Once upon a time, in a far, far away country, was a toy maker named Matteo who made beautiful and exquisite toys. His toys were intricate and lifelike, from the simplest of birds to the most complicated clockwork mouse. Far and wide, this humble toy maker’s toys are coveted by everyone in the land. But it was hard to find him, as he stayed beneath the meadows, behind the great Oak Tree, beyond the Babbling Creek, in a little cottage made of cider. He only made his way to the town’s market once every fortnight, where his steady mare pulls his wagon full of beautiful toys.

As he sells his toys to children, the lonely toy maker longs for one. While his hands are busy tinkering with gears and fabric and he finds joy in making others happy, he had no one to come home to, which slowly made him sad. One night, after weeks of toiling, he made 2 beautiful lifelike puppets to keep him company. A boy and a girl, made out of willow and maple wood respectively, lifelike but never to breathe. He kept them on the mantle, overlooking his work station, watching them with eyes full of longing.

One night, a typhoon struck the peaceful valley. Gusts after gust of wind ravaged the trees, uprooting the weaker bushes and tumbling them into the creek. Stray branches and rocks flew haphazardly, cracking windows and damaging properties in the small town. All activity of the active town came to a halt, as it’s inhabitant took shelter from the terrifying typhoon; the toymaker did the same.

On the second night of the typhoon, as gales of wind whipped and whirled between the trees, a knock was heard coming from the toy maker’s door. Behind it, an old shivering lady, with her cloak whirled wildly behind her, asking for shelter.

“Please, kind sir, spare little old me some food and shelter.” She pleaded, a shaky exhale coming out as gasps from the bitter cold raging behind her. “I cannot offer you money right now, but I promise you, I will make sure I’ll pay you back for this! Please, help me!”

Without hesitation, the kind toy maker opened his arms, and his home, to the hapless old lady who was taking short, shuddering breaths. He made way to his firewood reserve and took some wood to be fed to the fireplace, as means to warm her up. He scoured his tiny home for a blanket, and wrapped it around the old lady, keeping her snug from the icy cold coming from her unfortunate journey. He made her soup and took good care of her for 3 nights, as the typhoon ravaged the valley.

When the typhoon left, it was also time for the old lady to leave the toy maker’s little cottage. With a flourish, she chucked off the shawl around her, revealing her true identity. Standing tall and proud before the shell-shocked toymaker was no longer a hunched old woman, but a beautiful lady with sharp eyes, a straight back and a slender waist. The mesmerizing lady took his hand into hers and smiled kindly.

“You have been kind, humble toymaker, to this old lady who had nothing to offer you. I am Penina, the Witch of The South, from the Apennine Mountains. I take this form to hinder burglars and robbers from attacking me, and was on my way to Sicila when the typhoon hit. I was fortunate to have found your home, and that you were willing to take a stranger like me in. promised you I will pay you back, so tell me your deepest desires.” She explained, a gentle smile on her ruby red lips.

The toy maker was lost for words as he took in her explanation. Pausing in hesitation, his eyes trailed over to the two puppets on the mantle. He gulped. Could his wish really be fulfilled?

“I would like to have children. I would like them to be alive.” He pointed to his most precious creations. She made her way and picked one up. “I can do that.” She answered, confident and willing.

“No. I mean, I’d like both to be alive.” He reaffirmed.

Her face changed from confident to hesitant. “One child, I can give you. But another? I might need something from you.” She explained, putting back the puppet next to its twin.

“Anything, Penina.” He groused, feeling closer than ever to his greatest wish. She hesitated.

“I need your heart, Matteo. It’s a powerful spell that I can’t do without it, considering that I am breathing life to 2.” She finally explained, looking him in the eyes.

“Take it. I’ll do anything.” He said, final in his decision.

With a nod, she reached a slender hand straight into his chest, before pulling out gently a pulsing red glow. Breathing a spell under her breath, she split the glow into two, and carefully placed one on each puppet’s wooden chest. The toy maker watched in awe as she smothered her glowing palm on top of their abdomen, sealing the remnants of his heart into his puppets.

Penina cradled both puppets in her arms, the last whispers of her spell coming fast and dying fast. A hush fell upon the two humans, before being broken by the gentle first breaths taken by the two puppets.

Two pairs of glimmering azure eyes blinked sleepily from Penina’s arms. She transferred both of them to Matteo, who was looking at them full of wonder in his eyes.

“Now listen carefully. There is only one rule to this spell: Do not separate them. Ever. Do you understand?” She explained, a little chuffed from performing such a powerful spell. She saw him meekly nod, his attention still taken by the two waking puppets stirring in his arms.

She sighed, before turning her back to gather her things. Reaching for the door, she paused when a hand took her own.

“Thank you.” The toy maker grimly said. Penina smiled gently.

“Take care.” She replied.

Before the little cottage disappeared behind the dense foliage of the woods, Penina took one last look at it, an unsettling feeling pooling low in her gut. The toy maker stopped smiling after she took his heart for the spell.