(Kamen's Perspective)
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"Try opening your mouth," the girl urged, while trudging towards me. I did what she had asked and expanded my lips. "Yeah. That's it. Very good."
The girl gave me a nod while instructing me on the movements that I needed to do. She could not hide her glee upon witnessing me following her commands. I obliged and followed every direction, excited about what to hear from my voice.
However, the gothic girl slipped her feet off from the seat. With a loud "AAAH!" the girl fell to her inevitable doom, or so I thought.
Her chair wiggled back and forth, eventually disrupting the girl's balance. I was fortunate enough to expect what could have happened and extended my arms. I caught the gothic girl before she could land on the floor. But now, our faces were relatively close to one another.
'If only I could breathe, I could smell the blueberry scent of this girl who saved me,' I thought, and imagined all the purple fruits I could think of in my head. Her dress was black, but I knew there was a hint of violet painted on her gothic attire.
Our lips almost pressed against each other. If there were an earthquake right now that would push our bodies forward, we would have gone towards the haven that everyone was talking about from my previous world. A mesmerising haven that will both grant us pleasure.
And then I instinctively expressed something as my hands gripped her curved hip around. "Be careful, or you might fall. I don't want you to get hurt."
Those were the first few words that my lips had told to the girl. Silence filled the air as the two of us stared at each other's eyes without uttering a word. My hands quivered because of nervousness, but I tightened up my grip on the girl. I did not want her to fall, and the gothic girl did not want to get hurt either. But the lady closed her eyes and uncontrollably let out a moan.
"You should... let me go right now." the girl whimpered, and averted her gaze.
My body suddenly jerked upon hearing my voice. I had a low-pitch sound with a soothing voice like a bass, but more audible than the instrument. If I could sing something, I could do it by hitting no wrong notes with my unusual voice.
I almost thought that my body wasn't mine, but it was. Although, the girl made my vessel with pieces of cotton and strings, which made me a puppet that could talk.
"Thank you. And, your voice. It sounds so magical. Can you say something to me again?" the gothic girl requested, and leaned her head closer to mine.
She was on the ground, but the girl's eyes were staring upward at me. Her breathing became intense and slow. The girl was expecting something out from my lips, and so I did. I opened my mouth and gave the girl what she had wanted.
If I could feel something, it would be the scorching body burning inside of me, not from the heat, but from my nervousness.
"My name is Kamen Matsouka, or what you call a 'Mask'. I'm not from this world. I don't know why, but here I am. So, thank you for giving me a second chance to relive my life. You're the only one who I have."
I told everything I knew. The girl blinked her eyes a billion times as she perceived my voice. She rubbed her orbs, thinking that everything was a reverie, but it wasn't. I cannot feel pain, but I knew that everything around me was real. I am alive, but in a different world.
After a complete minute of staring at me saying nothing, the gothic girl inhaled and spoke. "Mask. Yeah. That's your name. I, uh-, sorry for troubling you. I showed you an embarrassing part of me."
"No. Not at all. You look adorable the first time I saw you." I directed my line of sight at the finished plate and the dirty pot. "How was the meal? I thought I could mimic what I know from my world. Sorry that I couldn't taste it."
'Darn it, Kamen! Why are you so formal in front of her! It has always been like this, even on Earth! That's why you couldn't get yourself a girlfriend!' There was a dispute inside my head, blaming my awkwardness during this conversation.
"It was delicious! I usually eat raw meat in a pan. So eating something like this is a novel experience for me," the girl confessed, and gave me a shy look. Finally, she was back to her old self again.
Her face blushed pinkish-red after thinking of the gratitude I gave her. She did not expect that a puppet the girl made would make her decent food after ages of staying in the cave.
"I forgot to tell you this, but thanks for saving me from the bat yesterday. If I was the only one there, I would have died alone without doing the things I love anymore."
"No! It's fine!" I waved my hands. "You know, you could repay me with something."
The girl pointed her ears skyward and asked, "What can I do? Tell me, tell me! I will do everything for you!"
"What's your name? I didn't know you the first time I became a puppet." I asked, and looked at the ground.
Although her words sounded tempting, since I could take advantage of the vulnerable girl, I did not. I was not a guy who would do such a thing. All I ever wanted was to know who this gothic girl was in front of me.
"Ah! How rude of me! My name is Alice. Princess Alice Pleasance Lidell of Wonderland."
Alice bent her knees and held each end of her skirt elegantly. She lowered her head while telling her name. It was a magnificent introduction, as if I was talking to royalty, which I was. Despite her obsidian dress, Alice was a princess to a kingdom that I had not heard about except for the Western fairy tales.
"Tell me more about yourself," I suggested, and pushed two chairs forward for us to take a seat.
With a beam painted on her face, Alice sat on the bench and replied. "Promise me you'll do the same after, Mask!"
She left out a laugh after saying her statement. I returned her gesture and giggled to myself.
Alice started her story two years ago. She told me that someone attacked the Wonderland Kingdom. A neighbouring empire called Detroit, a gigantic city, overflowing with modern technology. Not as modern as in my world, but Alice told me something that intrigued me.
"Soldiers waged war against Wonderland. My father read the letter, saying that Detroit would attack us within three days. We had no time left to prepare, so my parents did everything that they could to enhance the defences of the citadel," Alice narrated, and looked at the desk.
There was a picture frame resting beside the miniature doll. The figure must have been Alice's present works whenever she had some free time.
"My father told me that winning was like reaching for the moon. Instead of defeating Detroit, they planned for me to escape. Of course, I refused, but they drugged me to sleep and hired a skilled coachman to travel far from Wonderland. Alas, that driver wasn't skilled enough to avoid the bullets of Detroit. So I fled and found this cave." Alice continued.
"Bullets?" I repeated. "And a war?"
Alice gave me a nod, confirming what I had repeated.
This world knew about magic, energy that nobody thought existed on Earth. That idea was the only thing I knew. But guns and bullets were common for soldiers. We also had two wars that happened throughout our history.
But in this world where magic existed, there shouldn't be a time where someone would build guns. Intellectual people would probably study more about the Science of magic that flows through the human body. So I became baffled by the sudden thought of both uncommon and recognisable features of this world.
"Do guns exist in your world too?" I asked once more.
"Yes. Guns exist for non-magic people. How did you know that? Guns exist in your world? It must have been awful to live there." Alice queried a question back at me.
"Yes, and no. We also experienced wars. But after hundreds of years, that strife subsided. We were in a peaceful generation, not until I died of a chaotic death."
Alice gasped and looked me in the eye. "Why? What happened?"
I told Alice everything I knew. I did not want to recall everything, but I want her to relate to my story.
"It all started after my graduation. We had this academy that would help kids study to get the job that they wanted. My parents forced me to study for a job that I disliked, but it earned money. The school was open for all. We call it public academies. Now that I graduated from that place and hoped to get a job, those business firms declined my resume…. a paper that you passed so people could accept your job applications."
Alice shook her head up and down as she listened to my story.
"I didn't receive any. My bosses, or people in charge, kicked me out of their place. I got a call from my parents, telling me they want to disown me. I got back to the nameless store t and worked part-time as a cashier... err-, someone who would give you money and change for what you bought. And then I saw three thugs and a kid. Those criminals wanted to kill the child. I, who had given up years ago, threw my body at that girl. And now, I'm here with you."