Dolly and Ficus

Dolly sat in the display of Earl’s Happy Trinket Shop, as she stared out onto the streets while twiddling her milky thumbs. The tapping sounded throughout the room as they clacked together. Her eyes stared outside, reflecting the sky in her pupils.

At first she chose to sit still and wait, as a normal doll should, but since a normal doll could not think, move, or speak, Dolly assumed she did not have to act like one. One thing for sure though, Dolly knew she shouldn’t, nor did she desire to, exit the shop. She didn’t want to be dirty.

She had, however, explored the store once before. It started in one of the mornings where Ficus, the shopkeeper, left early. Dolly thought there was enough time for her to adventure through the shop before Ficus returned. She began with a careful climb down the display. It took a fair amount of effort, and for the lowest bit, Dolly had to reach with the tips of her toes to arrive at the floor. The view of the shop seemed no different from the ground than from the display. None of the other items on the shelves could interact with Dolly. Disappointed, she retraced her steps back to her original place, only to discover she couldn’t make it back up. Dismayed, Dolly went back to pacing around the shop in a futile attempt to find a way back up. The stairs up to Ficus’s room provided a task too daunting for Dolly, and it was hard to find the door to the exit of the shop.

A dejected Dolly decided to rest her legs and sit against the wall for Ficus to return and place her back where she belonged. After a nap, Dolly awoke to learn that the door was in fact right next to where she was sitting.

The door creaked open, as a surprised shopkeeper immediately noticed the doll by her foot was out of place.

“Dolly?”

“Ficus!” Dolly darted awake and raised her arms towards to ask for a lift. “I climbed down but I couldn’t get back up.”

“Aww, poor Dolly,” Ficus said, as she picked up Dolly. “Why did you do that?”

“It was boring sitting up in my place, so I wanted to see more of the shop.”

“Hmm, well, I know it’s boring, but it’s safer for you back in the display area, so please do your best.”

Ficus placed Dolly down in the chair behind the window.

“I know,” Dolly’s face drooped as she resigned to her original position, ending the conversation.

After her little escapade, Dolly decided it was not worth the effort to climb down to the floor. Ficus pitied Dolly, but the best she could do was place a pair of plush toys for Dolly. Dolly was appreciative of the new playthings, promptly named Fluffy and Happy. The two plush toys allowed Dolly to imagine that she could interact with them and assuage the dull days.

No one could see the foot-sized silhouette fidgeting with plushies behind the one way window. What the outsiders saw as they passed was a plain, plastered wall blending into the line of classic black and white timber buildings in the old city Traum. A passerby on the busy street would never think to stop and investigate the window to notice that it was disguised with magic, much less recognize the existence of the shop. However, even if they did notice, it wouldn’t matter because the entrance to Earl’s was located further in the labyrinth of alleyways, which could be explained by the short sighted design of the founders. With the lack of customers, Dolly developed different ways of keeping herself entertained whenever she was bored of the plush toys.

For the regular pedestrians, Dolly would create faux conversations with them, calling them with names that she thought of.

“How was the day, Mrs. Furnsby?”

Dolly’s greeting would echo in the room.

“Oh, nothing much,” the voice in her head would reply, “trying out a new face lotion today as well.”

“Oh Dolly now understands!” Dolly always tried to make the conversation upbeat. “That explains the giant fruit that was in the bag the other evening.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Dolly had always imagined the prune’s voice to be a rough but gentle voice. “However, I don’t suppose this one is cutting it, the wrinkles above my forehead always seem to be rebellious and won’t go away.”

“That’s because your smile always furrows your eyebrows down!”

And the conversation continued so on until the walker left Dolly’s view.

If there were no pedestrians to delude herself with, Dolly hummed to herself as she viewed the road in front of the window. Her melodies were based on her current mood. During her happy days, when the sun was out, she would float and glide her notes in an upbeat tune. On her sad days, she would wring out lower notes. Sometimes, she would simply hum in melancholy, while, other times, she would twist one of the upbeat tunes from one of her better days to fit her mood in an attempt to cheer herself up.

