The Voodoo Doll

Chapter XLVII: Curious

For him to notice. I know he is not stupid. I know he can read my intention in the question.

I am not asking about the identity his parents gave him.

I am asking about the true nature of his soul.

It's the question I asked Lailah, back when we first met. It somehow always works.

"What do you mean?" , he looked confused, not believing what he had just understood.

"Don't feign ignorance" , I whispered, afraid of Belleth's sharp ears. "Tell me more about yourself. What do you like doing? What are your goals? What is your comfort zone? Did you ever fall in love? How was it like?"

I'm curious. I'm curious. I'm curious.

This broken doll pretends to be a merciless killer because that's what everyone wants it to be. But I know. I know it's a boy. It's just a boy who wants to live.

A boy who happens to be my son.

Lailah, what have we given birth to? Tell me, tell me.

"Tell me" , I urged him.

"I...." , he grabs his head in his hands and shuts his eyes tight. When he opens them, they are completely white, shining like two moons in the darkness of the basement. "I don't know. I've only ever lived in my dreams....and now, I can't even remember them."

It must be the tea that's doing this to him.

"Do you want me to find out for you?" , I whisper in his right ear. "Aren't you curious too?"

To my surprise, he nodded, over and over, his eyes, for a second, shifted to a light blue color. Was it my imagination?

It must be.

"Then let's find out"

*****************************

On the sixth day, I risked my own discovery. I went all the way to Lailah's chambers. Michael was nowhere to be seen, and the Queen seemed to be gone somewhere with him. He had mentioned having a long meeting with the rest of the angel guards, preparing for the War. Two days were left.

The Oracles love me, for some unknown reason. Perhaps because I was the only free spirit in the universe, doing what I pleased, going where I wanted, when I wanted it.

I asked for information about Noah's past, ever since he was born to the moment I met him in that dark corner of the demon house.

They told me everything.

They made me live everything.

I was a little boy, once again. I thought I was better than everyone. I was born to dominate the human race, I was born to be a king.

Then I met her. A girl with ocean dyed hair and honey-filled eyes. A chocolate-colored skin, a voice so alive, so sweet. A crybaby, a brave girl. She made me remember all the good things about being human. The chaos of feelings, all jammed into one innocent brain, discovering the world. We had lunch together on the roof, when I was still a newly-made wooden doll, its heart yet incomplete. We met an evil demon who had an identity issue. I knew what it's like to hold someone's hand, to be the light in someone's darkness. I discovered the unbearable feeling of loss, when I thought she was gone forever. We walked through the gleaming streets of Shibuya, looking for something to help us in our quests. We learned to trust each other and fear the rest of the world. Then, just like falling asleep, eyes getting drifted off with the current, brain shutting down one area after another, I fell in her love, her warmth embracing the cold in my limbs, pumping a new kind of blood in my heart, changing the color of my eyes to be the same as her dyed hair. An eternal blue, an ocean filled with our endless memories.