Porcelain Tears

A dark figure shuffled around in the inky darkness, their footsteps clinking like glass on the dusty, dark oak floor as the sound of scraping drags behind them. The figure stumbles a few times as it surveys the room, their interest peaked at a sound that had shattered the silence.

"Hello. Is anybody there?" the figure asked, the words echoed off the walls of the deserted building, returning to it as distorted shadows of its yell.

After a few moments they try again, yet again to no response. Sighing, the figure moves around once again feeling the walls for a sign of what they're looking for. The Figure's quiet gasps bounce off the walls of the empty hall. The room is soon halfway filled with flickering light after they light a match against the base of a candle, the wax already dripping onto the hands of the stranger. The figure moves into the light picking up the flaming candle with her right hand, and holding her dress with her left so it won't be caught on the littered trash, crates, and boxes on the ground of the musty old building. The Figure grunts, holding her chest in pain, their eyes, full of surprise and fear, barely visible in the flickering candlelight. She makes her way to a door and attempts to shove it open. The door doesn't budge, dust falls like an avalanche over the Figure. The Shadow brushes the dust mites off as it begins looks around, supposingly for another exit.

"Come on!" she growled under her breath, frustrated. 

There were no other ways out, no more doors, no visible hatches, and the windows were too high to get to. Not that it would matter, the glass was broken and  razor sharp points lined the windows like daggers, poised to strike. Now knowing this, the graceful shadow takes the time to look at herself, somewhat confused at their own appearance. She closes her eyes, picturing a young girl with fawn hair, running through a bright green field. Her laugh rings out clear and strong through the saphire blue sky. It was a beautiful laugh. The Girl wore an old and tattered bunny hoodie, it looked as if the bunny ears and the tail were hand stitched onto hoodie quite sloppily. Seeing how the hoodie was bigger than her, the arms flopped as the girl ran, her face full of glee. The figure shakes her head, ridding herself of the foggy memory. 

"How did this even happen?" she asked herself, opening her eyes. 

Looking at herself now, She inspected the long, silk gown she had been wearing. She ran her gloved hand through her unnatural dark blond hair.

"It's quite a beautiful gown…" She said, spinning, letting the folds of the fabric wave. "But how did I get it? And how did I get here?" Just a few of the many questions that raced through her mind as she began to walk again through the debris of the abandoned halls. The snow capped mountains outside poked just over the window.

Just a few seconds after she began moving again, she stumbled. She tried in vain to get up, but it was as if her whole body had been pulled to the ground and chained to the musty wood floor. After quite some struggle against the invisible restraints, she somehow got up again, breaking free of the metaphorical chains. Stumbling backwards, she looks down to see what had tripped her. Strings. She only just noticed them now but they were attached to every joint of her body. They felt like another limb almost… but not quite. It felt like thick strands of hair, pulling her onwards. It was not restraining her, more so propelling her.  She looked down at her hand. Her hand had many ceramic joints and pisces behind held together by the string, making them moveable. The knobs and cracks of the polished wood stained her skin. Or should I say wood? She stumbled back in fear. Slowly she turned and, terrified, she followed the string holding her up. She wasn't sure if what she was thinking was right or not, but she had to make sure. The strings were attached to something stuck behind a crate next to the locked door, a shadow of something wedged behind was framed by the candlelight. She walked towards it cautiously. She slowly moved it to inspect the anchor of her strings. It was a wooden bar with many limbs and knobs. She recognized it as a Control Bar used to control German style marionettes many years ago. Her eyes widened upon seeing this, somehow it meant something substantial. A sudden memory flashed by. 

"Hurry up, will you!" a loud voice erupted as a group of teenagers ran into what appeared to be abandoned carnival grounds. The girl in the torn bunny hoodie running behind them.

"Boo!" one of the girls jumped out scaring the others. She was the eldest of the group. They all laughed as they continued on through the park. Slowly half of the groups smiles faded as it went quite, the atmosphere going dark while the other half of the group went on happily. One of the guys suggested they check out the warehouse, raving about how it looked cool and could have secret treasures inside.  This appeared to unnerve the girl in the torn up bunny hoodie as they walked into the dark room, lit up only by the moon. One half of the group rushed in, laughing and joking, shoving each other around playfully as the darkness engulfed them. The Small Bunny Hoodie Girl was about to follow them, but she stopped. The girl glanced in before looking back at the other half of the group to see as to why they stopped. 

"Are you all okay?" the girl asked, confused at their change of mood. 

The others walked over to her slowly, surrounding her. Her eyes filled with realisation and fear as one of the guys looked at her sollomly. He brought out something behind him, a sheen in the moonlight. He whispered under his breath "Im sorry, Angelica…" She tried to run, arms seemed to claw at her skin, tearing the ears and tail off the hoodie, her small figure no match for the larger teens.

