An old, sick man named Ephraim Tuttle writes a letter to the Lightbender, indicating that he needs help. The letter refers to the fact that the Lightbender promised Ephraim a miracle when he was a little boy.

Thousands of miles away, the Lightbender’s messenger wakes up.

Ten-year-old Micah’s great aunt, Gertrudis, is staying with him and his grandfather, Ephraim. She is extremely strict, and Micah resents her controlling presence, especially her rules about how often he is allowed to see his grandfather, who is very sick in the room upstairs. Gertrudis is especially firm on banishing Micah from Ephraim’s room whenever Ephraim mentions anything about magic; she thinks that Ephraim is ridiculous and lacking in good sense, and she doesn’t want Micah to be influenced by him anymore.

Micah hopes that Gertrudis will let the kettle sing for a while when it starts to boil, but she dismisses this as a waste of time.

Micah tries to take the tea tray up to Ephraim, but Gertrudis tells him that he will make a mess and that she doesn’t want him to hear any more silliness.

Micah goes to his room and considers his homework assignment—to make an Incan artifact called a quipu from string.