The slightly chilly autumn breeze swept past the people walking about in the city, and the setting sun cast shadows about the street. Stones in the buildings and sidewalks began to blend with the dark, the colors becoming muted and dull. People began heading back to their houses, working men and women eager to return to their families and cozy, warm living places. The night people weren't out yet, and it was almost the time where the day and night met, leaving the streets deserted.
The returning people brushed past each other. They did not know they were being watched, but the watchful eyes of a being were upon them. This being was hidden, forgotten. Nobody takes notice of such a small being. To them, she was just a background decoration. She was hidden amoung the leaves, hidden by the fading light. Her clothes were torn, and her once shiny-black shoes dulled and worn. A hairline crack in her face completed the image....a forgotten doll.
Oddly enough, her silky black hair was still shiny, and her deep blue eyes hadn't gotten dull. She, in appearence, looked just like an old doll. But, there was a certain sparkle in her eyes, a touch of intelligence, that eliminated the blank doll-stare. She was mysterious, forgotten, and almost hidden....she was Ivy.
Damn them all to hell!"
A few people turned to stare at the little boy cursing. It was a strange sight, to see such a cute little boy cuss like so, but not unknown. There were, after all, many odd people out and about. The young boy pouted. How dare those bullies beat him like so! One day, he would be some high Lord or official and he would make them pay. Damn them for beating him AND taking his dolls. They were his only friends, and the other boys knew it. He kicked a rock and watched it bounce into the distance, why was it so wrong to be different from other boys?
The evening sun had fallen lower into the sky. He was late, but he didn't really care. He doubted that his parents would give a rat's ass about his problems, they were to busy trying to stay in the not poor list. It took both of them to stay away from poverty, and the dolls that he had gotten were gifts from aunts and uncles or ones that he had found. He sighed, life was tougher for him then it was for most other boys or girls his age. Other boys constantly beat him, and girls thought he was creepy.
What could he do if he liked dolls and could sew? The boy heard running from behind him and even as he turned to look he already knew what was going to happen. All of a sudden he felt hands pushing him forward. He closed his eyes and tried to protect his head with his arms. It was painful, but no more then usual. He glanced up to see the faint shapes of the boys that had pushed him turn the corner. Damn them all the hell! If only he wasn't such a nice guy, but he had made a promise on his sister's grave that he would not use magic to hurt others. Moving into a sitting position, the boy sighed.
He was about to stand and continue his trek home when he noticed a faint gleam on the ground. The sun was reflecting off something. Curious, the young boy took a few steps closer and leaned in to see what it was. His eyes widened and a cry of joy erupted from his mouth. It was a doll! He carefully, with soft hands and using more care than anything before it, he lifted it up. It was a beautiful doll, dirtied, old, and a bit beaten, but a doll nonetheless. He smiled at the doll and retrieved a small brush from his pocket and brushed her, the doll's, hair as he walked home till it shined. When he could, he would steal some money from his parents and buy her some new clothes. Jess smiled wide and brushed her off lightly with a handkerchief, cleaning the face with precision. This doll would be treated like a queen.
Ivy was staring off into space, as all dolls do, and was rather surprised to see someone notice her presence in the darkness. She was lifted up for the first time in quite a while (with care, at least) And found herself staring into someone's eyes. She wanted to smile, but refrained to avoid freaking the poor guy out. He seemed like a nice person so far, and she was quite delighted to see him pull out a little brush and begin to brush her hair. She loved the feeling of the brush in her hair, and stayed still. For now, she would be just a doll....just a normal doll. Her eyes were looking at him, gleaming with happiness for the first time in a while. Her eyes weren't looking past him like a normal doll, they looked right at him. And, the faintest smile crossed her lips.
He finished cleaning the dirt and dust off her and started walking toward home again. He almost frowned when he noticed the clearity of this doll's eyes, almost as if they were a human's looking at him. It didn't really matter much, just was a bit strange was all. Then again, he had once seen a doll that could talk and move by itself, he had wanted to buy it, but it was too expensive. He could tell that the owner had not taken care of it. He glanced down and almost started in surprise. Her expression had changed, and now was smiling. Very strange. Maybe this was a doll that could move and talk? Maybe it was testing him out, to see if he was worthy to see her move? Jess didn't know, but he really didn't care much, he would take care of her either way.
He arrived home, and found that both parents were had already left for their second shift. Perfect. He could take some money and go buy some clothes for this new doll. He was cradling the doll gently, as if afraid that it would break with the sharpest movements. Soon he was on his way again, toward the shop that he had gone to many times before. The doll shop.
Ivy loved being held. Had she found a friend at last? She didn't know, but she was sure this nice young boy would at least take good care of her. That made her happy. She wondered where they were going. She watched her new friend with curiosity. She studied him. What a strange boy. She didn't know of any boys that liked dolls. Then again, she didn't mind. As long as he was nice, she was glad. She might finally have a roof over her head. She glanced quickly towards a sound from inside someone's house, then put her eyes back on the boy in hopes he hadn't seen that.
