The Tailor of Winds
In a hill-wrapped Village with no name, the wind never followed any weather patterns or predictions. It followed the tailor.
Mr. Thomas was a mysterious old man who wore gold-rimmed glasses that were always slipping down his nose. He ran a small shop selling clothes so perfect not even the sharpest of blades could cut through them, and not even the tiniest specks of dirt could stay on them. His stitching was the definition of flawless. However, the true magic was in his fabric – somehow it always matched the wind.
When little Ms. Jane wore one of Mr. Thomas’s shawls to the village’s harvest fair, it flowed around her like water, drawing the attention of many of the attendees. When the mail boy wore the green coat that Mr. Thomas had woven, the wind helped him pedal up the steepest hills.
There were rumors that Mr. Thomas could hear the wind speak, that his thread was the breeze and the thunder. No one knew where he got his fabric.
Eventually, Mr. Thomas started selling less and less clothes, and the wind became lighter. People naturally assumed it was because of the decreasing amount of wind-drawing clothes being sold.
However, one summer, the wind stopped. It just vanished. Mr. Thomas’s shop closed. Crops started wilting, and kites that the village children played with sat unattended in the dying, unmoving grass.
Finally, a young girl named Brielle showed up at the door of Mr. Thomas’s closed shop. She wore a sky blue dress that Mr. Thomas had given her for her birthday last year – a dress that billowed every time she twirled. Brielle took a deep breath and knocked.
After a few seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing Mr. Thomas, looking tired and frail.
Brielle looked sadly at Mr. Thomas and said, “Mr. Thomas, did you take the wind away?” The tailor looked at her for a few seconds before gesturing for her to step inside and take a seat. The second Brielle stepped in, her gaze landed on a mannequin, dressed in a colorful, shimmering coat. The coat smelled like storm clouds, looked like the sunrise, and felt like a soft, warm breeze and a harsh, cold gale.
Mr. Thomas cleared his throat. “This is the Windkeeper’s Coat. It holds the wind. But it must be worn by someone who is willing to spread the joyful feeling of a breeze through places that need it.”
Brielle looked at Mr. Thomas. “I am willing to do that just to feel the wind again. Can I wear it?”
Mr. Thomas looked startled, but after studying her expression for a while, he slowly lifted the coat from the mannequin and placed it around her shoulders. Brielle close her eyes, feeling a cool sensation of the breeze against her skin. Then, she whooped and ran from the shop.
Brielle became the Windkeeper. She was true to her word, and she dedicated all her time to visiting all sorts of places that couldn’t feel the joy of having wind with them. Every now and then, when the sky is too still, Brielle will always visit to bring back the breeze.
