Part 14: Soot in the Petri Dish

Patient I: The black fog seems terrifying. If I'd been there, I'd have buried myself in the garden or jumped into the sewer before it reached me.
Patient II: Thankfully, all the patients and nurses were fine. Only Leonard's daughter got a few bruises.
Patient I: But what a shame it is that the building was ruined. It was 300 years old, you know. The stained glass alone was a masterwork.
Patient II: cough Bugger. I just can't seem to spit it out. I feel like my chest's on fire.
Tooth Fairy: Take this medicine three times a day, and you'll feel better tomorrow.
Tooth Fairy hands over the medicine, then takes out a small notebook to jot something down.
Tooth Fairy: Case 132, clinical symptoms: burning sensation in chest, blackening of ears. Quite different from a regular tuberculosis patient. Maybe this is a different disease altogether.
Patient I: Damn this black fog! The qualifiers are canceled, the fair's closed down ...
Patient I: Even Cross Street's been cordoned off. To see the posters of the athletes all covered up with flyers ... It's utterly hopeless.
Patient I: The workers are striking again, just like the old days. They seem to be the only ones who dare to go outdoors. Although, since so many have lost their jobs, I suppose they don't have any reason to go out anymore.
Patient I: Hmm? What are you doing, Ms. Tooth Fairy?
Tooth Fairy: Collecting saliva samples to put in Petri dishes. I want to see what will grow. The sample I collected two days ago has already grown something unusual.
Patient I: Something unusual?
Tooth Fairy: A ball of black fog, weaker than the one I met in the alley. Its existence is unstable. Its form changes daily.
Tooth Fairy: It doesn't appear to have any self-consciousness, but that critter in the alley was definitely intelligent.
Patient I: Huh, this thing. It looks like the illustration in the old book I read to my son.
Patient I: I can't quite remember the title, but it does mention a creature like this.
Tooth Fairy: A creature like this?
Brimley: Oi! Ms. Tooth Fairy!
The startled hat hurtles toward them, wobbling as he goes.
Brimley: It's an emergency, darl! The little tacker's in danger!
Nurse: Please, Mr. Hat, keep your voice down in the hospital. The patients need to rest.
Brimley: Sorry about that, but this can't wait. Ms. Tooth Fairy, they said a girl's climbed to the top of the old bell tower, and she's planning to jump off!
Tooth Fairy: A girl? You mean ...
Brimley: Yeah, Flutterpage! No normal girl could climb all the way up there!
Passerby I: Oi, girl! Get down! It's dangerous up there!
Not even the noise of the carriages and the crowd can reach as high as the bell tower, let alone the shout of one passerby.
At the top of the tower, Flutterpage is contently airing out her linens.
Flutterpage: Knock, knock. The little knocker-upper loves hangin' sheets. Every one of them brings back a sweet memory.
Flutterpage: The first sheet smells like cucumber and tobacco; the second, night dew and stars; the third, hah, Mummy's cuddles.
Flutterpage: Knock, knock.
Tooth Fairy: You know, you didn't need to come up so high just to hang your sheets.
Flutterpage: Ms. Tooth Fairy?! Wh-What are you doin' here?
Having finally reached the top of the tower, Tooth Fairy exhales heavily.
Tooth Fairy: I wanted to ask you the same thing.
Flutterpage: I'm havin' some quiet time in my secret base.
Flutterpage: Off you pop. We'll meet up later.
She gently shoos the canary fluttering near her feet.
Tooth Fairy: I understand your need for privacy, but given that almost everyone in London is talking about a girl who's about to jump off the bell tower, I'd say this isn't the spot for it.
Flutterpage: Jump off the bell tower? Oh, like I might fall? Don't worry. I'll be fine as long as the wind's blowin'. I'll ride it all the way to ...
Tooth Fairy: Australia?
Flutterpage: Yeah, Australia. They must be preparin' for the finals there.
The girl fidgets nervously with the clip haphazardly tucked into her hair.
Flutterpage: Come here, Ms. Tooth Fairy. Have a seat.
Tooth Fairy gracefully swings her leg over the railing, and the two sit quietly side by side, their feet swinging among the clouds.
Passerby II: Come on down, Liberti! Quickly! It's dangerous up there!