He was happy. It had been so long since he had been happy. For some odd reason, this one doll had made him more happy than anything previous of its kind. A movement caught his eyes, it was a small movement, but he noticed the eyes of the doll move. It was out of the corner of his eye, but he knew for sure now. This was a rare doll, a special one. Not that he was scared. He walked through the doors of the doll shop and nodded to the shopkeeper. As Jess walked farther into the shop, he leaned close to the doll and spoke.
"I know that you can here me, don't be frightened, I won't hurt you at all," Jess said, and smiled. "If you can speak, how about telling me your name?"
Ivy was surprised that they were such things as doll shops. She didn't know there was such a thing. She lay contented in his arms as they entered the shop. She looked at all the nice things they had, and looked happy to be there. She didn't see many people wandering around the shop. There were curious things here; hats for dolls, shoes, and even ribbons for her hair.
She was quite surprised to be spoken to. Her eyes widened, only slightly. She whispered, "My name is Ivy, sir. But you can call me anything you'd like. It's quite nice to meet you, sir."
He continued to brush through the shop. As he waited for a reply, he looked for what he could buy with the money he had. Jess smiled, it was good that his parents didn't count the money or else he would have gotten quite a few beatings because of all the money he stole.
"My name is Ivy, sir. But you can call me anything you'd like. It's quite nice to meet you sure." The doll had spoken. Oddly, while she was a doll, Ivy had a pretty voice. He smiled at the doll. "I think that Ivy is a pretty name, so that is what I shall call you, and please, don't call me sir, just call me Jess." He paused and looked around. "Also, is there anything around here that you might want?"
Ivy gasped quietly. He was going to get her new clothes? That is what she always wanted! She said, "That's so kind of you, Mr. Jess! Can you...get me a new dress like this one and shoes, if that sounds good to you? " She was so used to formalities, it didn't cross her mind that his first name would be Jess.
Jess grinned. He loved to make sure that his dolls were perfectly happy. Even if they never could tell him that. He sure hoped that they were. Jess was even happier that he could at least this time buy what the doll wanted. "Just Jess, Miss Ivy," He pulled the clothes that she wanted from where they were and walked over to the cash register. In a moments they were gone from the shop and walking back home. The moment he reached his room, he lightly set Ivy onto the ground and placed the clothes next to her. "You can probably change yourself no?" He smiled. "I'll be over there reading, tell me when you are done!"
She smiled happily at him. She stood on her own, watching him go to read. She changed herself into the new clothes. She said, "I'm done! They are so pretty, It was so nice of you to give me them!" She hugged his leg.
He was reading intently now. Ivy was changing into the new clothes that he had bought her. Everything was great. He jumped when Ivy spoke, and turned to look at the nicely dressed Ivy. She was a beautiful doll. "And you look simply magnificent in them." He carefully lifted her up and hugged her lightly. He smiled. "So . . . how can you talk? Why? I have so many questions . . . "He paused. Jess almost winced in his boldness. He was being rude. "Ah, sorry, you don't have to answer those questions now."
Ivy smiled at the compliments. She was quite happy. She shrugged at his comment. "It's fine, i will answer. It does not bother me." She said, in her quiet voice, "I was brought to life by magic. I can do almost anything a normal person."
"Oh . . . okay, if it is all right for you." He was polite, Jess was never one to be rude or mean to anyone or anything, unless it was those damn bullies. While he was interested, he tried to hold it back, and not look too curious. "I see, so if you were brought to life by magic, . . . wait, brought you to life? Are you sure that you weren't human before you became a doll?" He had asked the previous doll that he had met, that doll had said that he was cursed to be like that for a hundred years. He had once been human.
Ivy shrugged. She thought it could be possible she was once a human; after all, it would make plenty of sense. She said, "I am not sure if I was once a human. I don't remember being anything else but a doll. Perhaps....with the way I was brought to life, maybe the one who did it brought my soul into a doll's body. After all....it would make a little sense." She looked up at him. "You don't think I'm weird, Jess? Will you be my friend? I havent had a friend in many years..." she hugged his leg. "Please?"
He would protect her, this doll, Ivy, from harm. She deserved as much, a friend, someone to take care of her, someone to talk to her. "If you were once human, don't you want to be human?" He paused. "Actually . . . even if you were never human don't you want to be one? To fall in love? To have fun? To laugh, to be normal?" Jess was curious. He looked into Ivy's clear eyes, and saw much pain, pain of being alone, pain of being what she was. "That's mean." Jess pouted. "By saying that, you indicate that you haven't thought of me as a friend yet, when I already have." Then he grinned.
Ivy shrugged. "Whether I was a human or not, being a doll is easy. It isn't particlarly fun, but I rather like seeing the world from this angle. I think it would be rather...hard to actually be a human. I don't have to sleep, or eat, or do any normal things. I don't even have to breathe if I don't want to. It's simple. Being normal would be odd. I'd rather be anything but ordinary, really. At least I would stand out a little...more." She sighed. She smiled a little when he said the last comment. "First friend since 40 years ago."
