Well, this brings back memories. I look around the town. "Aunt Thorne, I think she said it was here." I look at Jackie and nod. "This shop, I know it. The man who owns it made a carving for me. It was the basic family."
He smiles. "Well, why not see if he remembers us? I used to stop by to look at some of the trinkets before." I nod. "Alright. Come on." We enter the small shop and look around. It appears he has focused more on woodwork.
"I will be with you in a moment." The voice sounds tired, there seems to be a hint of sadness as well. I look at some of the small toys and clocks. "Look at this one!" I turn and walk over to Jackie. He is looking at a carving of a woman.
The longer I look at it, the more familiar it looks. "Is that...?" He turns to grin at me. "It looks an awful lot like you." I nod. "I suppose it does..."
There is the sound of footsteps and I turn to see an old man. When he sees us, he stops. "You..." I nod. "Jack and, the kind lady." I smile. "Good to see you again. How have you been?" He walks nearer.
"Well enough, I suppose. You still look the same." I motion towards the carving. "I can see that you remembered me." He looks at it and nods. "Oh, yes. You never returned, and the one who picked up the carving never returned either. You made a strong impression on me though. Besides, you were looking for Jack."
Jackie smiles at him. "How has the shop been?" He looks around. "It does well. Though, less customers have been coming in lately. I suppose I am getting old." Jackie shakes his head. "Not really, I am sure business will pick up again."
I nod. "Right, we came here for a reason." He walks over to a chair to sit. "What do you need this time?" I smile. "Ah... Well, you see, we received word that there were high traces of magic here. The Blue Fairy, Marilee, noticed that it came from your shop."
He frowns. "Magic?" I nod. He sighs. "You may be talking about the night my son came to life." I exchange a look with Jackie. "Your... son? Came to life? What exactly do you mean by that?" He looks past us, seemingly lost in thoughts of the past?
"You see, I have been alone many years now. I am not able to have children, and no one was willing to marry me either. After you had come, and I carved the family for you, it made me wish for a family of my own."
He sighs. "I worked hard to try earning money, hoping I might find someone willing to become my family. But, a few years passed and I had no luck. Just a week or so ago, I bought wood from a man. I decided, that if I could not have a family, I would make one. I carved the block of wood into the shape of a boy."
I nod. "So, this puppet, came to life?" He nods. "I figured, a marionette would be perfect. Even if it was just me pretending he was real. But, when I had woken up, he had come to life! Though he was still a wooden boy, he could move and talk!"
There is a hint of joy that flashes in his eyes, but then, it vanishes. "I named him Pinocchio. I bought him a school book and sent him to school, but, he never returned. It has been several days already. I went out searching for him, but could not find any trace. The teacher told me he never even arrived at school."
He covers his face with his hands. "What kind of father loses his own son?! I am terrible!" He begins to weeps and press my lips together. Ah, crying. I turn to look at Jackie. He sighs and walks closer to pat the man on the shoulder.
"Mister Geppetto, we will find your son for you." He looks up at Jackie. "Truly? You would do that for me?" Jackie nods. "Of course." I nod. "He is right. Though, we will need a lead at least..." I frown and try to think on what to do.
"Right! The man who sold you the wood. What is his name?" He shakes his head. "I do not know. I had never seen him before, but I can tell you what he looked like." I nod. "That would be a start at least."
