“This door won’t budge!” I grumbled pulling on the doorknob the next morning.

“Put your back into it!” Lily ordered.

I stopped. “Was the door locked on the inside?”

“I’ll check,” Lily replied before flying off. She returned a moment later. “It’s not locked.”

“Maybe I should try from the inside.”

“Couldn’t hurt. But are you sure the door opens out?”

“Yeah. Look at the hinges…”

“What is it Jase?”

“The hinges are rusted,” I answered. Lily flew closer and looked at the hinges.

“They’re not totally rusted. Maybe pushing from inside would knock them loose.”

“It’s worth a try. If that doesn’t work, maybe we could find some sunflowers or mint to make an oil with,” I replied walking around the house while Lily flew beside me.

*

“It budged!” Lily informed me a few minutes later.

“Yeah, I felt it,” I replied standing up straight.

“You could try running into the door at full speed.”

“I don’t think that would work,” I told my familiar. She grinned in reply. “Oh! You want to see me get hurt, do you?”

“Don’t be silly. That’s my job!” Lily retorted. “You know I don’t want to see you hurt. You’re getting better at teasing me though.”

“Thanks, on both counts.”

“Why don’t you check the tool kits we took from the lab? There should be some lubricants in them,” Lily suggested.

“You’re just thinking of this now?”

“Uh huh,” Lily answered nodding her head.

“That’s actually a good idea since everything else we took from there works.”

I got out the storage case and pulled out a toolbox. “I don’t even know what most of these tools are for.”

“You’ll be able to find out once we get the computer up and connected to the network,” Lily assured me.

“That kind of information is freely available?”

“Yep, just like the stuff you watched and read while we stayed at the lab was.”

“That’s great news. I’m going to have to work harder on the house.”

“No. Keep going like you’re going.”

“Right. We don’t want to give the villagers any hint that we have more than we do,” I agreed.

“Oh! That’s WD-40. It’ll do the trick,” Lily said pointing at a pair of blue spray cans with a red cap and yellow area around the name.

“That’s an interesting name. I wonder what it stands for,” I said picking up the can and pulling the little straw off the side of it.

“The straw goes into the nozzle,” Lily instructed. I pushed one end into the nozzle after taking off the cap. “WD stands for water displacement and the 40 stands for the number of times it took the company to get the formula correct.”

“That’s neat,” I replied standing up and going to the door. I shook the can after Lily advised me to and sprayed some along the crack. We went outside and I sprayed some on the hinges.

“Ok. Now try the door,” Lily suggested as she took the can from me.

“Show off,” I muttered as the can floated to the ground and Lily grinned at me. Lily kissed my cheek and then landed on my head. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you support,” Lily answered laying down on my head.

“You’re going to fall off.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Don’t pull my hair if you start to fall.”

“I won’t,” Lily promised. I pulled on the door, and it gave some more. Another couple of tugs and it opened. “Success! And I didn’t fall off.”

“Yay us!” I cheered.

Lily laughed. “That’s my job.”

“So, it is,” I agreed. I focused on the can, and it started to rise into the air. The WD-40 can started to shake and slip from my telekinetic grip. I felt Lily add her energy to mine and the can stabilized in the air. I was then able to bring it up to my hand. Lily clapped and cheered.

“You’re getting better!”

“My head hurts a little.”

Lily rubbed my head. “It’ll get better as you improve.”

“I hope so,” I replied spraying the hinges once more before testing the door. It wasn’t smooth, but a lot better than it was. I put the can on the basement floor beside the door.

“Why are you putting it there?”

“So, I can use it to spray the hinges anytime I need to.”

“You know that is a temptation.”

“A temptation for what?” I asked.

“Pranks.”

“Lily…”

“Not pranks on you. Pranks on the villagers.”

“What kind of pranks?”

“Spraying WD-40 in their shoes, on doorknobs, on floors, that sort of thing,” the pixie answered.

“Wouldn’t people slip, fall, and get hurt if you sprayed it on floors?”

“The first two, yes, the third, probably not.”

“I know I can’t stop you, so, just be careful.”

“Be careful doing what?” Yam asked as she and Willow flew up to us.

“Oh! That’s a can of WD-40,” Willow said. “We can use it for pranks!”

