Comm: Adam and the Toymaker's Shop II

As time passed, the Toymaker began to notice that Hikari was visiting more and more, doting on Adam each time. Though she had no idea that he was living she treated him with care and respect. He noticed that Adam himself seemed a little less sullen now. It was on one day after she finished playing in the store that he decided to see the living doll boy.

“So Adam, what do you think of your foreign friend?” he asked as he began to boil tea. Adam was sitting in a miniature chair, looking around the kitchen with no particular focus on the man.

“She’s alright. She’s a bit old to be playing with toys, but she’s a good person.” he said, his tone flat and his stare vacant. It was as if his mind was directed towards someplace else. Though he was present in the conversation, his heart certainly wasn’t. “It’s a wonder she hasn’t tried to buy me or something.”

“There are special cases for people like you. While I do have to leave you open, you can’t be taken from the store or people won’t try to buy you unless you consent and I’m certain they’ll care for you. It’s part of the spell.”

“I see. That’s nice at least I guess.” Adam said as he stood and looked at the Toymaker sip tea. The Toymaker noticed Adam seemed to have his eyes on him.
“Do you miss eating?”

“A little, but not as much as I don’t miss starving.” Adam said bitterly. His life had practically ended before he was even an adult and it was obvious the living toy wasn’t happy about it, “There are some things I do miss though, like my sister.”

“I know, I’m sorry you haven’t seen her for a while, but there are rules to this.”

“Right, and things you haven’t told me, like you moving to Japan.”

“I’m sorry, but I made those plans before we met and I didn’t know about your sister. Right now I’m in a difficult situation about this whole matter, but I will do my best to fix it.”

“Right.” Adam said dismissively, “Can you just tell me why you asked me here?”

“Simple my boy. You were broken and it is my job to fix things.” The Toymaker answered with confidence.

“I’m not broken…” Adam snapped back with a glare.

“Doh, ho ho~ I didn’t mean it like that, my boy!” The Toymaker assured with a pat on the boy’s back. “What I meant was that you needed something fixed in your life. In light of a few ribs and ruptured organs, there was more to you. As a result of your previous life, your heart had grown hard as stone. True, the love for your sister runs deep but you must also cherish humanity.”

“And you think this girl can help me?”

The toymaker laughed. “Well, I never said that but from your response you think it can work~”

“Right, well just promise me you won’t play games with me. I may look like pinnochio, but I’m a real person, don’t forget it.”

“As long as you don’t, neither will I.”

“Thank you Toymaker.” Adam said as he stood, not exactly happy, but less bothered by the world at large.

Time passed and soon enough Adam began to get accustomed to his way of living, and to Hikari’s visits, though before long he knew her visit in England would come to an end. Before long she would be going back to her native Japan and eventually so would Adam, severing ties with his old life almost entirely. The black haired doll boy had no idea that his sister was in a tight spot herself.

It had always been in the back of his mind that Michelle, Adam’s younger sister, was still with their Father and with Adam’s disappearance, he had not changed a bit.

Michelle grimaced and ducked as another beer bottle almost collided with her head. On instinct, she got low and whimpered while her Father passed out on the couch. Now began the few moments of peace the young girl experienced every now and again. The house was tranquil, save for the disoriented, drawn out snores of the Father.

Following that noise was the sound of sniffling. Michelle had retreated to her room. She had concluded it was the final straw and could not take this anymore. She wasn’t as strong as Adam, who had been her shield her entire life. Michelle was not built for this type of abuse but had found a way out.

Before, her Father had been taking medicine to help calm his nerves. What seemed like a positive routine was soon dropped after a few missed doses. This, coupled with the loss of her brother had driven her to the edge, and caused her to drive a knife’s edge into her arm, giving way to a gaping wound. She could feel herself bleeding out, but decided to walk through town, hiding her wounds with long sleeves.

She couldn’t bear to die in that house that had been like hell to her, instead she tried to search the town, for someplace she could be at peace until she at last settled in a park. By chance, the Toymaker happened to be passing by.

“Oh, I remember you!” The cheery man smiled. “You are...Oh, what’s his name? Adam! Yes, you are his sister, no? Hello?” The Toymaker poked the little girl in the arm, prompting a spit of blood to squirt on her sleeve. The moonlight then revealed her paling skin and the distant look in her eyes. “My word!”

“G...go away...I want to die…” she muttered to him weakly, “Damn visions won’t leave me be…”

“Now, now calm down Miss, you are hurt…!” The Toymaker urged, taking off his scarf and wrapping it around the girl’s arm. “You can’t just go dying, you know? Someone out there really cares for you and I can not break a promise.”

“Who? My brother is dead...Lying visions tell me I’ll see him again, but I don’t see him, it’s just fuzzy...just a false hope.” she mumbled in pain.

“Hey...come on, stay with me.” The Toymaker coached, trying to keep the girl’s head straight. “Please, stay awake. My shop is just a few blocks down. I can fix you up and even have you meet that someone special! Do you want to see your brother again?”

The man then used all his strength to cradle Michelle in her arms. To his surprise, she wasn’t as heavy as he expected, but then his fingers felt the hardness of her ribs. “Oh my...this is bad...very, very bad…” He recited, making his way back to his shop.

Eventually, he had brought her there and directly to the back room. He had to begin the ritual and fast in order to keep her soul from leaving this world.

“Miss, do you want to see your brother again?!” he repeated. He saw Michelle was still just alive and could not begin the spell unless she gave permission.

“Yes…” she said, speaking what would be her last words.

That response was all he needed in order to begin the spell. With it, he began the transfer, putting Michelle’s soul into a new container, her body fading from this world through magic.

With a sigh of extreme relief, Toymaker looked at Michelle’s doll body, silver haired with bright green eyes. She looked to be asleep.

“Rest well child, comfort is coming…” Toymaker huffed before wondering how he would break the news to Adam.