Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt

by Leah Day

  “What are you doing, little Maker?” Patch asked.

  “I need to fix this,” she said, rolling up her sleeves. “I need to fix all of it by midnight.”

  “Says who? How do you know this?” Patch frowned. “And why midnight?”

  “A woman told me when I touched the crown. It’s a long story, but this–” she gestured at the crown “–shouldn’t spin. Quilst is broken and I’m the only one who can fix it.

  She sank her fingers into the shredded material. What do I say to mend everything? She thought. She focused on the soft fibers sliding against her skin and the right words flowed seamlessly out of her mouth.

  “Heal. Stitch yourself back together. Fix whatever was broken and become whole again.”

  For a second she didn’t think it worked. The broken pieces of thread and scraps of fabric just sat in a motionless heap on the floor. Then with a whoosh that ruffled her hair, half the pile disappeared. Everyone gasped as a swirl of fiber flew across the room to the window.

  She ran over in time to see blue and purple threads weaving themselves back together along the seams Menda had ripped. She touched the windowsill cautiously. It was perfect. The fabrics were restored and a line of decorative stitching edged the seams.

  “Look at that!” an excited voice called.

  Mally whirled around. A mini tornado had formed in the doorway. Blue threads and scraps of fabric twisted in midair and slowly wove themselves back together. A Bear’s Claw quilt block slowly took shape in the center.

  “It’s Pattern!” Hoop called and all the animals in the room cheered. Mally bit her lip as the block changed and the giant blue bear was suddenly standing in the doorway, good as new. He gripped the wall, shaking his head as a dozen animals rushed up for a hug.

  “Mally Maker? What happened? The door sealed and that’s the last…” His eyes grew wide as he spotted the crown on her head.

  “It’s okay, we won. Menda is gone.” Mally let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I’m so happy you’re back.”

  A red and green quilt block swirled together next to him.

  “That’ll be the Christmas Gang!” Goldie called and all the mice cheered as the block transformed into a festive cat and four tiny mice. They all looked dazed, and even more so when they were engulfed by a crowd of animals, all hugging and squeaking and talking to them at once. More quilt blocks wove themselves back together and soon the room was filled with happy chatter.

  “That’s everyone we lost when the door closed behind you,” the purple monkey said as Pin’s green face appeared in the doorway. “Everyone can be remade once again!”

  The little crowd of animals cheered. Mally felt the spinning crown slow very slightly. She returned to Ms. Bunny’s side. The doll took a deep, shuddering breath.

  “Better,” she said. “It feels a bit better.”

  “I’m going to fix it, Ms. Bunny. I’ll fix everything,” Mally said. “Just hang on and I’ll be right back.”

  She turned and found Patch right behind her, his wings unfurled and ready to fly. He bent down slightly and Mally raced to his side and leapt onto his back.

  “Maker Mally, err… Queen Mally, how can we help?” Pattern called from the door. He was still being hugged around the knees by the black and white cat, but he looked ready to take charge once more.

  “Search the mountain and collect all the broken pieces,” Patch answered for her. “Pile them up so she can fix it quickly.”

  Mally caught his logic instantly. “As long as the pieces are touching, I only have to mend them once. We need to fix everything before midnight.”

  “We’ll go on a scrap hunt and pile it all up for you.” Pattern saluted her, then turned to the other animals. “Come on, Queen Company! Let’s clean up this mountain!”

  “We’re going to start on everything ripped outside and work our way back here.” Mally searched the room for Hoop. “Can you take care of Ms. Bunny until we get back?”

  “It would be an honor, Queen Mally,” the red bear said with a bow.

  With that Patch whirled around and raced to the window. Mally flattened herself against his back and with a mighty leap, they were out of the mountain and soaring through the air.

  The ground below was a gruesome mess. Tangled spider webs hung off the mountains. Menda’s last set of snarls had eaten the fabric right off the landscape, leaving huge piles of shredded fiber next to wide channels of white batting. Mally searched everywhere for animals, birds, anyone who had survived, but nothing moved. In the distance she could see a strange brown lump. Her hands clenched into fists as she realized it must be all that was left of the Great Tree.

