Chapter 5: The Baker’s Windows
by Kristen S. Sandoz
Tonight our story returns to Copper and Justly. After Justly saved Copper from an untimely
death he had to find a new place to sleep at night. Before Copper Justly slept
under the outdoor oven at the Baker’s complex.
It was such a warm and dry place to nestle into, even on the coldest and
wettest nights. This clay oven was
stoked every day for the baking of the finest breads in the entire kingdom (so
the Baker thought) and it would therefore emit warmth long into the night. Justly received the privilege of sleeping
under the oven by cleaning the windows of the Baker’s shop. I know you think that I am making a mistake,
but I am not! Despite being blind Justly
had an excellent reputation for window washing.
How did he do it, you ask? Well,
let me tell you his secret for it is one all of us would do well to know.
Every month Justly preformed this duty for the baker. He had
heard that a window could show you what you looked like. As he washed the windows he would imagine
what he might look like in the window’s reflection. Did
he have a cleft chin or big ears? Was
his hair the color of warm sunshine or of the cool forest? Did he look like thin string beans or thick
tree trunks? He had a hunch that he looked
like thin wiry string beans but it would be nice to know for certain. Sometime he would take to imagining what he
wanted to look like. He wanted his arms
to be like the branches of a strong walnut tree. He wanted his face to be like the rays of the
sun, warm and welcoming.
Then his thoughts would drift away from what he looked like
on the outside to what he looked like on the inside. As he meditated
on this while he washed the window’s spots a magical thing happened to both
Justly and the Baker’s window. Justly was
actually washing away the things inside himself that were making him spotty and
unclean. He would wash away his own
desire to tell little innocent fib, or he would wash away his fear of water, or
he would wash away his hatred for the boys in town who bullied him. As those dirty spots in Justly were wiped
clean so were the window’s spots with them.
All that was left was crystal cleanness. Both inside and out!
It was in this way that the windows of the Baker’s shop were
cleaned each month. What a way to start
a day with self-evaluation and meditation! The Baker was so in awe of the boy’s ability
to perform this duty with such a disability that he let the boy claim the warm
spot under the oven as his own. The
Baker regularly left day old bread for Justly as well, but you did not hear
that from me as the Baker prided himself on his firm hand with the beggars of the
community. With Justly he had a fondness
and often couldn’t resist giving him these little gifts. He felt, too, that it was better than letting
the rats or pigs have his marvelous bread.
I have gone down a rabbit trail with the Baker and his
windows. Now I will have to save
Justly’s search for a new bed until next time.
In the meantime, wash a window and meditate on what the Witch Hazel
tells every young person who will listen, “Handsome on the inside is handsome on the outside.”
1…Now my story is done.
2…I love you!
3…Please kiss me.
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