Chapter 1: Found Part 1

For as long as I can remember, I have had no voice, no will, no freedom.

My gaze can only observe what lies before my eyes.

My name is... forgotten.

I am... not sure who or what I was before.

I have traveled across the world, inevitably discarded by every soul who found me over and over, as I offer nothing but sinister omens.

I am certain of only two things.

I am a woven basket, revealed to me through reflections of myself that I have witnessed by chance.

The other, I was likely crafted by someone long dead who wanted to keep me imprisoned for eternity, because I cannot be destroyed.

Burning, cutting, and grinding have been just some of the methods used in attempts to eradicate me from this world.

But I sit here now, on the sand of this unknown shore, getting stirred by the sea's dissipating waves.

Waiting to be taken by the next humans who favor my foolish appearance.

In due time, I will be found.

Many years go by.

Though short compared to my time imprisoned.

I watch people slowly populate the once barren shoreline.

Endlessly, I am swept around the land by the sea, waiting patiently to be discovered again.

An enormous kingdom now fills the land, unlike anything I’ve seen before!

Towering spires of rock pierce the sky above countless smaller dwellings, their surfaces catching Sol's radiance and scattering it in blinding ribbons of light.

And beasts of metal reach incredible speeds to traverse the land swiftly!

Again, I sit in the shallows of a calm beach, my gaze fixed on Sol’s orange glow hanging on the edge of the horizon.

But finally, I hear them coming.

Longer than I hoped.

“What's that?” shouts what sounds like a young girl behind me.

There’s no response.

The soft patter of footsteps grew clearer as they approached from behind.

Small hands lift my body of tightly woven willow, turning me toward them.

The young girl giggles at my face.

My circular black eyes, shining smooth stone, center on her.

“Where did you come from? I love your smile”, she exclaims.

Is the imbecile asking me?

A basket that cannot speak?

If only she could feel my burning fury veiled by my blood-soaked smile and round, blushing cheeks.

She lifts the straw hat lid, always found on my head, using the small loop tassel on the top.

I am empty.

She places my lid back on and nestles me against her stomach, turning to face the two older humans further up the beach.

“Mommy! Daddy! Look what I found.”

I’m carried to what are presumably her elders—not an elder compared to me, but much older than the child—and thankful to be away from the disorienting nature of the sea.

Temporarily.

The woman turns from the man irritably.

Concern dissolves from her face, replaced by a warm and gentle smile when her focus settles on her child

“What is that, sweetheart?” asks the woman.

“Jackie, I’m only trying to make everyone happy…” says the man through stiffness before cutting himself short, hand outstretched to request that she come closer again.

Jackie…

Jackie continues to walk toward the girl and me, ignoring her lover’s pitiful plea.

The man’s head drops, suddenly impeded by an exhaustive weight.

He sullenly huffs a breath before raising his head and slowly following Jackie, with marginal poise regained.

Once Jackie reaches us, she grabs my body and lifts me into the air to face her eye to eye.

“A smiling… basket?” she asks herself quizzically.

Has humans' intellect degraded this much since my previous encounter?

She too removes my lid to reveal nothing

“Isn’t it so cute!” exclaims the young girl.

“It’s definitely…unique. Cute, but unique,” replies Jackie with little to no adoration.

Jackie surveys the surrounding area.

I believe you and I are the only ones here, Jackie.

Confused, Jackie utters, “There doesn’t seem to be anyone here. Let’s leave it further up the beach in case the owner comes back.”

The girl simpers sulkily.

“But he was left to be splashed in the water”, she whines in a high pitch.

“A ‘he’, is it? Well, we don’t want someone to think that we stole him.”

After trailing Jackie, the man suggests, “We can come back tomorrow and ask anybody we see if the basket belongs to them”, once he reaches us.

Jackie looks at him with blank eyes and a flat mouth.

The young girl nods, approving of her father’s proposal.

“C’mon, Mommy! It’s going to be dark soon, and I don’t want him to be alone out here”, the girl adds, her hands pressed together in a prayer.

Jackie looks at her child, then her lover, and then at me.

I cannot impose my will on this discussion, you imbecile!

Her mouth hangs open as she searches for another argument against taking me.

Through a forced half-smile, the man asks, “What’s the worst that can happen?” as he gently pats his daughter's head.

I second that. What ruin could come from sheltering a lonely basket?

“Fine”, sighs Jackie in defeat.

“But we are going to bring ‘him’ back to the beach tomorrow morning to look for whoever left him.”

“Yay!” shouts the girl.

So it is decided.

She lifts her hands into the air, jumping eagerly on her toes, waiting to receive me from her mother.

With a furrowed brow directed at her mother, the girl states, “But it’s not an ‘it’. It’s him… it’s…

The girl takes me into her arms again, holding me against her chest to face whatever lies before her.

“Haile and I will take care of it before you’re even awake, hun”, states the man.

Haile…

He intertwines his fingers with Jackie's as they slowly start to head back in the direction they came from.

He whispers, “We might as well make our last trip here as memorable as we can”, low enough so the girl would be unable to hear.

Ears did not adorn my form, yet my hearing was sharp enough to separate his soft-spoken words from the girl's thoughtful humming.

Suddenly, Haile shouts out, “I know!”, startling even me.

Her elders turn to face us again.

“Bin-Ling!”

“Bin-Ling?” inquires Jackie.

“That’s his name. Bin-Ling,” replies the girl.

The man chuckles aloud, and the woman chortles slightly to herself.

