Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda and The Indian in the Cupboard story and ideas belong to Lynne Reid Banks.
This is my first solo story! I hope you enjoy reading it! XD
Chapter 1: Six plastic figures
My nose almost touched the glass. With my wad of tickets in my right hand and my youngest sibling bouncing up and down beside me, I scoured the containers of prizes within the glass cabinet. The shelves overflowed with various candies and cheap little toys set out for the children. Even though I was seventeen, I was ready to humor myself with the tickets I had recently won from one of the game boxes at the pizza place.
"What are you going to get, Evie?" said younger sister, Kimmy, anxiously rubbing against me in her excitement. "You should get the tattoos!"
"Nah, I know what I'm going to get now." My eyes were set on the bin containing tiny, plastic dinosaurs. They were so cute and adorable that I absolutely had to take them home.
I exchanged the tickets for six colorful dinosaurs. Satisfied with the trade, I carried them back to my family's table where they were enjoying pizza and soft drinks.
"Look at what I got!" I displayed the dinos on the table and took a seat in front of my grandfather.
"Why dinosaurs? That's so stupid," snickered Sharon. Older sister to Kimmy but younger than me, she was the contrary middle child, the black sheep of the family. I expected as much from her but I knew Grandpa would appreciate my trade goods a little more. I was eager to hear what kind of story he would whip up for me. Grandpa was famous for his narratives and I was always ready to hear one. He may be elderly, but he had the imagination of a kid.
Grandpa looked down at the knick-knacks before him, his balding head shining. His eyes grew distant as though deep in thought. His next words were slightly puzzling.
"You like dinosaurs?" His voice was slow but there was a spark in his eye.
"Yeah… They're cool… I guess." I looked around the room not knowing what else to say.
The corner of Grandpa's mouth turned up into a crooked smile, his wrinkly face no longer symmetrical.
"What about plastic people?" He must have noticed my quizzical brow because he chuckled softly to himself before reaching into his pants pocket. "Do you still have that old cupboard I gave you on your seventeenth birthday?"
"Yes, I do," I replied flatly as I thought back to the partially disappointing memory.
Grandpa pulled a bundle of white cloth out of nowhere and presented me with six plastic figurines. He gingerly picked up one that resembled a raven-haired boy dressed in a red vest and blue shorts. A yellow-gold hat rested on top of his head and his face widened in a grin of frozen exhilaration.
"This is Monkey D. Luffy. He is a long way from home." He held the boy out to me. I looked down at the pathetic thing.
"Grandpa, I'm too old to play with little toys," I said plainly. I felt kind of stupid for saying such an ironic statement after having just acquired the toy dinosaurs moments ago. His face grew serious.
"These aren't toys." He cautiously set the figure, Luffy, down next to his equally stiff friends. "You must be careful with them and make sure nothing bad happens to them."
I snorted, then realizing I might have been too loud, I scratched my upper lip in embarrassment and reached over to grab the other five miniatures. Most of them were half the length of my hand except for one which was only the size of a gumball. The first one I took was a spearmint-color haired man, slightly bigger than the boy. He had dark pants, a white shirt, and a large green waistband with three small stick-like bars hanging at his hips. Another was slimmer and neatly dressed with a black coat and tie and a striped blue shirt underneath. His hair was blond and hung over his left eye. The third man had darker skin with even darker overalls. He had a white sash around his waist, a satchel, and a bandana covering his poofy black hair. A single projection stuck out of his face. The fourth figure I picked up was a woman with short orange hair. Her apparel was normal with shorts and a striped tank top. A blue mark was painted on her left shoulder. The last figurine was the tiniest and didn't even look human. Probably the most lovable character with its cute pink hat and antlers poking out from either side, it was short and round and wore purple-ish pants. A single blue dot was painted where a nose should be.
"I want you to have them," said Grandpa. I placed the toys back on the cloth, hoping I had misheard him. I glanced at his face and when I saw how glad he looked, I reached over and claimed the tiny persons.
"Thanks. I'll be careful with them." I politely wrapped the figures back up in the fabric and shoved them into the navy blue folds of my coat pocket. They probably meant something to him so I didn't want to upset him by not accepting the little people immediately.
"So how is my old cupboard?"
I looked up at him and guessed he must be feeling some bursts of nostalgia. I picked my next words carefully.
"It looks real nice on my desk," I smiled at him. I wasn't lying and I wasn't about to either.
Grandpa nodded at me and stared expectantly, waiting for me to continue. I decided to turn the focus on him.
"What did you put in it when you still had it, Grandpa?" This was sure to start some long-winded tale from the past.