These forms of pastimes proved amusing to Dolly for the past few years, but every now and then, Dolly let the days crumble by as the realization that she may be sitting in the display for the rest of her foreseeable future, collecting dust, set in. It was at these times that Ficus approached the despondent Dolly amidst her fervent tapping and restlessness to soothe everything over with a lullaby.

Today was one of those days, or rather, nights. Dolly was dreaming of walking along the streets, interacting with the regulars in addition to meeting new people and experiencing new events. She was overjoyed. Jubilant for the fact that she could explore the city. Even if the city resembled the same section in front of the window, each minor detail from the design of the buildings to the layout of the street brought —

Huh?

Dolly couldn’t move any further. Her palm pressed onto nothing. She couldn’t feel anything either, but no matter how hard she ran, no matter how much she ran, Dolly couldn’t move any further. The people she was interacting with proceeded to walk by her, leaving Dolly by herself, unable to move forward. From there, Dolly felt her heart drop, as she too, began to plummet. The streets stretched farther away from her fingertips, as she, and the surrounding bits of dust and leaves, dropped into a little box. Nowhere to go, nothing to see. Trapped, as her vision began to be overcome by darkness. Dolly was terrified, but her china face could not cry. She began to rattle restlessly in her sleep, as her wails bounced off the walls of the twilit shop.

The tearless lamentations of Dolly coaxed Ficus out from her bed on the upper floor. A drowsy hand caressed Dolly’s back as the shopkeeper’s lullaby loomed around the ears, creating a blanket of nostalgia. Dolly awoke to find herself embraced in the tenderness of Ficus’s arms, as her grief diminished.

Dolly’s sobs ceased enough to talk in short phrases.

“There, there,” Ficus still desired to comfort her. “Did you have a bad dream, Dolly? What seems to be the problem? Scared of being trapped here?”

She always knew Dolly’s problems from the inside out, but the shopkeeper thought it was better for Dolly to reveal it on her own in order to gather her emotions.

“Mm,” Dolly sniffled out a positive reply while Ficus continued coddling her. “Will…” *sniff* “Will I… be able to experience the world outside?” she blubbered.

Ficus paused. She thought about it before giving a reply.

“Yes, Dolly, someday you will be able to experience the world outside,” Ficus affirmed with otherworldly confidence. “In fact, it may be sometime soon, but not at the moment.”

The discouraged whimpering transformed into animated liveliness. Although Dolly appreciated the peaceful atmosphere of the shop, she couldn’t help but wonder what was beyond the familiar streets that she memorized, through years of staring, down to the size, shape, and placement of each brick stone as well as the number of leaves on the tree diagonally across the street. ‘Sometime soon’ was the sound of hope for Dolly. A hope to see the outside world, free from repetition, and a happy parting, but hopefully not a farewell, to Ficus, who took Dolly under her care for as long as the figurine could remember.

Ficus saw Dolly’s eyes beam, and thought it was alright for her to leave. As she stood up, she felt a tug. Dolly had grasped Ficus’s nightgown tightly.

“Will Ficus stay with me until that time comes?” Dolly implored. She didn’t know what Ficus meant by ‘sometime soon.’ but she was uncomfortable with the fact of her leaving at the moment.

Ficus patted Dolly’s head and smiled out of kindness.

“Oh, Dolly… ” Ficus hesitates, with her face visibly pondering. “Well, I am pretty busy, so I can’t always be with you.”

Dolly gripped Ficus’s clothes harder and let out a disheartened “Oh…”

“But,” Ficus continued, “I promise you, that I will be there when you need me the most, and that you will never be fully alone.”

“Hmm, okay,” Dolly responded as she let go of Ficus’s nightgown.

Her smile with the response was half-hearted, and Ficus picked up on that.

“Dolly,” she said, caressing the model’s face, “I should have some time to spare tonight. How about we enjoy tonight’s festival from the shop together? I’ll even return earlier.”

At the word festival, Dolly glowed up again. “Really? There’s a festival tonight?”

