BEAUTY IN THE ONCE MORTAL DOLL

                                    

                                          
  The rising sun cast a rosy hue across the morning sky. Golden fingers of sunlight lit up the forest. "Such fresh air accompanied with a pearly glow in the sky. How mundane,"  Sama hissed. Another day had dawned, filled with melodic bird songs and the giggles of humans. Mere mortals only live once and should they stumble upon anything but this tree, there is no turning back.
  Hirosa, a beautiful and cheerful girl, threw herself on the patch of grass, letting the sun rays shower her. A few other girls around her height rushed towards the grass and threw themselves on the grass too. "I love Kyoto Town! Everything is perfect!"  Hirosa exclaimed. The other girls nodded their heads with a broad smile. They all looked up at the crisp and clear sky. Kyoto Town is indeed perfect.
  Hirosa blinked and looked around. The waterfall was beautiful, a picturesque element of Kyoto Town. She loved her life. She loved her family. She loved everything. It was all perfect. She was a flawless individual. She was unsurpassable. The village kids all loved her, she was acclaimed by everyone. Life was just perfect. 
  "Don't you find us lucky to be living in Kyoto Town? I will stay here forever because this place is the absolute best!"  One of the girls blurted out. "Hey, I'm sure there are many other beautiful places but we just happened to live here.
  I want to travel all over the world to discover more beautiful places!"  Another girl remarked. Hirosa stared at them while listening to their conversation. A beautiful place? Absolute best? Thus her journey to find a beautiful place began.
  Hirosa quickly picked herself up and ran off. The other girls tried calling out to her but she gave them the cold shoulder. Thinking it was no big deal, nobody chased after her. Nobody had a second thought. Hirosa ran and off she went. Soon, she reached a place filled with many trees.
  She stopped at one nearby and gasped hard and fast for air. The air was cold and dry. It was a forest. "W...what? This place is not beautiful...,"  Hirosa muttered. She crossed her arms and shivered. The cold air was piercing her skin and she sneezed numerous times. 
  "S...so c...cold...,"  she whispered to herself. As she took small steps deeper into the forest, the air grew colder. Soon, the sky turned dark. Rain drops began to stain the ground, drop by drop. "Oh no, it's going to pour! I have to find shelter!"  Hirosa gasped and ran deeper into the forest.
  As she ran, rain came down so hard that it almost hurt, stinging her skin and blowing into her eyes and nose and mouth, but in the forest, its fall was broken by the trees. After a few minutes of running, Hirosa found an old-looking cabin.
  She rushed into it and started panting. "Why did it start raining all of a sudden? The weather was fine back in Kyoto Town!"  Hirosa exclaimed to herself. She looked out the windows of the cabin. The rain was heavy enough for Hirosa to see them drop to the ground.
  Hirosa sighed and sat down on the cabin floor. "I guess I'll have to wait for the rain to stop,"  she murmured. She looked out the window. The sky was leaden and the forest had an eerie atmosphere. As she looked at the corner of the window, something caught her attention. "Huh? Is that...a Sakura tree?"
  Hirosa opened the door and looked outside. She gasped and ran out of the cabin, ignoring the stinging rain drops. "It really is a Sakura tree! Wow, it's so pretty!"  Hirosa exclaimed as she danced around the tree in the rain.
   "Oh? A visitor?"  A voice appeared from thin air. Hirosa jumped up from the sudden startle and looked around her hurriedly. "What was that? Where did that voice come from?"  She started inquiring. "Behind you,"  the voice said.
  Hirosa turned around immediately and saw a black figure. "W...who are you and w...why are you...,"  Hirosa stuttered. Before she could continue, the figure put her finger on her lips. "I am Sama. I have been stuck in this forest for a very long time.
   Be it a blessing from God or a miraculous coincidence, our meeting is long-overdue,"  she said.
  Hirosa looked at her with a bewildered expression. "Why have you been stuck in this forest for a very long time, Sama?"  Hirosa asked. Sama let out a soft chuckle and sighed. "I have been destined to stay here. However, now that I have met you, my destiny might change. If you do me a little something, maybe I can finally be free,"  she let out a laugh. Hirosa looked at Sama with curious eyes.
   "Um...what do I have to...do for you?"  Hirosa stammered. "Take my hand and play with me." Hirosa did not expect such a request. Staring at Sama, her heart began to throb. She looked at the ground to avoid the constant eye contact but Sama's eyes were locked on her. Feeling her gaze, Hirosa lifted her head a little.
  She could see Sama smiling by the corner of her mouth. She began to take small steps and reached out her hand.
  The moment their hands touched, Hirosa's eyes dilated. Her skin was hardening, her face began turning into porcelain. She was immobilised, she felt her soul slowly being reaped into half.
  Soon, she collapsed to the ground and stopped moving. "Haha...Haha...Hahaha! Another fool, pathetic as always! Humans are so foolish, they trust so easily and are so easy to trick! Now you shall stay as a doll to be played with, while being my marionette! Hahaha!"  Sama chuckled, her voice echoing in the forest.
  She then put the now lifeless doll in the cabin and went back to her slumber.
  She was so beautiful. She was loved and admired. Let there be life, let there be death but the beauty in a soul will never disperse.