off on her front stoop.
After making sure no one was around…
…she agreed to come out of the bag…after I’d opened her front door.
Finally! She was out.
She came out wearing a Herman mask and looked so silly!
I decided to come back the next day to see how she was doing.
Rachel Mistwood 