House of Dolls
Rin sat on the swing, gently kicking herself back and forth with her foot, just enough to sway back and forth. The old rope swing was tied to the largest bough of the only oak tree in the yard and the bough creaked with the movement of the swing, dropping a few orange and yellow leaves. The sound of the creaky limb once bothered Rin for she felt it was the tree's way of expressing its sorrow for being the only tree left on the grounds. Now Rin welcomed the noise, reveling in the fact that she was not the only one feeling so lonely.
"Rin!"
Rin turned to face the house. Auntie was calling her. Rin kicked off the ground a few more times, before Auntie's voice called louder. Dragging her foot in the ground, Rin stopped and called back, knowing her aunt did not like having to yell for her three times.
"Coming, Auntie," the little girl called, then hopped off the rope swing. She dusted off her shoes and pants then straightened her jacket so Auntie would have less to complain about. It's not like she would scold Rin for a dirty hem, but Auntie liked things how she liked them and given the circumstances, Rin did not want to be any more of a burden than she already was. Auntie was here to take care of her; it was the least Rin could do to behave.
Rin set off for the house before Auntie could get impatient, knowing she would have lunch set out by now. She paused once to look back at the tree. The old rope swing swayed listlessly in the wind, as if a phantom Rin were still kicking back and forth. The creaky old bough groaned in the breeze and its dark branches suddenly looked like bony hands reaching out, grasping for something Rin could not see. Before she was aware of it, she had jogged back to the tree, removing a glove to place her bare hand against the rough bark.
"It's okay," she whispered, brown eyes fixed on the swaying branches, "I'll be back."
When she heard Auntie call for a third time, Rin slipped her glove in her pocket and jogged back to the house. When she got to the back porch, Auntie was there, arms crossed, looking stern but not angry.
"Your lunch will get cold, Rin. Come when I call you next time, and you know you shouldn't be running. And where is your glove?" Auntie never missed anything. "You'll catch a cold out in this weather. What were you doing?"
"I'm sorry," Rin panted. The jog from the tree to the porch took longer than she thought. "I was saying bye to the tree."
"Well. Alright," Auntie turned to the house. "Come inside, dear."
Rin followed her aunt, but cast one final look over her shoulder at the old oak tree. With its black branches against the dim grey sky and the slowly molting coat of leaves, she could not help but think the tree looked forlorn. She couldn't blame it. Rin had learned that people do not always come back when they promise they will.
After a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches, Rin found herself running back to her old friend the oak tree. For some reason, she had had a feeling of trepidation fixed in her mind about the tree and that feeling had only grown throughout lunch until she was shoving the last bites of her sandwich in her mouth and washing it down with great gulps of milk just to hurry back to the forlorn tree. When she arrived, she was panting again, and had a belly ache from eating so fast, but she did not care. She just had to get back to the tree simply to prove she would.
Holding the stitch in her side, Rin was doubled over, panting for a few minutes. She had never been a strong athlete. She always preferred making things and creating her own games than playing sports. Even a short jog left her winded. After a couple of minutes she had caught her breath and looked up at the oak. That was when she saw it. It was nestled right up on the gnarled roots of the old tree, standing out against the dark trunk. She had to blink a few times and even rubbed her eyes. She could not be seeing what she thought she was seeing.
It was a doll house. A very large, very pretty doll house. It was almost as tall as she was, styled after old Victorian homes, with a wraparound porch. She was confused, but Rin's heart couldn't help but beat faster in her excitement.
"How did this get here," She asked aloud softly. She had always had a problem with talking to herself. The back was facing the tree, so, removing her gloves and again sticking them in her jacket pocket, she carefully pulled it away from the tree trunk. It was quite a bit lighter than she had thought it would be. When she glanced in the opened-back panels she gasped. There were five rooms in all, each one fully furnished with tiny tables, dressers, beds and anything a young girl could ask for. Everything was dreadfully plain, but in pristine condition. And she had plenty of paints in her bedroom; she could easily give the doll house the colors it deserved.