Grandpa glanced up over my head, shifted a bit in his chair, and leaned in over the table as though about to tell a secret.
"You know how your grandmother was an artist, just like you are today?"
I nodded.
"Well, she would always draw for me. I delighted in her sketches so much, that in order to keep them safe, I would put them in the cupboard."
"How did you manage that?" I said, visualizing the inside of the cupboard with the single plank of wood, splitting the volume in half horizontally.
"I know you must be thinking of that middle shelf. Well, let me tell you that shelf wasn't always there. I would keep several sheets inside. You also have some wonderful art pieces. You should put your artwork in the cupboard."
"I don't think they will fit in there now."
Grandpa leaned back in his chair and laughed quietly to himself. I could hear my parents declaring that it was time to head home. I sipped a few more drinks from my soda and got up to throw my trash away. Sharon and Kimmy were doing the same. Our table bustled with activity as half eaten pizza was discarded, soda drinks were refilled, and jackets were put on.
"I had better be off," announced Grandpa as he patted my father's back in farewell and held the exit door open for the rest of my family.
"Bye, Grandpa. Thanks again for the toys."
"You can keep them in the cupboard too if you'd like," he gestured to my coat pocket.
"Alright." This was definitely the weirdest conversation I ever had with my grandfather.
We departed the eating place, the cool winter air replacing the warm dough and sauce smell. We walked across the parking lot and towards our SUV. Grandpa made his way towards his own vehicle. Not another word was said.
It was a long Wednesday and we were ready to retire to our beds and get ready for the work day tomorrow. I put my hands in my pockets and after feeling the bundle of plastic, quickly pulled my hand back out. Grandpa had been particularly odd about the miniature people and it felt awkward to jostle them around with my fingers, like I was doing with dinosaurs in the other pocket.
The drive home was fortunately short. I took off my coat as I walked through the door, across the great room, and down the hallway to my own room. Tossing my jacket onto my bed, I quickly changed into my sleepwear and proceeded back down the hallway to the bathroom. Halfway between brushing my teeth, I heard a quiet rustling noise from within my chamber. I spit out the last of the paste and retreated.
"What are you doing?" I knew it was one of my younger sisters. Sure enough, I walked back into my room to find Sharon kneeling over my bed where my coat lay. I knew exactly what she was doing.
"Hey, don't touch them!"
"You don't really like them, do you?" She sneered at me. "They're just dumb toys Grandpa gave you."
"I don't care if they are dumb or not! Grandpa gave them to me and he told me to be careful with them!"
Sharon twisted over to my desk where the old, wooden cupboard sat open. She placed one of the figures on the single shelf and turned so that I could see inside. Resting in the middle of the plank was the black-haired boy Grandpa showed me first. His goofy smile and wide eyes made it seem as though being inside the cupboard was the best thing in the world.
"Doesn't he look perfect in there?" Sharon flashed me a mocking grin. She was making fun of Grandpa's lame gifts.
A spark of anger coursed through me. I wasn't the type to get aggravated so easily, but after remembering Grandpa's happy face as he gave me the figures, I wanted to protect them from my sister's evil clutches.
"Get out of my room!" I hated to be angry and that helped fuel my rage even more. I grabbed the back of Sharon's sleep shirt and advanced out my bedroom door. She didn't resist but she cackled like a witch as I rounded the corner and plopped her down in her own bedroom with a loud thud.
"Ow! I landed on a shoe!" she exclaimed through laughs of ridicule.
"GOOD!" I slammed her door shut. A pang of guilt at my sudden hostility made my brow furrow.
"Good night, girls!" I heard the echo of my mom's voice bouncing around the great room and down the hall. She must have picked up on our little dispute for there was a hint of frustration in her tone.
I crossed the room to my desk where a sketchbook lay open and the plain cupboard sat next to it on the corner. I inhaled and exhaled deeply before taking a hold of the cupboard's tiny door knob and slowly closed it over so the plastic boy wouldn't topple. His everlasting smile was his farewell as he disappeared behind the scratched oak. I took hold of the key left sticking out of its respective hole and turned it twice. It shifted and then clicked, ensuring the safety of the cupboard's content.
I left the figurine and the cupboard in its lonely solitude on my desk and hopped into bed, pulling the comforter over top. Turning to the opposite side of the room, I stared out through the partially opened blinds of my window onto the road outside. The streetlight flickered a couple times and the whooshing sound of a car rushed by. My gaze grew heavy with exhaustion and I was just about to drift into unconsciousness when my eyes snapped open. The noise simultaneously ceased. I thought I heard slight tapping from within the cupboard, but I didn't care. Sleep was gripping me so I submitted. I would worry about it tomorrow….