Peppercup Passage
Tilo
“An elderly man as tall as a doorway, with round spectacles, a brass watchmaker's vest, and silver hair tucked behind his ears.”
Tilo is an elderly clock repairer who stands as tall as a narrow doorway, with patient hands and a careful way of moving through the lane. He enjoys quiet order and small routines, but he can become stubborn when his habits are interrupted.
3 stories feature Tilo
Where you've met them
The Awning Trouble
A row of market awnings in Peppercup Passage has started snapping and folding whenever the wind changes direction, shooing customers away from the stalls that need them most. The stallholders cannot keep their goods dry, and the whole market strip is at risk of shutting down if the awnings cannot be made steady again.
Tea Delivery at Lantern Sweep
At the far bend of Peppercup Passage, two neighborhood routines are colliding: the early tea delivery is arriving just as the lantern sweep is beginning, and neither can pause for the other. With cups clinking, brooms swishing, and the lane narrowing around them, the passage is about to become jammed from end to end unless a new way through is found.
The Bell in Peppercup Passage
When Peppercup Passage’s doorway bells chime out of step, Mina spots Tilo, a lost notice, and Pippa all at once. Each one seems to be pulling the lane in a different direction, and Mina must choose where to go first.