  Patch landed at the base of the mountain where the purple fabric met the green landscape. The surface gave sickeningly under his paws. Mally lurched off his back and sank her hands into a small mound of broken threads. She said the same words she’d used before and whoosh the pile disappeared. In seconds the purple patch of ground became sturdy and stable as the missing fibers knitted themselves back into the landscape.

  But it was such a small space repaired. Mally could see miles of destruction stretching out in every direction. She took a deep breath. “One down, a hundred million to go.”

  “Think of it like taking your first thousand stitches,” Patch suggested. “Except it’s your first thousand magical repairs.”

  “Good idea. That was number nine hundred, ninety-eight.” She scrambled onto his back, and then leaned over his side so she could skim her fingers through another tangle as he took flight. With a sound like a gunshot, the pile of threads burst apart and Patch nearly fell out of the sky.

  “What was that?”

  “I guess the bigger the pile, the louder the noise it makes,” Mally said, watching the fibers swirl off to their proper places in the quilt. “That makes sense. It’s a lot of stuff flying in all directions.”

  “Just give me a little warning next time, little Queen.”

  They worked together for hours. Mally sank her hands into everything broken she could find and at her words, the threads and fabrics instantly swirled away to repair the quilt. Patch took to carrying her in his front paws so he could drop her off, then swing around and scoop her back up again as the quilt mended itself.

  At long last, only the spider web wall circling the largest purple mountain remained. It sagged over the landscape, like a great soggy necklace. By some unspoken agreement, they had saved the biggest mess for last.

  Patch set her down a few feet from the wall and Mally walked toward it. Thread, yarn, and bits of recognizable quilt blocks were tangled together in the mess that stretched nearly thirty feet high in places.

  Twisted ropes stuck out from the surface and it was hard to believe they wouldn’t whip back to life and suck her inside. Mally wrapped her arms around herself as she drew near. It was cold in the shadow of the wall. She pressed her hands flat to the surface and felt a tremor echo through the landscape.

  “Heal Quilst. Stitch yourself back together. Fix whatever was broken and become whole again,” she said clearly. The ground shook and a sound like thunder rumbled in the distance, growing steadily louder. She raced back to Patch as pressure built against her skin.

  She reached his side as the wall exploded. The force of the shock wave threw them to the ground. The sky went black as every broken thread, every ripped fabric sought out its original place in the landscape. Patch unfurled his wings, shielding her from the worst of the storm.

  Mally covered her mouth with her hands, struggling to breathe as the air became thick with cotton and wool fibers. Her ears popped painfully as the whistle of flying fiber grew to a roar. It was like being in the middle of the tornado once again, only this time she had created the maelstrom.

  Quite suddenly, everything stopped. Silence rang in Mally’s ears and she pushed against Patch’s wings. He relea
sed her and she sat up, not knowing what to expect.

  The landscape of Quilst stretched out before her, as perfect lush and green as the first day she’d seen it. The blue sky was filled with birds once again and all the patchwork animals she’d brought to the mountain were back on the hillside, looking a bit confused, but no worse for the wear.

  “It’s back,” she whispered. Soft yarn grass reached to her knees and tickled between her bare toes. She bent down and ran her fingers over the perfect seams and tiny stitches Grandma Grace had made to create the world. The Great Tree stood tall in the distance, its branches stretching high into the sky.

  The crown had changed as well. With a sigh of relief, Mally felt it slow down and nearly stop spinning around her head. She was able to reach up and touch the braided band, something she wouldn’t dare do before.

  “You did good, little Queen,” Patch said. “One thousand repairs at least. But we might want to tell them what’s going on.” He nodded at the growing crowd of animals congregating on the landscape.

  Mally stood up on his back to give herself more height and waved her arms to get their attention. “It’s okay! We won!” she yelled and a cheer went up as the animals gathered around them. Everyone started asking questions at once.