"Ahh, I see." Jess nodded. "I guess that it would be pretty easy in a way. I mean after all, the things you say are true. There is no need to most things that hold a human down." He was a bit disappointed, but not really as much as he thought he was going to be. He had hoped that she had once been a human and wanted to return to her original form. Then he could have a real human friend. But this was just as good. "You know, whether in a doll form or human form, I have no doubt that you would be beautiful." He grinned. "Friends are forever you know that?"
Ivy smiled slyly at him. "I have a deal for you. I'll be fine with being a human if you can find a way to turn me into one. And, I'll be your friend, like you said, because friends are forever."
(Ooc: Lols! I sentence!)
Jess nodded thoughtfully. "That seems like a good deal, but if you don't want to be human, I won't push you, otherwise, I have an idea for finding out how to turn you into a human." He had his friends, and while they were not as honorable as most, they were his few friends, and he could trust them . . . for now. If they betrayed him, he would be ready. It must be sad that a kid like him needed to be ready for betrayal.
Ivy nodded. "That's good. How do you think you are going to turn me into a human? That's probabaly going to take some work and time. You really don't have to do it if you don't want. I don't mind, but how am I going to get food and stuff as a person? That's complicated." She looked confused. "Why do people eat and sleep, anyway? Is it fun to sit in bed for a long time?"
"I don't know exactly how to turn you back, but I might know someone who does." He looked at Ivy. "Of course it is going to take a long time, but you seem like such a nice person, I want to give you the chance to . . . you know . . . eat food, believe me you will like all the different kinds of food, laugh with people, fall in love . . ." He laughed. "I'll figure that out later. We eat to survive, and to have some food that is yummy, sleep . . . well we get tired?"
Ivy looked confused. "What exactly is 'tired' and 'hungry'? Does it feel bad, so you go to sleep or eat to fix it? I guessed that's how it worked. It makes a little sense." She looked up, rather hopefully at him. "If you can make me a human, will you still be my friend? I would like that."
It was really hard to explain things that just were there to humans and other creatures to someone who forgot what they were like. "Well . . . I guess if you end up not eating or not sleeping for too long, it does feel bad." Jess said. "But the point of it is to refresh your body, give you strength." He paused. "Of course I will be your friends . . . anyways, something you should experience are dreams, and love." the boy laughed bitterly at that point. "While I have no idea what true loves feels like because everyone stays away from the 'creepy' boy."
Ivy frowned at his last sentence. "just because they reject you now doesn't mean they won't ever like you. It's just a part of growing up, Jess. I would know. I am pretty sure I once was human. Perhaps there were ashes or something and my soul was put into this body as a result. Who knows"
"No they don't just reject me," she wouldn't know how he felt. The pain of what they did to him. "They would play with me, pretend that they liked me, then break my heart. They torture me on purpose, because I am so easy to do it to." Jess sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter, those kinds of girls . . . well, I should have never fallen for them in the first place."
Ivy looked at him, sighing. "people have shattered me on the sidewalk. Even though I am just a doll, I still feel pain. Physically and mentally." she stayed silent for w moment, then her eyes widened like she just remembered something. "I think I know a way to make me human! We need to go to my house, the place I used to be before!" she tugged on Jess's leg. "let's go! We can get this magic thing that the evil woman used to turn me into a doll!"
"I never said that you have not felt pain." Jess was tired. Far tired then he should have been. "I was just . . . "He seemed to forget what he wanted to say. All he wanted to do was sleep now . . . . his eyes drooped, he jumped back awake, slapping himself a few times. It was strange, he hadn't been tired a few minutes before. He knew what it was. Magic. The bad kind. Jess knew this was bad, if someone wanted Ivy, and they had magic, then he was in a hell a lot of trouble. "Ah, yes of course, let's go!"
Ivy ran surprisingly fast for a doll, scurrying to and out the door. She looked serious. "I think I was a human once. I think I'm remembering it a little. If we get to my house, I think I will remember." She looked confused. "Are you...tired?"
"Yes, it is most likely that you were a human once, most dolls need a soul to move." He remembered back to when he had first met a doll that could walk and talk. "Okay! Let's move then! On to your house we go . . . . where is that?" He frowned. "Why would you think I am tired?"
Ivy pointed. "It's in that direction. I can find the way. It's a ways away, but we cab reach there in at least a day, I think." At his question, she shrugged. "Just...well, I thought people got tired at evening. "
"We get tired at night," he corrected. "Evening is my favorite time of day, all the people I hate have early curfews, so it is the best time for me." He smiled. "If it takes a day, then how about we go tomorrow? Tonight we just rest? Talk?"
Ivy shrugged. "Alright." She sat down, looking up at him. "I've never really known anyone to not think I'm scary or weird....Why do you want to keep me around and help me?" She tilted her head to the side. She hadn't known him for long, but he made her curious, because he was unlike the others. They had just tossed her aside, when he bought her new clothes and was nice to her.
Jess did not know how to reply. Why did he want her around? Why did he want to help her? He just . . . did. He thought deeply about this before he finally spoke. "I keep you around because you are not just something scary or weird or a talking doll, you are someone inside of that doll, and it makes me sad to see that you are stuck like that." Jess sighed. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, I just wish that somehow, in the long run, what I am doing for you here is enough."