But wait. It wasn't hers! Was it? She was the only little girl for miles around, she knew. And if it was not meant to be Rin's, why was it here, under her favorite tree? Could Auntie…? No, Auntie was kind, but she would never do something so frivolous. Auntie was pretty strict about what a young girl does and does not need, and big fancy dollhouse did not top the "Need" list.
Though… Auntie had been commenting on Rin's moodiness of late, trying to do anything to keep a smile on the young girl's face. And she had been asking Rin a lot of questions about where she'd been before lunch. Rin smiled, knowing her aunt must have snuck out while Rin was eating to hide her dollhouse under the tree. But… why not give it to her in the house?
Because then it wouldn't be a surprise! Everyone preferred surprise presents over regular ones, the girl justified and allowed a small giggle to escape her lips. It was the first laugh she'd had in a while. Rin decided to take the dollhouse inside and find Auntie and hug her neck and thank her.
The little girl hefted the large doll house, afraid she would not be able to carry it, but Rin found it really was light and easily carried. Her vision was blocked by her cumbersome load, so the going was slow, but eventually she made it to the back porch, and gently set the doll house on the ground. She was panting again and even sweating slightly, so Rin removed her jacket, folded it and stuck it in one of the rooms of the doll house. Her room was on the second floor of the real house and Rin had been planning to run in, surprise her aunt with a hug and ask her to help her take the large toy house up the stairs, but Rin had a sudden nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.
There was no way her aunt could afford this doll house right now, especially with Uncle's hours being cut back where he worked, cousin Hojo in college,and various utility and medical bills. Add the sudden responsibility of an eight year old girl, and the prospect of buying an intricate doll house went out the window. There was a reason they only had soup and sandwiches for lunch. Rin gulped, deciding that no, she would not ask Auntie for help. In fact, she did not want to tell her aunt about the doll house at all.
And so she worked as carefully and as quickly as her eight year old coordination skills let her, taking the stairs on the side of the house instead of the ones indoors. She did not want to risk her aunt finding her with the doll house and get mad and start asking questions in case she had to give it back to…well, to whoever did leave it.
Finally, she was balancing the doll house against her hip and the railing, using one hand to support her burden and the other to twist the doorknob. Once it clicked, she kicked the door with her foot, catching it just in time to prevent a loud bang. She did not want to have gotten this far just to be discovered and her attempts be in vain.
Rin carried the doll house all the way to her bedroom, but she quickly changed her mind and headed for a different door, one that lead to a final set of staircases. She'd always found stairs awkward, carrying a large dollhouse did not help. Ten minutes later, Rin was in a heap on the ground, panting and fanning herself in the loft attic. It was warmer up here, so she stripped off her long sleeved shirt to her t-shirt but left her hat on. She knew her aunt would not come up here since the woman feared spiders like a plague, so Rin's secret would be safe. Plus, she didn't mind spiders, so long as they stayed in their own little webbies.
Rin smiled at her new doll house, excited about her gift and proud at having her first big secret ever. She rushed to her room, gathered her supplies returned to the attic, where she set about customizing her dollhouse.
The next several days were spent mostly in solitude, as Rin poured her heart into that dollhouse. She would tell Auntie she was going out to play or make an excuse to be upstairs for an extended period of time then run up to the attic, careful not to make too many bangs against the steps and then lock the door behind her. Then she would set about decorating the dollhouse to her heart's desire.
She started with the outside, coating the walls in several layers of paint, mindful of the trimming and painting the tiles individually so as not miss any spots. Then she started on rooms, painting each floor a different color, whatever suited her mood at the time. She cut up pretty scrapbooking paper to use as wall paper, a different design for each set of walls. She then went on to the furniture, being sure to pay attention to each and every detail, even inside the drawers and the small handles. She left no stone unturned, almost obsessed with completing her dollhouse, and while she lost a lot of sleep in the process, in the end it was worth it. After a week, Rin stood back, breathless, splattered with paint and glue, as she admired her own handiwork.
It was perfect!