  “Is the Ripping Witch dead?”

  “How did you defeat her?”

  “Where are my ears?!”

  That last call came from the middle of the group where Mally could see a handful of threads still zipping through the air towards a gray monkey.

  “Be patient,” she said. “You’ve just been repaired, but it may take more time for all your threads to come back to you. I’ll tell the whole story tonight at the Great Tree. Right now we need to find anything still broken. I’ve fixed everything here, but I know there’s more in the far reaches of Quilst. Fan out and search and bring anything broken, even a single piece of cut thread to the tree tonight and we will fix this world once and for all.”

  “And make it quick,” Patch added. “Or your new queen will have a mighty headache around midnight tonight.”

  The crowd of animals immediately turned and ran in all directions. Mally sighed and sat down on Patch’s back. She rested her forehead briefly on the green star between his shoulder blades. The crown stopped spinning momentarily and it was such a relief.

  “Tired, little Queen?”

  “No, let’s keep going.” Mally sat up and shook her head. They were just about to take off when a voice called from above. Mally whipped around to find a familiar orange and yellow bird soaring out of the sky.

  “Mally! Mally! Mally! Did it work? Did the flying geese help you?” Sunshine called. She looked perfect, every stitch in place, her bright little body glowing like a fireball.

  Words failed her so Mally just opened her arms and Sunshine flew straight into her embrace. They fell to the ground in a tangled hug. When they finally broke apart, Sunshine hopped back on her short legs and cocked her head to the side.

  “Hey! You took the crown! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You’re queen? Really?”

  “Oh Sunshine! What you did—” Mally’s eyes brimmed with tears as she remembered the battle on the mountain and the bird’s brave sacrifice. “Yes, we won, and it’s all thanks to you. How did you know about the crown?”

  “Lucky guess.” Sunshine shrugged. “She never took it off and once when I bumped into her, it slipped and she really freaked out. I figured if she wanted it that bad, it must be special. It is, isn’t it? Super special?”

  “Super special,” Patch said. “You’re smarter than you look, bird.”

  “Oh Patchy Poo! Thank you!” Sunshine rushed at the cat and enveloped him in her wings. After a long hug, she squared her small shoulders and Mally knew what she was going to ask next.

  “Ms. Bunny? Have you found her?” she whispered.

  “Yes. We found her and the mice stitched her all back together,” Mally said quickly. “But…”

  “Did you see the witch rip her chest? Did you see what she did with the pieces?” Patch asked.

  “Yes, it was awful. She sent them off with one of those snarly things and said ‘You know where to hide them’ but I didn’t know what that meant.” Sunshine trembled, her wings wrapping tight around her body.

  “She’s going to be okay. I promise, she’s going to be fine,” Mally said. “We just need to fix Quilst as quickly as possible, and then find her missing pieces. Can you help us?”

  “Of course!” Sunshine said. “What do you need me to do, Queen Mally Maker?”

  “Tell the birds to search for anything broken and spread the word about the meeting tonight at the Great Tree. I need to fix everything before midnight tonight.”

  “Got it! Broken stuff to the Great Tree. Check!” Sunshine nodded her head vigorously.

  “But there’s one more thing,” Mally said, drawing close and lowering her voice to a whisper. “I need you to look for Menda. What was left of her body fell out of the mountain. She was in really bad shape so I don’t think she could have survived, but… I’d still like to find her body just in case.”

  “I’m on it! I’ll find her Mally, I promise!” With that Sunshine rocketed into the sky. Birds swirled around her, then began breaking off in smaller flocks, heading in all directions.

  “Are we going on a witch hunt too?” Patch asked.

  “Yes,” Mally said. “And a Grandma hunt. We have to find them both.”

  Patch beat his wings against the ground and they rose slowly into the sky. Mally smiled as she saw the spots of white disappearing one by one. No more batting leaking through. No more rips in the landscape. She hoped it would be enough for Ms. Bunny.

