Chapter 8: The Talking Doll
It was a stone doll, but Winifred couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from.
"Here, little girl. I'm here," looking at the doll, someone said again.
"Doll?" Winifred said, shocked, as she looked at the doll on the table.
"Yes," the doll replied.
It was a stone doll, slightly bigger than an average human hand. The doll had two eyes and a nose mark, but they didn't move when it spoke. Its voice was human-like, though its mouth never moved. The doll had no legs; instead, its bottom was rounded like a cylinder. It had no expressions either.
Winifred looked toward the doll. "Yes, it's me," the doll replied, looking at her.
"What? A doll?" Winifred exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah, I know. It's a bit of a shock, but yeah, it's me, little girl," the doll replied.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Mister Doll," Winifred said nervously.
"Don't tease her," Elise said, comforting Winifred.
"I'm not teasing her. I'm just a bit shocked that you brought a girl with you. It's rare to see this," the doll replied, arguing with Elise.
"Well, she's going to live here from now on!" Elise replied.
"Oh? And why is that?" the doll asked.
"Hu... hu... hu... Laughing, because from now on, she's going to be my student!" Elise said, placing her hand on Winifred's shoulder.
"What? A student? And your…!" the doll said, shocked.
"Explain this, Elise!" the doll demanded.
"Winifred, you sit here, and I'll make dinner for us!" Elise said as she walked toward the kitchen.
"Oh, I can help you…" Winifred offered.
"Don't. Just take a rest—you need it! I'll make it today," Elise replied, heading into the kitchen.
"Also, please tell that idiot doll everything that happened to you! Don't worry, don't hide anything—you can trust him!" Elise said from the kitchen.
"Hi… Doll, the Fate Circle brought her into our world. She comes from another world," Elise explained.
"What? You come from another world, girl?" the doll asked Winifred in a shocked tone.
"Don't scare her, you idiot doll!" Elise yelled from the kitchen.
"Oh… Oh, my mistake. It's just that it's not normal to see people come from another world," the doll said, lowering its voice.
Winifred listened to the conversation between the doll and Elise while standing in the hallway.
"Hmmm… Tell me your name, little girl. And why are you standing? Sit here," the doll asked Winifred gently.
"Oh… Thanks, Mister Doll," Winifred replied, confused about what to call the doll.
Winifred sat near the bonfire on the sofa.
"Oh… My name… My name is Winifred!" she said, looking at the doll.
"Winifred, huh? You can call me Doll. My actual name is Doll. I don't just look like a doll—you know, my name is Doll too. So feel free to call me that," the doll said.
"Oh… Okay, Mister Doll," Winifred replied.
"So, tell me, Winifred, everything about your world, how you ended up here, and about your family too," the doll asked.
"She comes from the Emph world!" Elise called out, listening to their conversation while cooking.
"What? Emph…?" the doll said, shocked.
"Yes… and she's from the side that doesn't know magic!" Elise added.
"Oh… That must be sad, little girl," the doll said empathetically.
"Yeah…" Elise said.
"Not really, actually. I mean, we didn't even know if magic existed," Winifred replied, looking at the doll.
"That's because you never knew how beautiful magic is, Winifred. Magic is freedom—it belongs to everyone. Every living thing has magic. You never knew because you never had the chance to use it," the doll said.
"Yes, Winifred, because you never knew how beautiful magic was," Elise said from the kitchen, a smile on her face.
"Yeah… Actually, when Elise told me magic was hidden from us in my world, I felt sad. Knowing there's magic that can change your life but not knowing it exists… it really made me sad," Winifred said, looking down.
"Don't be sad, Winifred. You've got the chance now, right? So don't be sad! I'm going to teach you magic, and you're going to become a great witch!" Elise said happily.
"Oh… Yes!" Winifred replied with a smile.
Winifred told the doll everything—how she teleported to this world, the monster that attacked her, how Elise saved her, and why Elise was teaching her magic. She also talked about her old world—how it was different from this one—and shared stories about her family and friends.
Elise and the doll listened intently as Winifred talked about her past life and her family.
Hearing about Winifred's family, Elise felt a pang of sadness. She remembered when Winifred hugged her and cried about her only friend.
"Hmm… It must have been hard for you to live there," the doll said after hearing about Winifred's parents.
"Yeah! It must have been hard for you!" Elise said, a bit sad.
"Yeah…" Winifred said, remembering her past life.
"Here, I brought you food to eat. Come on, let's eat. You must be really hungry, Winifred," Elise said, coming from the kitchen with food in her hands.
"Oh… Yes. You must be hungry because of the Fate Circle. Come on, eat up," the doll said.
"Oh… Yes," Winifred replied.
Suddenly, wooden branches emerged from the floor and started taking the shape of a chair and table. Within seconds, they formed a complete wooden chair and table.
Winifred was shocked, her eyes glowing as she watched magic create the furniture.
"Oh…" Winifred reacted, watching the magic take shape.
Elise placed the food on the table.
"Come on, Winifred, sit. Let's eat," Elise said while placing the food.
"Oh… Yes," Winifred replied.
Winifred sat on the wooden chair created by magic.
Elise placed food on Winifred's plate. It was a red soup with small vegetables mixed in, and next to it was a bowl of yellow rice. Elise also sat on a chair and served herself the same food.
"Come on, Winifred, let's eat," Elise said, looking at her.
"Oh… Okay," Winifred said, looking between Elise and the doll. "Is Mister Doll not eating?" she asked.
"Yeah… He doesn't eat," Elise said, looking at the doll with a bit of sadness.
"Oh… I can't eat because I'm a doll. You can continue without me," the doll replied.
"Oh… Okay. I thought if a doll can talk, then they can eat too," Winifred said with a bit of embarrassment.
"Hahaha…" Elise and the doll laughed.
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