Preface
"Hello, little girl." I glanced up, and saw an old man near me. He was holding a dark box-like suitcase that seemed too big for the old man to carry. It dangled by a handle that he held onto, his fingers so strained that his knuckles were white.
"Hi," I said simply, not liking to talk to strangers. I moved forward in an attempt to walk away, but he blocked my way.
"You look like a nice, Japanese girl," he said, sounding kind. There was an edge of uneasiness in my stomach though.
"Japanese American," I corrected.
"What's your name, young lady," he asked. His sincere curiosity led me to believe he was innocent.
"Yoru," I said, though I wasn't sure if I should've. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, grey hair that surprisingly wasn't balding. His wrinkled face showed many years that had passed.
"Yoru? Would you do me the kindness of taking this doll from my hands?" The old man tilted the box so it was level before opening the front and revealing a pale, porcelain doll with purple clothing and an eye patch. Instantly, I knew it was from Japan. It had to be.
"Why would I take it? Why would you give it to me?" I questioned despite my longing for the doll. It was a strange kind of longing, one that I hadn't felt before. Almost too compelling to resist.
"Why not? Here, she's yours. Take care of her," he said. He handed the box to me before I could say anything else. I struggled to hold it due to its massiveness. The doll inside could have come to my hip when standing upright. I looked at it for a second before looking up to thank him. To my astonishment, I found that the old man was already gone. I looked around, surprised by the brief encounter and the end result. I glanced back down into the box where the porcelain doll watched me with her golden eye. I shivered before closing the box.
I took it by the handle, letting it dangle as I kept my eyes open for my mom and dad. The store was busy, crowded as it always was on Saturdays. As I began to walk, I considered leaving the doll behind. It seemed a bit suspicious to me that the old man who'd given it to me had actually given it to me for nothing in return.
What if it was bugged? He could be some spy from the government trying to hoax people into taking bugged dolls so he could find out their secrets. You never knew with this world anymore.
I decided to keep it and tell Mom about it. She would tell me what to do, and maybe we could find the guy that gave it to me. I could've at least thanked him for it, then.
When I did find my parents, I explained to them the strangeness of the old man and how he disappeared so quickly. They looked for him the rest of the time we were at the grocery store, but with no luck, we finally decided to accept it as a gift, taking it home as we left.
I shouldn't have taken that doll that day.
Darkness does not scare me. I do not fear the dark, but rather what lurks inside the dark. Not only that but I now know after everything I've been through, that even in the deepest darkness, there is light.
Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. This is a story that has changed me, and my friends that have lived through it as well. The trials and tribulations in this story that we faced changed us forever, and as I look back upon it, I feel it has made me stronger, and helped me decide my destiny. This is the chronicle of our lives.
Roses, beautiful and red. I reach forward to touch one, quickly withdrawing when a sharp pain pricks my fingers. Scarlet leaks from my hand, falling onto the ground; where my blood falls, new roses sprout, healthy and red.
My eyes catch movement in the air. Roses flying left and right catch fire in blue flames, landing and making a pathway through the rose garden. Unsure of the reason, I walk forward through the path. At the end, I see a bright fiery veil. There's a figure in the middle.
Driven by curiosity and compelled towards the veil of light, I walk the path until the end, pausing slightly in hesitation. Denying any second thoughts, I reach forward to touch the veil. As soon as my fingers come in contact with the shining veil, it shatters! I flinch away and take a step back, in involuntary surprise.
The figure comes into focus and soon I realize I am staring at my doll that has been missing. Her purple dress is folded in ruffles. Her white hair falls to her shoes which are the same shade as her dress. Her eyes are golden, and her face is emotionless. My eyes widen and I force myself to keep a straight face as the wicked thing speaks
"Eienyoru!" it murmurs.
"You…! You can talk!?" I gasp. The doll giggles and lifts her arm up. She steps forward, causing my surprise to grow.
"I can do a lot more than that," the doll says allowing a sadistic smile to spread across her face. I glare as an automatic response to her cocky attitude.
"Is that so?" I snap. Her fingers gracefully stroke the air as her sadistic smile grows.
"But it is," she breathes. Her long white hair brushes against her waist as she walks closer, drawing a metal sword from the air.
"Freak!" I shout at her, stepping back. Her face becomes blank and serious, as if my words have triggered a switch.
"Ah, Eienyoru Anthemst Tsukiyomi, you are an abomination!" the doll shrieks.
"I'm an abomination?!" I gasp in surprise. "You're a talking, walking, breathing doll! You shouldn't exist!"
The doll in front of me laughs without humor, making me angry. But she continues before I can say anything in objection. "This isn't my true form. And that isn't your true form, Eienyoru."
"You're insane!" I snap.
"Go back to hell, devil!" the doll shouts. She holds her sword tightly in her hand before throwing it towards me. I gasp in surprise just as the blade stops right in front of my face. Everything goes black before I am numb and completely lost in the unconsciousness of sleep.
I woke, sitting straight up in my bed. The early hours of the morning drug my eyelids down despite the adrenaline pulsing through my body from the dream. I looked over to the shelf where I had last seen the doll from my dream. My breath caught in my throat. She was there, but she wasn't how I'd left her. Her legs were crossed and it seemed that her hands were on her knee in triumph. Her eyes were staring down at me in nothing less than pity and malice.
I let out a shaky breath before noticing my hand was sticky and slick with what I assumed to be sweat. It was unbelievably dark in my room, and I guessed that the sun was still dawning over the forest around the back and side of my house.
I shuddered the last of the chill left over me from the dream out of my stiff back before pushing a strand of my hair away from my face. It left a moist, sticky substance on my cheek on impact. I sighed, and flipped the light on with my not-so-sweaty hand.
When my eyes focused on my hand, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. Scarlet red blood had pooled in my palm, semi-dry and semi-wet. I struggled to calm my surprise, and stumbled up from my bed, still entangled in my sheets. I surveyed my body for anymore blood, thankful when I saw that there was none. I quickly ran out onto the second floor loft, and to the left, right for the bathroom. I immediately washed my hands thoroughly, both of them. Then I scrubbed the now dry and rusty brown spot on my cheek.
Once I was finished, I pressed my head to the cool basin of the sink. There was no way that had just happened. I clenched my teeth, and willed myself to forget it for now, and to face the crazy events that happened moments ago later today, or even tomorrow.
Then I thought of Kairi, and my other friends. What would they think if I told them? I shook my head, closing my eyes again. Later, Yoru, I told myself. Later, when you aren't being pressed for time to get ready for school. For now, it just didn't happen.
Okay, this is the last time that I am rewriting The Cursed Crystal! I hope you enjoy, and PLEASE, all of my dedicated readers, this is for you; Help me in any way possible! I'm so worried that it's going to be boring and I need you guys to detach yourselves from our past and act like you know nothing about what's going on in the series. Tell me if it's interesting enough to keep someone that's out of the loop reading. Thanks as always, you guys are the best! Enjoy~
~Kairi Fatewin 3