Bin-Ling?

The ridiculousness of that surpasses any of the names I have ever been ‘granted’.

It makes me laugh, knowing it will be etched into your minds as a petrifying evil you hope to never encounter in this lifetime or the next!

MWAHAHAHA!

“Where did that come from?” he probes.

“Well, he’s a bin, and he is shaped like a dumpling. So Bin-Ling,”

“Bin-Ling, eh?” he replies.

The man looks at me in a considerate way, as if he is truly seeing my appearance for the first time.

“Well, I love it! Bin-Ling is a temporary member of the family for the night, which means you have to take good care of him, Haile.”

Appalled that her father would suggest otherwise, Haile brusquely replies, “Of course I will.”

“A unique name like that belongs to a unique basket like Bin-Ling”, backs Jackie.

“Let’s head back to the house now. It’s starting to cool off.”

Jackie clutches her wool blouse tighter around her body with one hand, feeling the chill from the open ocean made more apparent as the daylight dwindles, and holds out her other hand behind her to summon Haile to her side.

Haile skips from behind to grip her mother's hand, connecting them from tallest to shortest, while keeping me cradled in her other free arm.

The four of us saunter down the beach; Haile distracts herself along the way with the simplest things found anywhere in the world, while Jackie and her partner babble arid nonsense.

Cherish these ephemeral moments of happiness.

Soon, they will be distant memories, or possibly your last.

Because the moment you found me, your fate was sealed.

The question is, how long will you endure?

Once we leave the beach, we depart from the area by means of their unnatural beast, dubbed a ‘car’, one of the many words they speak not caught by my ear.

Fortunately, as I had hoped, the journey to their dwelling is exhilarating!

The girl holds my body to the glass, permitting me to observe the people, structures, and oddities before they vanish beyond my sight.

What a vast amount of places and people to poison and petrify with dreadful dangers!

Humans have been breeding like rats if their kingdoms cover the land this densely.

Though, the intellect of humans has not fallen as far as I thought if they are capable of taming such monstrous creatures.

It isn’t long until we come to a halt, and the roar of the beast goes silent, followed by our withdrawal from the cushioned innards of the creature.

I have borne witness to castles, cathedrals, and temples you humans have constructed that captivated even me with their ornate beauty.

Despite the adequate size, this lowly… box could hardly be a desired place of refuge.

Where’s the color amongst these charcoal walls, the delicate stone decor, or the masterfully worked wood accents?

Where I stay is normally indifferent to me, but I eagerly look forward to any destruction that I bring to this eyesore.

“Why don’t you change into your pajamas when we get inside, Haile”, suggests Jackie with expected acceptance.

She enticingly adds, “And Daddy and I will whip up a small bedtime snack for our movie?”

She happily obliges and runs to the tall door of flat dark wood leading inside.

The door swings open to reveal a slightly more charming interior at least, no less rigid and plain in color, made apparent by the shine of white, marble floors resembling slick ice.

I smell no pungent odor of burning wax or oil, but the space is lit by bright bulbs of light secured to or hanging from the beamed ceiling, or lamps stood atop of short pedestals.

She races upstairs to place me in an open area surrounded by unusual toys crafted in a wide array of vibrant colors.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes to introduce you to everyone, Bin-Ling”, informs Haile.

Introduce me?

To whom?

It’s only us…

As far as I can tell.

While I wait for Haile, I hear Jackie and the man talking with careful restraint and the guarded nature of two people trying to make their case.

The man says, “I have to try”, his belief exhausted.

Followed by, ”Mr. Torres expects the ‘next hit’ come Monday or…”. Distaste stung and swelled the name he spat out.

Jackie scoffs, parallel in demeanor to her lover before sourly saying, “That’s ridiculous. Can’t he give you more…”

Finally, Haile returns to sit by my side on the floor after fumbling around in the adjacent room.

From head to toe, her body is covered by blue bedclothes printed with a repetitive pattern of a woman, her lower body a fish tail, as she swims beneath churning waves.

My time in the seas has never proven that a creature like this exists.

Eyeing me, she says, “Since you‘re staying the night, I’ll introduce you.”

She clears her throat to address her audience, continuing with, “Everyone this is Bin-Ling. Bin-Ling, this is everyone.”

Who is she talking to?

Haile grabs one of the many toys dotting the floor.

Long tan limbs tipped by white hands hang down from her grip on the plush body.

She faces the lanky figure of knitted wool in my direction.

Eyes similar to my own and mouth of wide red lips stare lifelessly back at me.

“Bin-Ling, this is Rufus, my sock monkey.”

Rufus…

Does she think this bizarre, stitched-together being of fabric construed to resemble a creature of…

I do not know what exactly, but does she think it lives?!

“You guys kinda look the same, so I’m sure you’ll get along great.”

This is not my true form!

If I was free, even without a conscious depiction of my true body, I would frost your blood with fear!

…Wait…

Am I the one who is mistaken?

Could Rufus have a being, like myself, trapped within?

No matter.

Even you will feel my evil taint the content inevitably stored in my body.

This space, if time allows it.

Rufus is placed to Haile’s side before she grabs another one of her toys, this one a glossy miniature human with golden blonde hair wearing a purple ballgown.

“Next, we have Barbie.”

“I know Barbie is very pretty, but don’t be shy, Bin-Ling.”

How has she…

What is…

This girl must be a sorceress!

How else could she have shrunken and solidified another human?!

Maybe I am the one in danger!