Dolly loved the city’s festivals. Around once in a few full moons, Dolly would hear unrestrained, vibrant cheering from the center of the city. She could see out the faint light down the cobblestone path that led to Main Street if she pressed her face against the glass. However, she couldn’t quite make out what occurred in those vibrant lights. Of course, she was curious as well as sad about the joy emanating from the sounds and sights, but the main reason why she loved the festivals were because of the fireworks, marking the end of the day, she would see. It was the one part where she knew she shared the view and event with the rest of the city. The one time where Dolly didn’t feel too left out from being stranded in the shop.

Ficus hummed a giggle at Dolly’s bright face before confirming. “Yes, there is a festival tonight.” She paused again, her eyes drifting as if looking off between the lines and strings of time and space.

“Since tonight is a very special night for Dolly,” she proceeded, “we can try to do some of the activities they do during the festival.”

“How?” Based on what Ficus would tell her, Dolly had an adequate understanding of the festivals of Traum. “Aren’t most of the activities they do walking around and eating? Dolly can’t eat.”

“Well,” the shopkeeper’s smile grew, “it’s because I just so happen to have a new toy.”

“What!” Dolly was intrigued and surprised, yet wary. “Is the new toy going to replace Dolly?”

“Haha, no no no,” the shopkeeper chuckled, “I would never replace you, Dolly. Even if you have found your place to be, you will always be special to me, Dolly.”

Dolly sighed in relief before declaring, “Ficus is good to Dolly, so even if Dolly leaves the shop, Dolly still wants to see Ficus once in a while.”

“Me too Dolly, me too.” Ficus could never resist Dolly’s adorable behavior.

“Then, what is the toy?” Dolly probed.

“That will be...” Ficus’s response trailed off as she stood up. “A secret!” She said suddenly with a grin and a finger to her lips. “Wait until tonight, and you will find out!”

“Awww,” Dolly complained in a cross-armed play pout. “That’s no fair, Ficus is teasing Dolly again! Ficus is a meanie.”

Ficus patted Dolly’s head one last time before heading off to prepare for the day. A beacon of sunshine had started to illuminate the shelves, signalling the end of the morning and the beginning of the time to work.

“Be a good girl for the day, and we will have lots of fun tonight,” she called from upstairs.

“Of course! Dolly is always a good girl!”

Ficus’s grin could be felt throughout the shop.

Meanwhile, Dolly’s uplifted mood, excited for the night to come, filled the room with happy humming and tapping. It was a good day for the entire shop. The exotic seashells began to breathe, bellowing out powerful notes, as well as tinkling the wind chimes and twirling the wind spinners. A myriad of balls began to bounce to the rhythm. Soon, miniature golden harps created a supporting melody and joined the chorus led by Dolly. The shop was cheerful, as the plants in the sunlight quivered to the music, and the characters on the nursery mobiles danced to the beat.

The shopkeeper, dressed for the day, clapped her hands twice to catch Dolly’s attention, and the room started to settle down.

“That’s enough Dolly, maybe later tonight, when there’s a festival, should you make a band like that. For now, keep it to yourself.”

“Okay!” Dolly enthusiastically raised her hands in an act of agreement. “We’ll play music during the festival!”

“Well, until then Dolly,” Ficus waved and exited the shop.

The door closed and faded. Dolly returned to her ecstatic self. Her hums were a bit calmer, but still quite spirited enough for it to lighten up the room. She was barely able to hold it in. Usually, Ficus would disappear during the day and return when the sun set. Today, she planned to return when the sun was still out. In addition, Dolly had something extra to look forward to when she saw Ficus again. Trying to follow her words and save the excitement for the night, Dolly hummed energetically while watching the shadows creep towards the other side of the street. To her, it felt like it would take an eternity for the day to end. At the same time, it wasn’t boring either. She could feel more excitement in the surroundings. There were more people bustling in the streets. Carts were sent here and there. People interacted more often, and there were smiles on their faces.

It was also more hectic. Among the crowd, Dolly could see a lanky man, no more than 20 years old running from an overly excited soldier of similar age. Dolly smiled, and wished she could be like that man. Free to run and interact with other people.

