Where The Wicked
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Sakura placed the small porcelain doll back on the shelf where it belonged. As of yet there had been no bloodcurdling howls to contend with. No torn-out eyes nor disfigured faces either. No mouths contorted by the horror of that which they should not have conversed with. And therefore…
This doll was likely not the one she had been looking for. But seeing how many there were scattered across the room, both on the shelves and on the floor, it was only a matter of time until one of them leaped out to grab her. A mortifying prospect surely… but one the dear girl brushed away as she shook her head in the back of the car.
The road outside was as long as the trees were cold. The wind slowly rocked them back and forth, it was doubtful the skies would remain clear for too long. A storm was coming which, in truth, was more of an inconvenience than anything else. Certainly no one would like to chase after a phantom in the middle of the rain… but Sakura was always a bit of an odd sort.
She wondered whether or not the doll would even wish to stick around should it have seen her… in the vision. Not to mention her companion. For she was not alone in her seat despite whatever lies the kind old man’s eyes told him. To him, driving this innocent girl, just barely approaching her mid twenties, off into the wilderness was nothing but a gentle honor. Helping others had always been something he valued above much else in this world. And so Sakura was more than delighted to be the recipient of this considerate convenience.
She had expected to thank him with polite conversation but it was clear he was unable to speak. A quiet kindness then, courtesy of the scar across his neck. Injured by machinery during his own youth, he often told others. His wife then repeated that claim to Sakura before they left the village.
She nodded along and expressed sorrow for his misfortune… though in truth, she saw past the lies of his now empty mouth as well. At least he was honest when he claimed to wish to assist others and yet it came more from regret than altruism. An old member of the Yakuza, once a killer and then a coward…
Now a kind old man, it was clear there was much to be regretful for. But as long as he was helpful… Sakura ignored the matter and let him fulfill his desire for repentance. Why not after all? The ride was barely a footnote in her day, not to mention she wasn’t about to turn up her nose at a good thing either. It was meaningless… and her companion, on the other hand, could instead be the one to make the jokes... This time at least.
Four fingers missing… devotion or incompetence?
Sakura smiled… before turning her head to gaze out the other window instead. She knew the answer, it was obvious. But no, she instead elected to merely admire the pretty bird that flew on by before it vanished into the woods beyond. Getting lost out there would be… interesting, surely.
The scene reminded of her life as a child, wandering through the odd ends. It seems little had changed, a fate only the fateless could appreciate. Looking back at the past can always be a somewhat confusing experience. The house she would soon be arriving in… she wondered if it would even resemble the one she had been raised in. That beautiful garden with the beautiful walls all around her. Painted wonders, each of them… Even the one she had torn through with her clumsiness. An amusing moment, in an otherwise ominous life.
Sakura was… yes, one of the fateless. The kind who tended to vanish before waking up one day in the rainy fields, chasing after the fallen. A sad way to exist as many would consider it… but by now, she had grown rather used to it. Both the horrors and the droplets… as well as the faithful companion she kept by her side.
He, on the other hand, was very much one of the… fateful perhaps. If one could see it that way without laughing. He surely couldn’t… and again, she tried not to crack a smile. Later, she thought. Sakura knew better than to cackle in the presence of others by now. She was supposed to be a dignified sort… an innocent young girl who merely loved going out into the country in search of novel experiences while also wishing to reconnect with the simpler things. Something the elderly could admire, she wasn’t about to reveal her true nature just yet.
She did enjoy the jokes, did she not? Was it cruelty or… just a bleak way of coping? Both or neither? It remained to be seen, through her actions as well as their consequences. Only the way we live in the long term can decide what we truly are worth in the end. The old man feared he would not have enough time to clean his soul regardless of his actions… Sakura meanwhile could linger on in limbo for as long as was needed. If a lack of time could inspire stern devotion to nobility in the wicked… could an abundance bring out the worst in the innocent?
That was also a funny way of looking at things.
And so, Sakura turned her head back yet again… to peer over all the other dolls which sat helplessly on the floor. They came in many different shapes and sizes. Which, pray tell, would be the one to instill a nightmare upon her then? The one in the blue dress or the one beside it… with the torn up face? So many options in this bleak little backroom… But at least it appeared now that there might be something else here still… That sliding door in the corner, she hadn’t noticed it before. Where could it lead, she wondered as she began her dreary walk over the broken porcelain.
So many eyes looking up at her. They felt so empty inside, she had imagined nothing but scorn or hate perhaps. And so, with that in mind, was it likely that none of them were the one she sought out? A comforting thought but only until she ran into the right one. It was here after all… stalking through the halls, too frightened by the moon to wander back into the world of the living. If only this little corner of reality didn’t insist on being so… dark. Such places hadn’t seen the sunlight in quite some time… a black mark to remind others of the sins committed upon the now unhallowed earth.
And this doll, as it had been described to Sakura… Its tale was a tragic one as well, wasn’t it? Yes, and so sympathy was doubtless to be expressed sooner rather than later. But as to what would come of it? Nothing good surely.
The not so innocent girl soon reached out to press her hand against the paper of the door… It was painted as well, though much more plainly. Writing only, rather than the old fields and vistas. The flowers…
Her face is soft, the words read before they vanished. A small clue… a faint whisper. But who was speaking? As if that riddle could finally be answered, here of all places. A chill cut through the room as Sakura slid open the path into the other room. A shrine as far as she could see… along with ten more dolls. But as always, her helpful nightmare was cut short as the one true air sent a shiver down the girl’s spine.
The car door… had been opened. The old man stood outside, admiring the beautiful gate which now sat before him. Sakura then sighed, acknowledging that, as always, her dreams came with a limit which could never be ignored. A shelf life of sorts, never quite giving her everything she needed to fulfill her task. The rest, as they say, would come only from her own blood. The sweat and tears as well, naturally. None of which would be but a metaphor, of course.
For in a life like this, the pain was real. As were the faint cackles which soon filled the poor girl’s head. At least someone was having fun.
We’re here, princess. Do not forget the tea.
Sakura sighed again. More jokes… She never seemed to laugh when they came at her expense. But without wasting any more time, the weary girl merely proceeded to step out of the car as the one beside her followed along. She wondered how he even fit inside… but as always, he found a way. It’s not as if she could escape in a clown car, of course. Wouldn’t that be an interesting sight?
As soon as the breeze hit her skin… Sakura knew she had arrived at the right place, the dreary atmosphere notwithstanding. The air these creatures could emit at times was so… unique in its depravity. As frightening as it was depressing. As miserable as they were malignant. She knew the feeling well, always so close to them, her friend in particular.
How long had he been by her side? And yet she would be hard pressed to say she could trust him. She knew what they were like, led only by their own abominable desires. The ones cursed, the ones haunting. Soon, this latest spirit would be the next to fall. A nice change of pace considering how Sakura’s own side of things had been faring recently.
Her own true companions were… far and few between, seemingly growing weaker by the day. Sadly, not all fire can burn forever and soon the night would purport to take hold once again. She was desperate. And as for the spirits… how would they fare? One could not say they were the ones benefiting from this, of course. Unless if only through sadism.
But then again, life is more complicated than spirits and hunters… These days they all seemed to be fading away, much like the old man who finally turned back to gaze towards Sakura. He tilted his head, likely he must’ve had his questions. And once again, she could see through him, her own ghastly senses being the boon they always were.
The man would receive no answers, even if he were able to ask, and certainly not as the girl merely bowed politely before walking away. She thanked him for his kindness and that was enough. Now he could leave, this was not his concern.
Nor his pleasure.