“I’ve already said as much,” Lily replied to the other pixie.

“That’s what Jase was warning you about?” Yam asked.

“Yep.”

“We need to spray Ama’s clothing with it first,” Willow said while smiling a devilish smile.

“And her hairbrush!” Yam added. Lily flew over to the other pixies. All three looked very excited.”

“What are you two doing here?” I asked.

“Oh. There is a woman that is almost to the property line. April wants to know if we should chase her off,” Yam replied.

“Don’t chase off a single woman. She might be a customer,” Lily told the other pixies.

“Alright. We’ll go tell her,” Yam said.

“Then we can go have some fun,” Willow said pointing at the WD-40.

“We’ll do that early in the morning just before the villagers start to wake up,” Lily replied. I shook my head. “Don’t worry. It’s good clean… well, dirty fun.”

“Yay!” Willow and Yam cheered before flying off. I opened and shut the metal door until a woman maybe ten years older than me got within speaking distance.

“Excuse me,” she said.”

“Yes?” I replied turning to look at her.

She looked confused. “What are you doing to that door?”

“Making sure it works properly. It was nearly rusted shut,” I answered.

“But why?”

“I plan on having my shop and workspace in the basement. This door leads directly into the basement and is on the side of the cottage closest to the village, so it makes sense to use it,” I replied.

“Oh.”

“I’m Jase Fisher by the way. This is Lily,” I introduced myself and my familiar. Lily was sitting on my left shoulder. She waved.

“So, it’s true. You do have a pixie for a familiar.”

“I like to think of it more as I have a human as my servant. Just ask your squirrel. I’m sure he feels the same way,” Lily said pointing to a squirrel paying a lot of attention to us in the tree closest to the cottage. The woman started to frown. “Just kidding! I love my Jase and he loves me just as you and your familiar love each other.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. “Is there something we can help you with miss…”

“Shepard. Carla Shepard,” the woman replied after shaking her head. “And yes, I need a certain kind of oil you should be able to help with.”

“What is it for? If it’s for cooking, the caravan delivered a lot of that if I’m not mistaken.” I asked. I knew I could make oil from certain kind of plants.

“It’s for a certain kind of dryness,” Carla answered.

“Oh! Is it a skin condition? If so, you may want to check with Ama first.”

“I’ve asked her and Ama doesn’t have anything for this condition.”

“Ok. Can I see the rash?”

“What? No! Only my husband can see that!” Carla shouted turning red.

“Jase, that was the wrong thing to ask.”

“No kidding,” I quietly murmured to Lily. Turning my attention back to Carla, I apologized. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to get an idea of the kind of skin condition you are having so I can come up with the best kind of treatment.”

“It’s not really a skin condition. It’s more an issue that only happens to women in a special place,” Carla said after a moment. She was still fairly red in the face.

“Oh! I get it,” Lily said.

“I’m glad you do because I’m lost,” I replied. Lily quietly told me what Carla’s issue was.

“Wait. That really happens?” I asked Lily out loud. Carla blushed.

“Yep.”

“Dryness can happen down there?” I asked my familiar. Carla turned a deeper shade of red.

“Uh huh.”

“Oh. Oh my,” I stuttered turning almost as red as Carla.

“I see the young alchemist gets it now,” Carla quietly said.

“Yes, he does,” Lily agreed.

“Uh, flaxseed oil should work,” I said after giving it some thought. “The oil is also good for skin moisturizing in general.”

“That’s good. Do you have any?”

“No, but I can make some if I can find linseed plants or perennial flax flowers. Do you know if either grows here?”

“I don’t,” Carla answered frowning.

“I’ll ask the others,” Lily said.

“Why does she suddenly look like she is asleep with her eyes open?” Carla asked.

“Huh?” I replied reaching up and gently taking Lily off my shoulder. She looked like nobody was home, but at least her eyes were their normal color. “I don’t know.”

A moment later she blinked at me. “Trillium says that both grow nearby, and May will show us where at.”

“Alright. We’ll gather them this afternoon and you can pick up a bottle of the oil in the morning,” I told Carla.

“Um, could I go with you and help gather what you need? I really need the oil.”

“The more the merrier,” Lily replied.