Dolly spent the rest of the day observing the outside world until Ficus returned.

A shimmering sound was heard, signaling to Dolly that the door from which Ficus would appear had appeared. Dolly turned around in anticipation of hearing the creak of the door swinging open.

“Dolly!” It was Ficus calling out. “I’m back!”

This time, she returned with a few paper bags in hand.

“Ah!” Dolly pointed at the bags. “Is that the new toy?”

“Haha, no it isn’t,” Ficus grinned. “These,” she lifted the bags in a flaunting pose, “are some replicas of the food sold in the festival stalls.”

“Why? Dolly can’t eat.”

“Nothing much,” Ficus replied, “I just thought you might want to look at them.”

“Is this what was meant by doing the activities? So Dolly can look and touch but not eat?” Dolly’s eyes, filled with curiosity gleamed up at Ficus.

“Part of it!” It was now apparent that Ficus was also excited for the night’s events to come. “I’ll show you the other part right now.” Ficus placed the bags by Dolly and headed up the stairs.

Dolly was left in a pool of excitement. She hugged Fluffy tightly before holding it eye to eye.

“Dolly is very excited! Does Fluffy know what Ficus is going to bring?”

Dolly began to muffle her voice. “No, Fluffy does not know what Ficus is going to bring, but Fluffy is also very excited.”

Rustling paper from upstairs drew Dolly’s eyes to the entryway. She turned her head, as well as Fluffy’s, to face the steps. After the rustling ceased, Ficus appeared, walking down triumphantly with a transparent panel.

Dolly let go of Fluffy, who promptly slouched down to the ground. She stared at the clear film in Ficus’s hand.

“That’s the toy?” She asked, wide-eyed. “But how can Ficus play with that? It’s just a sheet. It’s not even shiny.”

“Oh, you’ll see, Dolly.” Ficus began to prop the panel up onto the window. She looked at Dolly and enthusiastically said, “Watch. It’ll become shiny very soon.”

She snapped her fingers and, as if on cue, it lit up. A picture of the main street appeared. The sides were lined up with wooden hut stalls, strung together with a line of twinkling lights. Some people passed over the image while others interacted with the wooden huts, exchanging coins for items.

“Ah!” Dolly gasped and leaned towards the screen. “Is this a picture of the festival? And why is it moving?”

“Mhmm,” Ficus replied while closing her eyes and concentrating on something. “I had a very special friend draw it all out while the festival is currently happening. What you see there is what he sees.”

However, Dolly was too engrossed in the scene to hear Ficus’s explanation. “Look! I see people eating sticks!”

“That would be this… ” Ficus said while searching inside one of the bags. She brought out a clay rendition of skewered meats. “Commonly known as kebabs.”

“Hehehe,” Dolly picked up the replica and grinned. “Kebab. That’s a funny name.”

Ficus chuckled with her.

“Dolly, look, our friend is moving.” The screen began to move forward, revealing more sights.

Ficus revealed the rest of the items in the bags in accordance to when they appeared on the panel. There were fried waffle-cut potatoes, hot chocolate, candied tools, and sugar strings along with other captivating products. Dolly pretended to eat each one and described to Ficus what she thought they tasted like.

“The potato one tastes like I travelled to the sun and sliced a piece from it! It’s so warm and soft.” Dolly exclaimed. “And this one...”

“Oh, get ready, Dolly,” Ficus suddenly said, “The center of the town is up ahead.”

A fountain appeared into view, shimmering a shade of gold from the street’s decorations. People were crowded around it. They were talking to each other, tossing coins into the water, and enjoying the view of cascading sparkles.

“Wow.” Dolly was in awe. There were so many sights today that she had wished to see or hadn’t imagined could exist. She sat there, staring at the screen, speechless.

Ficus sat beside her with an affectionate smile. “Happy 0th Anniversary, Dolly,” she whispered to herself. “Tomorrow’s going to be an even better day.”

Behind the mother-child pair, the door creaked.