YARNFIRE GATHERING STORIES · 04 / 10
The Repair Shop for Saturdays
Teamwork · workshops & friend groups
Make a little room for each voice.
Four short reader parts. About 2–4 minutes of reading, or 12–20 minutes with discussion and the closing activity. Invite four readers, rotate in pairs, or let one person read it all. Listening and passing count as participating.
Suggested for ages 8+ with a facilitator who has previewed the story. No acting, personal disclosure, or materials are required unless you choose the optional activity. These are original fictional stories, free to read together in this preview collection.
READER 1 · PASS THE STORY
Mara opened a Saturday repair table with a borrowed toolbox and a sign that read WE CAN TRY. Her friend Sol thought the sign sounded uncertain. He made another: FIXED WHILE YOU WAIT. Before Mara could object, their first customer arrived with a clock that ran backward. Their second brought a chair with three legs. Their third carried a small wooden boat in two pieces.
READER 2 · PASS THE STORY
Sol took the clock apart. Mara measured the chair. The boat belonged to a child named Kit, who watched every movement of their hands. Nobody asked what mattered about it. Sol suggested stronger glue and a new coat of blue paint. “It will look new,” he said. Kit pulled the pieces closer. A long silence settled over the table.
READER 3 · PASS THE STORY
Mara put down her ruler. “What would you like us to keep?” she asked. Kit showed them a crooked yellow stripe. His sister had painted it before she moved away. He did not mind the crack so much. He wanted the boat to stand on his shelf with the stripe still visible. Sol looked at his tin of blue paint. Then he shut the lid.
READER 4 · PASS THE STORY
They made a little stand that held both pieces together without covering the stripe. The chair received a solid new leg. The clock remained in a labeled box for someone with more experience. At closing time Sol turned his sign over. On the blank side he wrote ASK FIRST. Mara hung it beside WE CAN TRY. They had repaired two objects, postponed one, and improved the shop.
AFTER THE LAST LINE
Let the story start a conversation.
- Why was looking new the wrong goal for this repair?
- When have you wanted understanding before a solution?
- How could our group make it easier to say “I don’t know yet”?
A small thing to do together
In pairs, describe a small practical challenge. The listener asks one clarifying question before suggesting anything. Passing is welcome.
Keep it optional. Discuss the characters instead of your own life whenever you prefer.