Page 14 of The Nutcracker
“You did. ButThe Nutcrackeris more than just that.”
“Itlookslike a shop that sells Christmas decorations.”
“Like all good surprises, there’s more toThe Nutcrackerthan meets the eye.” Again he looked from me to the curtain and back again. “Would you like to see?”
Hell yes I wanted to see. At that moment I wanted to see what was behind that red curtain more than anything in the world. But I kept my cool and replied with a shrug. “Sure.”
Curtis took my hand and eased me off the stool.
Again I noticed that his fingers were rough, he had the hardened skin of a craftsman, yet his touch was tender. He gently squeezed my hand as we stepped up to the curtain.
“Just remember what I said.”
“What part?” I asked, my heart once again thumping to theLittle Drummer Boy.
He squeezed my hand harder and repeated, “Everything is connected. Unlock the right door, lift the right latch, turn the right key and you’ll see everything is connected. Are you ready?”
I held my breath and nodded.
Curtis pulled back the curtain.
Chapter Eight
I was an engineer.
I knew how to unlock the right door.
I knew how to lift the right latch.
I knew how to find the right key and turn it.
These were principals I had been applying to models and plans and blueprints since I was six years old.
I had just never applied them to life before, at least not in the right capacity. Especially when it came to Liam… I had almost given the wrong person the right key. I knew that now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
But all that was about to change.
Curtis pulled open the curtain and the bottom of it swung dramatically with the weight of the velvet, revealing a room like nothing I’d ever seen before.
The walls of the room were curved from the ceiling down, as though the room itself was the inside of a large orb. But it wasn’t the curvature of the walls that caught my eye; it was the fact that every inch of the walls and even the ceiling was covered in an intricate carving.
No… it wasn’t just a carving.
As I peered closer, I saw that the walls and ceiling were covered in wooden tracks and panels and tunnels and tiny doors, the kind you find on a cuckoo clock. There were hundreds of little cogs and cranks and pulleys and plugs. There were buttons to push and tiny levers to switch and latches to lift and yes, there were keys in locks just waiting to be turned. The entire room was like a giant complex model built into the walls like some crazed toymaker’s dizzying dream had just come to life.
In the middle of the room was a table, or more like an island, with three sets of small train tracks stretching from the edge and making their way into the middle, all three tracks meeting in the center where a model train station had been built, complete with a little stationmaster’s house and a snow-capped sign that read:The Land of Wishes.
Stars of curiosity and wonder filled my vision. My heart sang as I gazed upon this creation of pure imagination. The sight of it thrilled me, yet somewhere inside I cried, suddenly missing every toy I’d ever owned.
The one-armed tin robot that was lost in the space between a log pile and the back shed one rainy autumn day.
The battery-operated puppy that barked and walked.
The many miniature models I loved so dearly.
“What is this?” I breathed, awe softening my voice to a whisper.
“This… isThe Nutcracker,” Curtis announced proudly. “It’s my greatest invention. A machine designed to extract all the elements necessary to make your Christmas wish come true.”