Melancholia

Remnants 33 - The Doll in the Box

    "Stay right here," I was told, as I was placed in a box. Here I was, standing in a box. Before this, I was just a normal girl, but now I am just a doll, to be played with by my loving and caring owner. Ah, it's time for him to go to work!

"See you!" he said before leaving. As far as I can see from my perspective, he's a geologist, specializing in mineral crystals. He occasionally brings some nice crystals back from work for us to see, leaving them on his table.

Now, how do I get out of this box? Oh, did I mention that I can move and think? Yes, it's very peculiar to me too. I know that I'm not supposed to be able to do so, but yet here I am. However, I can't seem to move when the humans are around. I'd like to tell him so much that I love him, but it seems impossible to move my very stiff body at all when he's around.

The other dolls, I presume, can move too. For now, they won't budge an inch, even when he's gone. Only me. It sometimes feels weird though, to be able to think. I kind of miss the days when I was just an inanimate object, unable to do anything. Of course, I miss being a real human girl as well, but those days aren't coming back. i have fully accepted my fate as a doll.

I live here now, in this room, in this box. I smile, I laugh, my expression freezing back into a smile whenever he's around. I want to get out of this box, but as a good doll, I should not. Or maybe I could?

I pushed the box down with all my energy and the box fell over, allowing me to crawl out. Now I am free, on this high table. I can't jump and it's very hard to run in my current attire, so I just stroll around the table. His papers, his work are placed in a corner of the table, with a crystal as a weight. I sometimes look at his papers and wonder what they mean. I don't know how to read, or perhaps I forgot how to read. There, on my box are some words written, but I'm not quite sure what they mean.

I look at the crystals on the table, all marvellous, yet one really catches my attention. It glows orange, unlike the others which only shine. I picked up the fascinating rock and glanced at it, but accidentally dropped it.

"Oh no! What —" I couldn't move suddenly, and I couldn't think. My arms and legs returned to their normal pose, and my vision turned black.

The next time I woke up, I was back in the box, but strapped to the pink wall behind me.

"You naughty doll," he told me. "You dropped my most important rock. They asked me to investigate this rock as my highest priority. They'd give me a huge sum of money for this. We could buy you whatever you wanted."

"Money?" I thought. "What is money?" I had faint memories of money, so then I thought, "Why do you need money?"

"Don't play with this stone anymore. If you do, I might just sell you away."

He left again and I was tied up in the box. Not that I could do anything. I couldn't even push the box down. All I could do was see my faint reflection on the plastic screen.

"Meow," a sound came. "Meow!" The cat came and took the glowing orange crystal away. I couldn't see what it was doing with it as I suddenly lost consciousness.

I woke up much later, I think, looking at him and the black and white cat. "Look at him. The naughty cat."

"Meow..."

"That's it. I'm going to be taking care of this crystal from now on. I can't trust you guys with it. Anyway, see you."

After that, he left, and as I was saying goodbye, I froze again. I never knew what happened to me after that.