Well. Almost perfect…
Rin's brow furrowed, unsatisfied with the final product. It was so beautiful, almost gleaming in the sunlight… What was her dollhouse missing then? It was on the tip of her tongue…
Duh! Dolls.
Rin beamed, knowing exactly what her dollhouse needed. Now that it was finished, it needed some people to live in it! And so the little girl hurried to her room where she collected scraps of cloth, yarn, stuffing and anything she deemed worthy of her dollhouse before setting about making her very own dolls.
"What is it, Jin?"
"Yeah, just tell us already."
"You'll see it when you see it, now quit complaining!"
"It would be nice to know why you're dragging us all through the forest, Jin. It's not exactly warm out here."
"You really need to quit whining, Touya, I know you can take the cold!"
"Yeah, well not all of us are immune to having our balls freeze off, so how about you hurry it up, there, big guy."
Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Touya were trekking through the Dark Forest, following the hovering Wind Master's lead. As stated, they had been walking for a while, attempting to clear away the thick brush of the forest and rubbing their forearms for warmth. It was uncharacteristically cool for so early in Autumn and the ground was already littered with a thick blanket of fallen leaves, only making the going all the more annoying for those who could not just fly through the trees.
The usual crew had been assembled at Genkai's temple, where Jin and Touya had taken up residence. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara and even Hiei visited often. The guys minus Jin and Hiei, but plus Yukina had been lounging around the common room, watching a moving and drinking hot chocolate. It had been a peaceful, overcast morning. That is, until Jin returned from his mid-day flight around the grounds in a tizzy and sputtering. He was obviously excited about something but was unable to actually describe what he had seen.
"Guys," he had finally managed evenly after a gasp, "You have got to see this!"
"You okay, man?" Yusuke had laughed from his lounge chair.
"See what, Jin," Touya asked, sipping at his hot chocolate, eyes never leaving the TV screen. It was not uncommon for Jin to be excited about things many would find trivial.
"It-it's big! And in the woods! I almost flew right into it, and just barely missed when I swerved but I hit a tree instead." The group had then realized Jin was pulling twigs and leaves from his wild hair. "You gotta see it."
"The tree?" Kuwabara asked.
"No! Augh, just come on!"
The wind demon had then exited in the same manner he had entered, leaving the assembled group to shoot glances at one another, then sigh collectively.
"I guess we should see what has gotten Jin so worked up," Kurama had offered kindly, standing with a stretch.
"Probably a baby bird or… a dead cat," Yusuke muttered off handedly, not wanting to leave his comfy spot.
"Last time it was to show me a cloud that looked like an elephant head," Touya had replied, putting away his mug, "but when I got there, the cloud had moved and changed shape."
"What'd it look like then?" Kuwabara had asked.
"I'll let you use your imagination."
"…Oooh."
And so the boys had followed in the wake of the Wind Master, who was now cutting an erratic path through the woods. The little excursion had already lasted longer than anyone had thought, and both Yusuke and Kuwabara wore short sleeved shorts. And while Jin was right, Touya could tolerate the cold better than anyone else, that didn't mean it did not affect him- plus, he had not put his shoes on and was bare foot and twigs hurt. Kurama just passively followed his companions, naturally curious.
"God, just tell it what it is, Jin," Yusuke eventually exclaimed.
"I don't have to!"
"Why not!"
"We're here!"
Yusuke stepped through a tall shrub and into a clearing, relieved they had made it, but nothing prepared him for what he saw.
"What is it?" Kuwabara was asking as he followed Yusuke's path; he froze in similar awe as Yusuke, soon followed by Kurama and Touya.
"It's…"
"It's…"
"It's…"
Hiei, who had overheard Jin at the temple and had been following silently in the shadows, landed in the clearing and finished what everyone was thinking.
"It's pink."
God it was pink. And big. A massive Victorian style house stood before them, with intricate tiling, and a wraparound porch. The roof was forest green, the walls were bubble gum pink and the trim was done in white. The coloring, true, was stunning, but honestly the question on everyone's mind was soon asked by Yusuke:
"What the hell is this thing doing in the Dark Forest?"
