Trapped As A Doll

Selene has been stuck in Ceramic land for the last 40 years. It all began when she was traveling with her parents. Back then she was just a 6-year-old girl. Her father had family members on the other side of the mountain. They were going to visit them for the winter. She remembered the day she left her house. They lived in a small but cozy wooden cabin on the top of the greenest mountain on the east side. Her mother had packed goat cheese and milk for their long journey. Selene's father had let her know in advance that it would be a long journey. Her parents wanted to get to the top of the snowy mountains within 4 days. They had harvested some corn during the summer. The cobs that were left over were packed to bring along on the trip. She remembered looking back at the wooden cabin as they walked into the sunset. Her older brother would stay behind to look after their house for the winter. When she said goodbye to Chris, he had wrapped her in a big green blanket. This was the last gift that she would receive from her older brother.

The sadness sparkled in her eyes as she thought back about her old life. For the last 40 years, Selene has been working in Ceramic land as a slave. The cursed porcelain doll was bound to her duties. Each day she had to rearrange, polish, clean, and organize all the ceramic items in this fragile land. The witch who had cursed her had told her that if she skipped one day she would shatter. To set an example, the witch who had also turned her parents into porcelain dolls, made them shatter in pieces in front of her eyes. The trauma of losing her parents replayed in her mind each day as she polished the delicate tableware. She often wondered what happened to her brother and if he ever came looking for his family? Despite that all the objects in this land were made from ceramic, Selene was the only living soul to inhabit this land. In all the years that she spent cleaning and dusting this place, she had not once come across a living thing!

The last living person that she had encountered, was the witch who had ruined her life! That all changed one day. She was busy cleaning the teahouses and train station made from plates when she heard someone call to her. At first, she ignored it because she thought that after being trapped here for so many years she had finally become delusional! " Hey there! Are you deaf or something? Lady from Porcelain, I demand your attention.". She finally turned around and saw a young man standing on top of one of the blue teapot houses. It wasn't a hallucination at all! Selene bent over to take a closer look at the young man. Compared to her, he was the size of an ant. She blinked at him and Rupert stared straight into her giant blue eye. " You there, are you one of the witch's victims?". " Who's asking?" Selene replied. " My name is Rupert, I'm the only one who escaped the witch her tricks. Thanks to my cunning work the witch is no longer a threat to anyone. I hold the key to break her curses. For the last 2 years, I've been wandering around releasing more than 300 victims of the wicked witch.". The porcelain doll broke down in tears. " That seems like nothing compared to how long I've been waiting! But I'm happy you're finally here." she snickered having difficulty trying to catch her breath." You have no idea, how long I've lost hope of ever tasting freedom. So I hope this isn't a dream. Because if so, this would be nothing but a cruel nightmare!". " I assure you my lady, this is not a joke. Now let's hurry up and set you free, so I can continue on my quest. I've collected the blood and sweat of the witch. So far it has helped me free more than 400 souls. I've sworn not to rest until I've found and freed every innocent victim that the witch harmed.

What's your name beautiful?". " It's Selene". " Well Selene, if we're going to break this curse I'm going to need your help! You need to do your best to concentrate on your happiest memories. Close your eyes and drift back to that moment where your heart was filled with joy!". Selene did as Rupert asked. Her mind drifted back to when she was a little girl running and playing in the field with her father. Her mother was busy setting the picnic blanket and her brother was chopping wood in their backyard. They would use the wood to make a campfire that kept them all warm and safe at night. Back then she had no idea, that these winter days that she spent with her family were going to become her most cherished memories. Rupert dripped a potion with the sweat and blood of the witch on her arm and her porcelain skin shattered. A bright warm light wrapped around her like a blanket. That warm energy guided her to land safely on the ground as she was restored to her human form. Now she was the same size as Rupert. She stretched out her arms in front of her eyes to admire her human body.  It felt good to be human again. Only this time she wasn't a little girl anymore. Her human body had been aging all these years under that porcelain skin. But that didn't matter to her right now! She wanted to find her brother. Maybe there was a chance that he was still alive and looking for her. " Thank you, Rupert, you have no idea how grateful I am! If you had not set my soul free I wouldn't be able to leave this place. Now after 40 years, I can finally look for my brother. " I'm glad to be of service, which direction are you heading?". " I'm going to the snowy mountains!  That's where my family lived when I was a young girl.". " Well then it is indeed your lucky day Selene. I am heading there too. Some of the victims I released told me that the witch had cursed quite a lot of people living in those parts. If you want you can join me on my journey and we can go find your brother together.". Selene didn't think twice to take Rupert up on his offer. If the wicked witch had somehow found her brother, it would be handy to have his help. He knew the secret to breaking the witch her curse. Besides that, she was scared to be left alone again. It had been so long since she had the company of someone else. On the outside, she might look like an old woman but on the inside, she still felt like that scared 6 year old that lost her family. 

                                 To be continued...