"My Prince, oh My Prince! What am I to do? Mother is threatening to throw me out onto the streets unless I throw you and the book away! How can I ever do that? Tell me, why is it that Mother objects so much to your existence? I do admit that I spend too much time talking to you, and maybe she thinks that I am being a spoilt brat, but I have always been a good girl. For just this once, can't I do what I like? I can never part with you and the book, I would rather die!!!" Ling Yue sobbed as if there was no tomorrow, holding her treasured doll close to her chest while her tears dropped onto "his" face in rapid succession, until it was nearly soaked.
"I have always tried to be a filial child, for Mother has had a hard time bringing me up all by herself... but you are my only solace to the empty, lonely world that I am in! Is it really so bad of me to defy her, just this once?"
The doll prince stared back at her with its glass marble eyes, entirely devoid of expression (but of course). She looked at his wet face, as if searching for answers to her endless questions, but of course she could not find any. Just as she was about to give up hope and do something drastic (like cut her wrists or something), she suddenly thought that the eyes of the doll seemed to flicker! Just a little, such that it was over in a blink of the eye. Was it her imagination? Ling Yue stared and stared at her prince until her eyes almost seemed to pop out of their sockets. But nothing else happened. Which was quite fortunate, or she would have freaked out and screamed the house down. Realise, reader, that although this girl keeps on fantasizing about her prince doll coming alive, it would be a totally different matter if it were to come true. But this is the normal reaction that most people would have, unless they were having complications in the cerebral department.
And as always, the girl feel asleep after crying. It seemed that there was some kind of biological reaction in her body - to heal her bodily and mental pains by crying and then followed by sleeping. What a fortunate girl.
The Prince (let's call him Andrew. Actually his full name is Andrew Nachlan Spencer, but that is too cumbersome to say every time he is mentioned. Let's just make do, shall we?) stared at the sleeping girl in front of him. His feelings were in terrible conflict. A part of him, buried deep inside his frozen heart, wanted, no, yearned to reach out and stroke her head, to kiss her, to comfort her. However, there seemed to be a huge, dense fog covering his whole mind and soul, obstructing his judgment, his feelings and whatnot. This fog was also causing him to feel extremely annoyed at the girl before him, and he couldn't put his finger on the reason for it. This pissed him off, a lot, for he did not like it when he was not in control of his feelings. And the more pissed he was, the more he wanted to vent his anger at something. This is where Ling Yue comes in, for she was the only living being within his vicinity.
However, as we all truly understand, Andrew's spiritual and will power is a force not to be reckoned. Thus, no matter how thick that fog was, some of the feelings buried deep in his heart managed to surface for a while, and he felt his love for the girl gush forward like water from a broken dam. He was so overwhelmed by it that he almost cried. Almost. But as quickly as the feelings surfaced, they were forced back to their original place again by the fog. Sigh. He had no idea how to stop this fog, or what was causing it!
Why is this happening to me! He wanted to scream. Are you the one behind this, you Evil Witch you? You had better be prepared to face my wrath! No one makes a fool out of Andrew Nachlan Spencer, just you watch out!
To which the Evil Witch just laughed, and said in an eerie voice inside his head that there was nothing he could do to get out of his predicament, much less make her pay for what she had done.
"I am so sorry, Xiao Yue! I know how hard it is for you to forsake that doll! And I do not wish to speak to my precious daughter in so harsh a tone! But I really do this for your sake! I do not want you to suffer a fate that is worse than a thousand deaths...... Even if you were destined to do so, I still want to delay your suffering as long as I can... Even if I have to use up the rest of my life doing it......" A soft voice whispered outside Ling Yue's room, silently wiping the unshed tears rolling around the rims of her eyes......
Ling Yue thought that she could hear someone crying outside the room. She knew that the voice belonged to her mother, and felt her guilt stab at her repeatedly. She really did not want to hurt her mother, at all. It was just that...this was surely one of the toughest decisions she would make in her entire life...and she was weak. Horribly weak! Unforgivably weak! She knew that eventually, she would still choose the Prince over her mother. And the realization pained her.
I am regretful that, after so many years of the best upbringing I could ever hope for, I have turned into such a heartless creature...
Ling Yue, despising herself with every passing minute, could not stop her mental bashing.
And soon the mental bashing turned into a physical one, as she struck her head repeatedly on the metal bar on her bed. The delicate skin on her forehead broke easily, and a crimson river of blood flowed down her face, making her look like a victim in a B-grade horror movie. She was overly agitated, one could say for sure.
Her mother let out a gasp and rushed into the room, shocked that her daughter had done something so rash. Ling Yue's behavior was so abnormal that she didn't know what to do with her, or how to handle the situation except for wiping the blood off her face.
"Oh my poor Xiao Yue! Mother is so sorry for forcing you! Please do not hurt yourself! Don't you know that by doing so you are hurting me as well?"
"MaMa! I am sorry! I don't know what to do with myself! My mind is entirely washed out! What's wrong with me? Have I gone crazy already? I...I...Waaaaaaaah!" Ling Yue fell into her mother's arms, crying with her heart's content. Her mother was influenced by her pain and hugged her, crying along as well.
Meanwhile, someone who oversees their fate shakes her head at this scene. What a bunch of hum bao dois ! She mutters disgustedly, for she hates all mushy scenes with a vengeance......
Explainations:
Hum Bao Dois – These refer to crybabies. This is a Cantonese expression.
Xiao Yue - This is what Ling Yue's Mother call her. The literal translation of Xiao to English is little. This is basically an affectionate term used by the Chinese, as opposed to the formal full name.
Ling Yue - Both are Chinese words.
Ling refers to a kind of silk-woven material that looks very much like ribbon but is thinner than ribbon. In the olden days, many Chinese maidens used this as a shawl or a wrap.
Yue refers to the Moon.
I chose these two words as they have a very nice sound to it. And it also looks absolutely wonderful when you write it out in Chinese words. If I have the chance, I might write it out the next time and put it up in the gallery. It's a pity that I don't know Chinese Calligraphy! *pout*
Important!!!
I apologise sincerely to those readers who aren't Chinese or have no knowledge of Chinese words and culture. The reason that I keep including these elements in my stories is that I have been having a "fetish", if you can call it that, for all things Chinese, Japanese and Zen nowadays. And I think it's a permanent fixture in my life. Besides, it's cool to search back for your roots nowadays (and probably for the rest of my days too), with the nostalgia craze going on right now. All I want to say is, I love the fact that I'm a Chinese and I am proud of it. So sue me. Err, I take that back.
If my attitude irks you, please feel free to write it all out in the guestbook, which you can find in the Cursed Living Doll intro (click on the below link), or drop me an email. Just don't stop reading, that's all I ask. All your comments, good or bad, inspire my writing a lot (especially the bad, hehe). Why am I so long-winded?!!! *Sigh*
Waaaaaiiiiii......
The Cursed Living Doll Intro
Chapter 1 - Once upon a Time
Chapter 3 - Mirror Mirror on the Wall......
Mikamiko's Storytelling Tent
Ancient Tales - The Yisheigai Story (22 chapters and running!)