"Told you," Jin exclaimed.
"Definitely not a penis-shaped cloud, but it's still phallic enough," Yusuke said as he scrutinized the structure. "Who paints a house pink anyway?"
Kurama, shocked Yusuke knew what 'phallic' meant, shot him a sideways glance, "The color is the only thing that strikes you as odd, Yusuke?"
"Well, no, the friggin' mansion in the middle of the forest is pretty weird."
The six assembled men were silent for a while, staring speechlessly at the blindingly pink house.
"Well," Yusuke broke the silence, marching toward the front porch, "Let's see what's inside!"
"Wait, Yusuke," Kuwabara called out just as Yusuke was about to kick in the door. "You can't go in there!"
Yusuke turned back curiously. "What? Got a tickle feeling or something?"
"No…"
"Then what?
"You have to knock! Someone might live here."
"….right." Yusuke knocked softly three times, waited, then shrugged off Kuwabara's noble intentions, and kicked in the front door, calling loudly, "Honey, I'm hoooome!"
"Dammit, Urameshi!" Kuwabara ran to catch up just as Yusuke barged into the house.
O-o-o-o-O
"Here we go," Rin said aloud, smiling softly at the toy in her hands, biting off the last bit of thread with her teeth. She had just finished her final doll, made of cloth and yarn. It was a boy with short black hair and brown eyes. The doll was simple and fit in the palm of her hand; she placed him in the first room then picked up the second doll.
This one was a little bigger than the first, but had a curly orange top and was dressed in a little blue suit. She fiddled with his black button eyes before smiling and placing him next to the first doll.
O-o-o-o-O
"You can't leave me out," Jin was calling as he swooped down and through the open door. "I'm the one who found this place, aren't I!"
Touya's pupiless blue eyes rolled up to Kuramaas if to say Why not? then the ice master shrugged and calmly followed his red headed friend into the mansion.
O-o-o-o-O
"Woooosh!" Rin pulled her third doll through the air for a moment before giggling and stroking his red hair, which was made from brushed yarn. She had given him a little white outfit, using some yarn to make straps cross on his chest. She didn't know why, but she felt like he would like flying and let him soar into the dollhouse.
Next was the doll with the light blue eyes. She had drawn netting on his arms. His hair had been difficult, being two colors, but she was finally satisfied with the results and let him join his friends.
O-o-o-o-O
"Shall we join them, Hiei?"
Kurama had a hint of laughter in his voice as he took in Hiei's horrified expression. The fire demon was dressed in his all-black attire and looked as though he feared the pink would be contagious.
"I'm afraid going near it will make me sick."
"Suit yourself," Kurama answered with a small wave over his shoulder at the smaller man. He turned away to hide his smirk, for as he predicted, by the time his foot hit the bottom step, Hiei had flitted through the door way. Kurama paused to glance up one more time at the pepto-bismal walls, before following his friends into the house.
The door closed with an audible click without anyone touching it.
O-o-o-o-O
Rin held a small black clad doll in her hands. He too was boy, even though his outfit kind of looked like a dress, but she liked it anyway. He held a sword she had taken from her Knight and Princess set. Prince Charming wouldn't miss it. She had brushed the doll's hair up in a spiky fashion and embroidered little red slip stitch eyes on his otherwise blank face, but something wasn't right…
"Hmmmm, what are you missing?" She dug around her pile of supplies and eventually produced what she was looking for. A sharpie! She drew a small football shape on the dolls forehead and dotted it in the middle.
"Hmm. Looks weird." And so she tore a strip of white cloth off and tied it around his head, then put him in the doll house.
Last but not least, the final doll had long red hair and bright green eyes. She brushed back his red hair a minute then reached out to place him with the others, but Rin paused, then dug around a box labeled Polly Pocket until she produced a tiny flower and stuck it behind his ear. It was funny, this doll looked more like a girl than the last one, but still, Rin knew it was a boy.
"Alright! The gangs all here," Rin mumbled excitedly. "It's time to play!"