Work Text:
Mizuki had always loved dolls. The kids in her class called her weird for liking all sorts of cute and feminine things, and dolls were no exception. They told her to start acting like the boy she supposedly was, even though she always felt a disconnect from that word. She always looked at the cutesy girly dolls with jealousy. Deep down, she yearned to look as cute as a porcelain doll. In fact, she loved dolls so much that she even begged her sister—who had just started learning to sew—to make her a dress that resembles a doll.
Obviously, to Mizuki, a 7 year old with a huge love for dolls, going up to a mysterious doll house in the park was a no brainer. She wanted to see if there would be any pretty dolls there. She hoped they would have cute outfits that she could ask her sister to recreate. What she didn’t expect to see was a doll that looked like what she’d imagine herself looking like once she grew up.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps nearing could be heard, and Mizuki’s shoulders tensed. She really didn’t want to be ridiculed again right now by another one of her classmates. As she braced herself and turned around, she saw a girl who seemed around her age looking at the dollhouse curiously. Mizuki turned back to the dollhouse, and almost jumped from what she saw.
Next to the doll with rosy pink hair, there stood another doll with a short brunette bob. She turned back to look at the girl that had just arrived, and saw that she too had short brown hair, albeit tied up into two pigtails. The girl with pigtails seemed to notice her staring, and turned to face her.
“That doll kinda looks like you,” she stated matter-of-factly as she pointed to the doll with the pink side ponytail, “and the other one looks like me but grown-up.” Mizuki didn’t know how to respond, so she simply offered a meek nod. If the brunette minded, Mizuki could not tell, as she stared at Mizuki for another 5 seconds before gazing back at the dollhouse. Suddenly, the dollhouse seemed to be blessed by magic as scenes unfolded in front of the two girls.
In one scene, there was a vague figure of two other people next to the dolls seen before. They all stood in front of a cherry blossom tree, but Mizuki noticed that the doll that looked like her had a bit of distance between the group, while the other doll seemed to be looking at her with what Mizuki assumed was worry. She couldn’t really tell, though, because they were rather small dolls.
“Why is the one that looks like you farther away than the rest of the group?” the brunette turned to ask Mizuki, a confused pout on her face. Mizuki shrugged and the two turned back to the dollhouse.
The next scene was seemingly set in a mountain area. Both dolls were covered in dirt, but the pink doll looked like she was helping the other one up. From what Mizuki could tell, the doll representing the girl next to her at the moment seemed to be looking up at the other doll with a look in her eyes that Mizuki wasn’t sure how to describe. The two stared in silence for a moment, then at each other, and then decided to look at the next scene.
The next scene that followed was warm. That’s what Mizuki immediately thought. It was set on a rooftop, and the doll with the short hair seemed to be shouting at the doll with the ponytail. This shouting, however, did not seem malicious. If anything, it seemed passionate. Like screaming to someone you care about that you’re there for them. Mizuki wasn’t sure how to feel.
“This one looks like I’m shouting at you. What could have happened? I don’t even know you, but it’s like…” the girl narrowed her eyes “...this dollhouse is trying to tell us something.” Mizuki’s head tilted as she stared at the girl. She stared back at the dollhouse, then back to the girl, and it seemed to click.
“Do you… um… think it’s showing us our… future?” Mizuki whispered, voice shaking. She wasn’t sure how to exactly talk to people, much less someone so seemingly involved in her future.
“Maybe! If that’s the case, then maybe it’s telling us to become friends right now! I’m Shinonome Ena, but if we’re going to be friends in the future like this dollhouse is showing us, then you can just call me Ena!” the girl, Ena, enthusiastically proclaimed.
“Oh, um, I-I’m Akiyama Mizuki… just Mizuki is fine, though,” Mizuki timidly replied. Ena smiled, and her smile was so wide and so bright Mizuki thought she might as well be staring into the sun right now. Mizuki smiled back, a hesitant and shy curve in her lips. The two decided to go back to looking at the dollhouse.
What they saw was similar to the previous scene, but harsher. All the warm lighting suddenly got all sharp, and it felt like the sunset was attacking the two dolls. There were once again two other figures, but they were blurrier this time, and it seemed like they weren’t exactly the friendliest. Mizuki’s doll stared in shock at Ena’s doll, while Ena’s doll had an indecipherable emotion painted onto her face. It sort of felt like…
“You look disgusted…”
“I look worried…”
The two spoke at the exact same time. They faced each other, bewilderment staining their faces.
“How do I look disgusted?” Ena offendedly inquired.
“How do you look confused?” Mizuki rebutted, genuinely not understanding Ena’s point of view.
“Hey! I asked you first!” Ena’s face shifted into something slightly mad, but not actual anger. “But fine, if you don’t wanna explain your point before me, then I’ll go first,” she quickly moved on, wanting to get her point across, “she obviously looks worried and confused, don’t you see? Her eyes are wide, her lips are parted, and the way she stares at your doll is like she’s asking with her eyes what’s going on! So, how could you possibly read that as disgust?”
“Um.. it’s just… the way she’s looking at my doll… it reminds me of how the kids in my class look at me when I wear anything cute. Like, they look surprised, and then they have that exact same judgemental look in their eyes…” Mizuki confessed, hugging herself. She saw how Ena’s face shifted from offense at her accusation to surprise and angry concern.
“They all sound stupid. You look cute, so obviously you’re going to wear cute things. Do they even have brains?” Ena scoffed, crossing her arms and speaking so bluntly Mizuki almost believed what she was saying could be true. Mizuki didn’t say anything, though. She didn’t want to expose how weird she actually was to this new friend of hers. “Anyways, how about we look at this last scene. I’m sure there has to be something better! No way this just leaves off on a bad ending, that would suck,” Ena thought out loud. Mizuki nodded.
The final scene was once again warm. It was the type of warmth of being read a bedtime story by someone who cares for you. It was the type of warmth of being able to cry your frustrations out to somebody who wouldn’t judge you. It was the type of warmth that Mizuki felt when she was able to indulge in what she liked without being judged. It made her smile.
There the two dolls sat, the doll that was supposed to be Ena holding one of Doll Mizuki’s hands as the doll version of Mizuki used the other one to wipe away what appeared to be tears. The sunset seemed to wrap around them like a blanket. Mizuki turned to look at Ena, who was also smiling at this beautiful and delicate ending.
“See, I told you it’d be better!” Ena turned to face Mizuki, who looked down as she smiled wider. The two sat there in front of the dollhouse for a while, choosing to simply stare at the 5 scenes in front of them.
“Mizuki! There you are! I was looking for you everywhere!” An older girl who looked like Mizuki but with slightly longer hair shouted. Both Mizuki and Ena jumped at the sudden noise.
“Sorry, onee-chan…” Mizuki muttered as she got up and approached her older sister. Her sister sighed and brushed it off, claiming it was fine and that she was just here to take Mizuki back home. Ena looked up at them, and realized she should get home as well. Ena waved goodbye to Mizuki as Mizuki waved back and she went back to go find her dad, hopeful for whatever future her and her new friend will end up having.