Taki sighed. More stairs. He grabbed tight onto the hand rail and began his wobbling down, clutching the bag of errands for Madame. Hidden deep within was a small patch of fabric of a bright colour with a flower stitched upon it. He hoped none of the metal parts and screws would rip the seams apart and ruin the flower. The thought seemed to scare him a bit, and he tried walking even slower down the stairs and keeping the bag steady. Only a few more steps were left, and Taki grunted in relief as he reached the bottom.
"Stupid legs", he muttered and rubbed his knee, readjusting the prosthetic. He had lost both legs in the War, and although that had been years ago, he still had problems with them. Stairs, for example. The feeling of stepping onto that mine, blasting his flesh and bones apart would stick with him every day. Taki shook his head as to get rid of the memory, straightened his back, pulled his jacket straight and patting down any dirt from his trousers. Madame would be furious if his uniform was not perfect during the time he was in public, running so obviousls errands for the Doll's House, her establishment. Taki put on a smirky but serious face and made his way through the streets.
The Doll's House was a café. The facade was painted in a pastel yellow with white accents and figures around the windows. On ground level these were huge and filled almost the entire wall, in the two higher floors they were a lot smaller, but still exceptionally large. Dozens and dozens of flowers decorated the House. In pots and little vases they stood everywhere, around the windows, near the entrance and anywhere else that was available. Over a large wooden door were the words "Doll's House" engraved into the stone.
Every time Taki saw the House, he was both in awe and thought at the same time how childish it looked. Today he also took a second to appreciate the beauty and details of Madame's ambiente. He then shrugged a bit, as to remind himself of his duty, and hurried to a small, barely visible door at the side. It was painted the same yellow as the House. Taki pulled out a small key, fit it into the hole and opened the door. The smell of fresh coffee and tea and warm cake embraced him. He closed the door, locked it again and took off his hat. Inside he didn't have to pretend to be a noble man anymore. Taki stood in a warehouse. A few other men hurried around, doing their work.
"Mornin'", Taki said. A general murmur greeted him back. Each and every one of them had been marked by the War. A few were missing limps, others had scars covering their faces and bodies. Taki weaved his way through the warehouse, knowing each and every step. At the far back were two doors and a small, steelforged staircase. Taki gritted his teeth and set his right foot on the first step. Left foot. Right foot. After about a minute he had climbed the stairs, and a little droplet of sweat ran down his back. He now stood in a neat corridor, flooded with light. Then he reached into his bag and carefully pulled out the piece of fabric. It wasn't damaged. Carefully he put it into his inner pocket in the uniform and knocked onto the nearest door.
"Step in", said a female voice. He opened the door and entered Madame's office. It heavily smelled like tea and cigar smoke, and old paintings competed for space with even more flower pots. Yet everything seemed to be neat and tidy, just were it belonged to be. Madame sat behind her desk, viewing documents and smoking. She exhaled the smoke and lifted her head. She looked old yet young - heavy makeup made it impossible to tell her age.
"Ah, Taki", she said and waved him inside. "Did you get everything?" Taki walked to her desk and put the bag down on it.
"Yes, Madame. Jefferson told me to telly you he will have the new arm for Timo done in a few days, too." Madame inhaled from her cigar deeply.
"That is good." She tapped the cigar on the ashtray a few times. "How are your legs?"
Taki shifted his weight a bit, as to show he could stand just fine.
"Still a bit unused to them, but it gets better every day." He paused, then added: "thank you." Madame smirked, but her eyes glistered with pain.
"The War was hard enough for all of us. No need to make it even harder now, is it?" Taki nodded, unsure what to say. Madame sighed and looked out of the window before she continued. "You know, everyone told me I was crazy when I opened the Doll's House right after the War. But I think it is more important to care for each other than to care about business. Everyone here is dependent on one another. We are all hurt. You might not just see it for some." She then straightened her back and folded her hands. "You know what the Doll's House is." Taki nodded, again.
"And I am very grateful for it. For the place you gave us crippled, and the work. Truly." She let out a little laugh and leaned back.
"That's good then. Well, the day is still young and these papers won't write themselves. If you'll excuse me." He said his goodbyes and left her office. He then sighed at the sight of the stairs and waddled down, through the warehouse and stopped before the doors. He pulled his jacket straight, combed his hair with his fingers and put on his hat again, before he pushed the door on the right open and entered the café.
Elegant chairs were scattered around tables across the large room, customers chatting and waitresses hurrying down the aisles, a few more slow than the others. They all wore the same long uniforms and a cute apron over them. The long skirts hid their feet, and Taki knew at least a few of them were made out of metal. To the customer's eye the waitresses might seem normal, but Taki saw the small limp and stiffness he knew from himself. A few other girls were missing more obvious parts of their bodies, some were scarred, some burned and others paralyzed. But all of them were smiling and laughing along with rhe customers. And all of them were beautiful. A lot of the customers were marked by the War too. The Doll's House was known for its disabled waitresses. The customers came here to feel accepted.
The warm smell of chocolate made Taki's stomach growl. He looked around for a specific girl, and found her behind the bar. She prepared some coffee in two intricate cups and lovingly put cream in them. Taki strode across the room and bowed before her. The girl looked up and giggled. Her right half of the face was burnt, and she was missing an eye. Taki knew that beneath her skirt was also only one real leg, the other one stiff and cramping.
"M'lady Caroline", Taki said, smiling lifted his hat. The girl laughed, then curtsied a bit.
"M'lord Taki." She picked up a silver tablet and carefully placed the two coffee cups on it, along with spoons and sugar. "Let me finish these", she said and went towards an elderly pair at one of the big windows. As she returned, Taki offered her his arm jokingly like a gentleman and guided her to the back of the café, hidden from sight. He then, an excited smile on his face, pulled out the fabric he had hidden in his jacket.
"Ta-daa", he whispered and laid it out flat in his hands. Caroline put a hand over her mouth.
"That", she said, "is the most beautiful embroidery ever." She admired the fabric, then took it carefully into her hands and slowly traced the small petals of the flower. He loved the sight of her treating this little something like a kitten.
"Can you use that?", he asked.
"Of course! Our little teddy will have the most beautiful belly of all time." She looked up to him and said "Thank you. For all these scratches of fabric you have collected for me. You know I can only buy bare linen from my pay." Taki scratched his neck, unsure how to reply to this compliment, and murmured a "You're welcome". In this moment, a waitress called for Caroline to come back and help them out. She apologized and hurried back, hiding the fabric in her apron. Taki was left standing alone, and asked himself once again how he could have ended up here, in the Doll's House, with the most awesome girl in the world.