A scream rang out into the night, blood streaming onto the faded streamers and remains of balloons. The figure of the small girl thumped on the ground, her eyes clouded yet frozen of fear. A olden day Marionette was propped up on the wall of the warehouse…. And it was looking right back at her.

The memory faded back to the musty building as the figure followed the scream of the girl. Angelica. That's who she is. Who she was. She was murdered by her old friends. She recounted their names, now a faded memory. John, Frank, Anna. John, Frank, Anna. John, Frank… Anna…. She dropped the marionette control bar as she used the wall next to her as support. Her eyes wide, her hands shaking. Angelica, while in the middle of her breakdown, heard the sound of water plopping to the ground, the sound echoing along with the scream in her mind.. Slowly she raised her hand to her face, dabbing below her eyes. Water. She was crying. Angelica, taking this as a sign shes not dead, ran over to where she was when this all started, where she woke up. When she got there she saw no body, and most importantly no blood. 

"I'm alive," Angelica said out loud happily. "This must be a weird prank, or a dream" she told herself, clutching her chest in relief. 

"I'm 'fraid not." A voice replied. It was rough but high pitched. 

Angelica jumped and whipped around expecting to see someone, anyone. Maybe even her friends yet no one was there. 

"I'm losing my mind." Angelica stated to herself, holding her head in her hands. 

"Wrong again. Down here!" the voice exclamed, sounding a bit surprised itself. 

Angelica looked down and spotted a light blue bunny plush with long floppy ears, sitting on the ground next to a crate. Not unlike everything else there, it was very dusty. Angelica picked it up, inspecting it. The plush had a black bow with a moon charm around its neck. It had a missing eye along with red, round, cheeks next to its pitch black nose.

"Cute!" Angelica gushed. Bunnies, after all, were her favorite animal.

"I'm not cute, I'm deadly!" It suddenly snapped, glaring at her. Angelica let out a scream as she dropped the plush. It fell to the ground with a small oof.

"Hey! That hurt yah know." It growled, getting up and brushing itself off.

  Angelica kneels down next to the plush, moving away some of the trash on the ground to see it better. "How are you even talking? I never saw a speaker…"

"I have no clue, your the first that's been able to hear me!" The bunny replied, now in a somewhat happy mood even after being dropped. 

"Wait really? I'm the only one?"

"Yep," The plush exclaimed. "Im MoonBunny, I'm pleased to meet you Miss-?" 

"Angelica," she said shaking the tiny fluffy hand the plush held out. "Nice to meet you new friend!" Angelica exclaimed happily.  MoonBunny raised an eyebrow.. 

"Friend?" 

"Yep! You look like a friend, so I want to be friends with you. Oh. Only if that's okay with you?" Angelica asked. MoonBunny didn't know what to say. She had never had someone just say she looked like a friend, it's just not how things really were from when she was alive in her opinion. It's not like it bothered her though, being called a friend by somewhat of a stranger felt kinda nice. With this in mind they began to talk. About favorite ice cream, food, desserts, colors, even backgrounds. As they spoke, it felt more and more like they knew each other. Their connection grew throughout the night. Noticing the silence and hating the awkward pause, MoonBunny decided to continue talk about what happened earlier.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you Miss Angelica, if it makes you feel better I died here as well," MoonBunny said. "In 1897, I believe. That or 1898. I don't really remember anymore." 

"But I'm not dead." Angelica started, staring at the ground. 

"Miss Angelica…" 

"No! I'm not dead, there's no body, no blood!" Angelica cried out, desperate.

"Because it's been 50 years. They found your body Miss Angelica. And the blood. I heard them pronounce your death. May 1, 1908. Died at the age of 15," MoonBunny explained. "Its now, what I believe is currently May 1, 1953. Plus not all the blood is gone. It's under some of the crates. The cleaners suck at their job"

"That can't be… How do you know that?" Angelica asked in almost a whisper, her voice cracking.

"Calendars! I've come to love them." MoonBunny happily said thinking wistfully. 

"Isn't this a carnival warehouse? Why would they have calendars?" 

"I have no clue. I just found a crate of them," MoonBunny started looking at Angelica who still had her head down, MoonBunny sighed before continuing, "I don't know why its 50 years, before you wake up, but it was the same for me."

The room was silent again before Angelica asked "If you have been down here for long, does that mean there is no way out?"

 "Yes that's correct, well at least alone. I can't move crates do to my size, but with your help you can move it to the window. Maybe you could throw me out so I can open the door from the other side." MoonBunny said turning to the broken window high up. She wanted to give Angelica hope. After all Angelica had already done so for her. She thought no one would ever hear her again and she would be suck there alone in the darkness of the building. She had someone that could listen to her. She finally had a friend. That's something that MoonBunny could never give back. So at that moment MoonBunny promised herself to help Angelica and stay by her side, as absurd as it sounds.