13 October 2012
November 1850 somewhere near London
Phillipa and Zophar sat patiently in their boss's office. Phillipa liked his grand office, she had since the day she met him. He had comfortable leather chairs arranged around his oak desk. There were thick curtains hanging from the windows and even a strange picture that had been painted with liquid mercury. The picture fascinated Phillipa no end. She was curious about it and had decided that one day she would ask Mr Finstonesen what it was. Phillipa had only ever been in Mr Finstonesen's office twice before and those were the only times she had seen him. A large grandfather clock counted every second that the two were in the room. It was as if it were counting down to the arrival of their boss. Mr Finstonesen appeared, eventually. He started by greeting them in what sounded like German. Neither Zophar nor Phillipa could speak a word of German. When he was certain that the two really didn't understand what he was saying, Mr Finstonesen grinned at them before starting once again in English. "How are you this fine afternoon?" He asked curiously. Both father and daughter replied with a simple "fine". Their boss nodded. "I won't keep you here long but I have some matters I must discuss. Zophar, you do realise that profits aren't exactly rolling, don't you?" "Y-yes, I do." "To be honest we are barely even making enough. I'd like you to know that your position is safe but you must be prepared to see some of your friends leave." Zophar went quiet. He would, of course, be upset about saying goodbye to his friends but he was also concerned about how the factory would manage with even less workers. Mr Finstonesen handed them both their envelopes of money and then they left. Phillipa and Zophar walked along the cold pavements in silence. Both were cold and upset. Phillipa knew that there would be snow soon and she was nervous about having to walk through it to get to work. Her father, on the other hand, was worried about the future of the company and the lives of his friends. Maria smiled at her daughter and husband as they walked inside. "How was your day?" Once again they both answered with a mere "fine" and then disappeared into the bathroom to get scrubbed up for dinner.
The Primocoggler Part 2 • Opuss № I