Kuro stirred from sleep slowly. His paw lazily fumbling for his glasses. Once he was awake, he peered through the window. The weather had cleared enough for him to navigate the snowy tundra. Today he was looking for toys to fix and sell. If the toys did not sell, he would keep them. Unlike most creatures, a room stuffed with shelves of toys did not make him feel unsettled.
After a hearty breakfast (by his standards), Kuro navigated the snowy banks to a small settlement nearby where he double checked the address he received upon inquiring to the anonymous individual by the email provided in the advertisement he clipped from an old newspaper.
He reached the dilapidated store. The entire building was leaning slightly to one side. An impressive feat given the height and precision of the buildings towering around it. This little building reminded him of the kind of setting where fictional witches and wizards might hide. With each step his mind started to wonder if such things belonged only in the pages of novels. Kuro assumed his mind was afflicted with a mild frostbite and knocked before entering the store.
It was warmer inside. His breath no longer rising in icy mists. Making him look around. The walls were lined with more books than most libraries. There were plastic sheets on the furniture. Someone was trying to move away. He noticed a note taped to the front of a table with what looked like a small child sprawled on top of the table as if she had tripped on her long ruffled skirt and fallen over. Next to her was a small lockable steel box with a slot in the lid.
"Miss?"
It took him a moment to realize the child was in fact a doll. The porcelain doll from the advertisement. She had seen better days, he realized upon closer inspection.
Hi! My name is Scarlet. Buy me please. $200
He put an assortment of coins and rumpled bank notes into the box. Eyeing the doll from the corner of his glowing golden eyes. Still expecting the doll to sit up or at the very least, start breathing and blinking.
However, she was an ordinary doll. Cold and dusty to the touch. Recently moved to the table. Rather carelessly given her poor condition. However, the doll seemed like the most valuable thing in the store compared to the mountains of books and forgotten furniture awaiting the landfill. Kuro found a paper bag and tucked the doll in, careful not to chip or tear her delicate features. Every toy had a story and he felt like her story was worth every book in the store.
After spreading old newspapers over the surface of the workbench, Kuro set the paper bag down on the table amongst the scattering of toy parts and tools. Gently prying the doll from the crinkling paper. Careful not to dislodge her limbs or head. Given the tattered and dirty state of her clothes, faded and cracked porcelain complexion and finally her tangled hair, she might also have had weak rubber bands fastening her limbs and ball joints together. The black fox had carried the doll in the paper bag to preserve as many of her original parts as possible.
Kuro carefully and swiftly snipped the rubbers holding her limbs in place. Arranging the doll's limbs over one side of the workbench so he could wash, dry and mend them before reassembling her. Upon closer inspection, he realised that her original outfit might have been beyond repair. He had repaired many dolls like her.
Kuro flipped the doll over onto her stomach, snipping carefully down the seam running parallel to what would have been her spine if she was a real human. Someone once loved her. Kuro worked tirelessly to wash, dry and polish her pieces with various brushes, picks, cloths and sponges to remove years of ingrained neglect. Not everyone was as knowledgeable as he was in these things. Matching her colours was quite tedious, but modern technology enabled him to match most of her pallet and replace others entirely in a matter of seconds combined with a few credible web searches.
"Where did I put the- I could have sworn I had some- Where- Aha! Found them. Now to-" The black fox muttered as he worked. Now that he had jotted down the pieces she was missing, he scowered his expensive supplies. Aided by the fact he was younger and more nimble than most people thought. Not that he knew many people to begin with. It was a good thing he lived alone.
Kuro took the opportunity to go and check on his greenhouse. He might as well do something productive with the time he wasn't spending hunched over his newest acquisition. He had been so driven to finish her in one sitting that he lost track of the time and the fact she might take more than one session to complete. Weather it was his first toy or the 100th, he always lost himself. There was something therapeutic about all of the cleaning, trimming, painting, waxing, sewing and various other tasks people took for granted when they played with toys.
Kuro wiped sweat from his brow with his forepaw. Slowly pulling his glasses off his face. He folded them up before doing so. Rubbing his tired eyes. He stepped back to admire his hard doll was beautiful. Her hair falling in tight ringlets around her heart-shaped face and shoulders. Her pale cheeks now bloomed with the roses he painstakingly applied after polishing the neglected surface. Her glass eyes glossy and bright almost like real eyes. Now wearing a more modern variation of the rags he bought her in.
The vulpine adjusted the heater, now acutely aware of the temperature inside his sanctuary. Thankful that he had something to pass the time through the relentless blizzards.
"Welcome home, Scarlet." He smiled, dusting his paws.
Unlike before, he could not start his next project. He had to think of someone to buy this old-fashioned doll. She did not deserve to waste away on a shelf like she had before.