  * * * * *

  Patch flew up to the mountains and wove between the peaks. They hadn’t searched this area as thoroughly and Mally could see many seams had yet to be healed. She heard a faint noise from below and leaned across Patch’s back to look down. They were at least a hundred feet off the ground, but she could have sworn she heard the neigh of a horse.

  “There’s something down there,” she called to Patch, pointing at a spot between two mountains.

  “Let’s check it out.” He angled his wings to take them into a steep dive. Mally spotted a long split in the ground between a purple and blue mountain. Batting filled the gap and there on the edge stood a massive brown horse. They landed awkwardly and Patch stumbled on the frayed ground.

  “Oak?” he yelled suddenly.

  “Patch? Is that you?” a female voice called back. The horse stepped cautiously into the light and Mally gasped. She towered over Patch, nearly twenty feet tall. Like the cat, she was a mix of many different fabrics, but her seams were all curved like the bark of a tree. Thick white hair flowed wildly across her shoulders, framing her beautiful face and huge gray eyes.

  But it was the sight of her body that had caught Mally’s attention. Her chest had been crudely ripped open. The hole stretched across her front, nearly two feet wide, the edges frayed and tattered. The cloth surrounding the cut had been badly distorted, and as Mally watched, small bits of stuffing and loose threads broke free and fell on the ground.

  “Well, look who grew up and sprouted wings,” the horse said, obviously pleased. “How long has it been, my friend?”

  “Too long, old girl. Too long,” Patch said gruffly.

  Mally slipped off his back quickly and immediately Patch hugged the horse with both paws wrapped around her neck. Mally noticed he was careful to avoid the gaping hole in her chest.

  “I see you’ve brought along a friend.” Oak’s large eyes were on Mally as they broke apart.

  “Um… hi. My name is Mally,” she said, stepping forward with her hand outstretched.

  Oak pulled her head back with a snort. “She’s a Maker. Patch, what are you doing? Did you learn nothing from our dealings with them before?”

  “I�
��m sure… he has good reason… to be with this girl,” came a soft, gasping voice. Mally looked around for who had spoken.

  There came a rustling from inside Oak’s chest. More white fiber rained down her front and a set of glittering red eyes suddenly gazed out of the torn hole. It was Mally’s turn to step back as the fabric around the cavity bulged. A dark shape moved within the horse’s body.

  Oak’s face contorted in obvious pain, but she quickly bent her head down and Mally caught her whisper, “Shh… don’t wear yourself out now. It’s our friend, Patch. Everything is going to be fine.”

  A soft, halting voice replied, “I know… I know. Don’t… worry.” More rustling came from the hole and the red eyes closed briefly, then opened to stare at Mally. “I am Shadow. Forgive Oak’s… rudeness. She’s carrying… a heavy burden. We have been… falling… for so long… and this is the first time we’ve seen… the sun in ages.”

  “What happened to you two?” Mally asked, pressing her hands over her heart. Just looking at the rip in Oak’s fabric made her own chest ache.

  “The Ripping Witch happened,” Patch growled, but his voice softened as he asked the horse, “How has he been doing?”

  “I’m right here… I may not be… whole… but I’m not deaf,” Shadow said, and Oak gasped as the fabric over her shoulders and neck rippled. She lifted her head quickly, her ears pulled back and teeth bared as a small black owl emerged and perched on the edge of her frayed fabrics. His triangular face tilted to look up at Patch and Mally saw his wings were wrapped tight around his chest. Something about the way he gripped his body reminded her instantly of Ms. Bunny.

  “You have a missing piece too,” Mally reached out automatically to help.

  “Stay back, Maker.” Oak shied away from her hands. “Don’t touch him!”

  “Calm, Oak… let the Maker… speak,” Shadow said in his slow, gasping voice.

  The horse pulled her long neck back with a snort. Mally cautiously approached and peered down at the little owl. He slowly spread his wings and she flinched at the sight. His entire chest had been shredded. Ribbons of frayed fabric remained, but it wasn’t enough to hold his stuffing inside. He had to keep his wings wrapped tightly around himself at all times.