âPlease, maâam.â Lara is using her very best patient civil servant voice. âI realise this is frustrating for you, but I cannot issue a birth certificate for that child!â This is shaping up to be a very confusing Monday morning. Itâs not like working for the civil registry is particularly thrilling, but itâs usually quite pleasant at least.
âI donât see why not!â the mother on the other end of the counter sulks. âHe is my son, isnât he? So I should be able to register him!â
Lara takes another desperate look at the child in question. Child, not baby, because he is standing on his own two feet and looks to be about ten years old. Even if heâs a bit short for his age.
âWhatâs wrong, Mama?â he asks, a typical childâs frown forming on his forehead, and Lara blinks. The childâs light brown skin has an odd pattern to it, almost like the grain of polished wâ
âNothing, honey,â the mother replies hastily. âThis nice lady is just trying to explain something to me.â
Lara feels her cheeks burn. âMaâam,â she says, bringing her voice all the way own. âYouâre supposed to register children within three days of their birth!â
The mother bristles like an angry hen. âHe woke up the day before yesterday! Itâs not his fault he wasnât born.â
Lara stares at her, any sort of reply stuck in her throat. She canât have heard that right.
She is just about to lose it â in front of a client no less â when one of her colleagues emerges from the copy room. âIs something the matter?â he asks concernedly. âCan I help?â
âAll I want,â the woman huffs. âIs to register my child.â
Lara is about to apologise to Collin for dragging him into this, but as soon as he glances down over the counter and sees the little boy, he hastily stands up straight again.
âAh, yes, I see,â he nods nervously. âNo problem at all, maâam. Iâll justâ Asha?â
âYes?â a voice answers from one of the offices in the back and Asha appears a moment later.
âA special registry for you,â Collin says, a tad sheepishly.
As soon as Asha sees the child, her eyebrows raise so high in delighted surprise that they nearly disappear under the edge of her hijab. âHello,â she smiles. âHow lovely to meet you. Whatâs your name?â
âWillow,â the boy replies cautiously.
âThatâs a great name,â she answers decidedly and promptly turns her smile on the mother, who already looks considerably happier. âIf youâll follow me to the other desk, weâll have Willow signed in in no time.â
Lara watches them go in silent bewilderment.
âI know,â Collin hums beside her. âItâs always the wooden puppets that come to life, never understood why.â
ââŠpuppets?â Lara gulps. The boyâs hair had looked rather like spun woolâŠ
âMm,â he nods. âBut Asha handles all the special registrations, so you neednât worry about it. Just smile, nod, and go fetch Asha. Thatâs what I do.â
Her head is beginning to spin, but Lara nods all the same. âRight. All special cases are for Asha.â
âExactly,â he smiles encouragingly. âJust remember, when it comes to birth certificates: living puppets, faerie changelings, babies from peaches, logs come to life, thatâs all Asha. Oh, and with the marriages we do come across the odd brought to life statue, and they obviously didnât have a birth certificate to begin with, so she handles those as well.â
Well thatâs just too much to process at once, so Lara settles for a dutiful sound of agreement instead of a proper reply. She watches with growing admiration how Asha chats happily with the mother and child from behind her counter. A few minutes later the two of them walk off, smiling proudly, and with the new papers tucked safely into the womanâs bag.
âThere we are,â Asha chimes. âNo harm done. And another proud single parent.â
âThank you,â Lara says, the apology clear in her voice, she really wishes she could have handled this a bit more gracefully.
âNo problem,â Asha replies warmly. âItâs your first month, donât beat yourself up about it.â
Lara makes a grateful sound and Asha gives her an encouraging smile.
âI give presentations at the head office, if youâre interested,â she says cheerfully. âBureaucracy, the Supernatural and You. You should come along some time! Because Iâm telling you, with the number of young people stomping off into the woods for some escapism nowadays, thereâs going to be a big influx of special cases. Mark my words.â