Passerby III: Don't listen to him, Liberti! Oi, you, watch your words! She might jump right off the bloody thing!
The clamor of the streets below continues.
Flutterpage: Why?
Tooth Fairy: Why what?
Flutterpage: First, they told me to get down, and then they told me not to. Why'd they change their minds so quickly?
Flutterpage: Not just them. It's like, all of a sudden, everythin's changed. People said they wanted the qualifiers, but then they canceled them. They said they'd find a solution, but then they just completely gave up on solvin' the problem.
Flutterpage: Why couldn't they just keep at it until they achieved somethin'? It's like climbin' this bell tower. You've got to push through and keep goin' until you reach the top. Otherwise, you'll never get to enjoy the view.
Tooth Fairy: Maybe they ...
After a quick moment of reflection, Tooth Fairy shakes her head.
Tooth Fairy: Well, I don't know.
Flutterpage: Ms. Tooth Fairy.
Flutterpage: I think I did somethin' wrong.
Flutterpage: I can cut my own hair, cook my own meals, and do my own laundry. No one taught me. I just figured it out myself.
Flutterpage: I used to think the world was like the fish tank I had at home. No matter how many questions I had, the answers were all inside, just like the fish swimmin' in there.
Flutterpage: I was patient, too. I'd take the fish one by one and carefully look them over, and I wouldn't stop until I'd checked every scale—yep, every single one.
Flutterpage: Well, unless Mum and Dad scolded me.
Flutterpage: Actually, sometimes I couldn't figure out why they hit me. I just had a lot of questions, and I wanted to know the answers.
Flutterpage: Anyway, now I've learned the truth about the world.
Flutterpage: It's different from what I imagined.
Flutterpage: I thought it was a round tank, but it was actually square. I thought there were goldfish swimmin' inside, but actually there were pinchin' crabs and chompin' sharks, sometimes even just pieces of rubbish.
Flutterpage: The round tank only existed in my mind, and all the answers I found were nothin'—just my imagination.
Flutterpage: And what's worse is that I hurt others with my imaginary answers.
A gentle breeze rustles their hair.
Tooth Fairy: You mean Ms. O'Hagan?
Flutterpage: ...
Flutterpage: I let her down.
A faint scent of lemon floats by. Tooth Fairy gives an unexpected smile.
Tooth Fairy: I ... I spent my entire youth learning how to get along with others.
Tooth Fairy: And you know what I realized? People will change as long as the result benefits them.
Tooth Fairy: Once things are going well, whether expected or not, people often forget the goals they set before they reached that point.
Tooth Fairy: What I'm trying to say is, we need to remember who we really are and what we really want.
Flutterpage turns her head to look at Tooth Fairy, curiosity in her eyes.
Tooth Fairy tilts her head to the side, as though deep in thought.
Tooth Fairy: Ms. Willow must've known what she really wanted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become the youngest Floor Ritual record holder of the century.
She pauses.
Tooth Fairy: I'm sure she understands that it wasn't your fault.
Tooth Fairy: You didn't hurt her. In fact, you didn't hurt anyone.
Tooth Fairy: You just need to look at the fish tank in a new way.
Flutterpage: ...
Flutterpage looks off into the horizon.
Flutterpage: Ugh. It hurts.
She presses her hand to her cheek, her little face scrunched up small.
Tooth Fairy: What's wrong? Let me take a look.
Tooth Fairy: Hmm. You're losing a tooth.
Tooth Fairy: A new tooth is pushing out the old one.
Flutterpage: A new tooth? But I've already lost all my baby teeth.
Tooth Fairy: Open your mouth. Don't worry. It won't hurt.
Flutterpage: Ah ... Ugh ... Ugh! Ouch!
Tooth Fairy: It's out.
Tooth Fairy: Look.
She opens her hand, revealing a perfectly intact tooth.
Flutterpage: I-I thought I didn't have any baby teeth left.
Tooth Fairy: Well, you don't anymore. This was the last one.
Flutterpage moves closer to get a better look at it.
Flutterpage: Ew, it stinks!
Tooth Fairy: It does. I suppose I'll keep this, then.
Tooth Fairy produces a handkerchief, contentedly wraps the tooth, and stows it in her pocket.