[2]
And as she flew low where the sun meets the water, she was ready to see love in the eyes of the humans. But when she chose to spread her wings to them with absolute love, they were all in disbelief. Hatred flows where it has never been, and she is cast away into the cave through salt. Salt was an insult for the angels, for it reeks of love.
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What a lovely morning I have today. Well, yesterday wasn't too lovely with Samuel's evil demeanour. I thought I wouldn't have to be so scared in my own home, but I think maybe I was a little bit wrong. But worry not! Because today, Doorwell is going to have fun with her family. Sadly, it's still not a beach. :-(
"*Yawn* What a sleep...!" The bed was comfy, blanket was thick, and the sun was warm.
"I hope I didn't miss the best day for a Doorwell like me!"
"Alrighty! Time to leave the bed and see where this cookie would be!"
And so I left my bed and ready to depart again into the human world. It is a bright day for me, and my schedule is empty for photo sessions and stage calls. It's only me and the precious lyre going out together for a trip with my family to meet my old friends! I was so excited to see what would be my old friends now.
"Alright, so...what to wear now...hmm...?" I love my hat. I have so many hats—Not a cookie one, but it still fits so well.
"I think I should go with something bright as the sun and a lily." I held this shirt. "But that would be too blinding! Maybe something green...?"
"No, that'll make me one with the grass. Nobody would see me in the grass."
"Ooh! Maybe something in blue? But that's too sad, and I'm not sad. I'm happy!"
I was a picky girl. Meeting humans always requires a style. But I couldn't just wear something and expect it to be so fitting. That's why today, Doorwell had to be the most human attire ever. Something that can help me blend so well.
"This is so confusing...Huu...!"
"I should go for something new...something different..."
"Hmm...what colour didn't I mentioned before?"
I am going to meet new people today. They said I used to make a lot of friends! I wonder, are these friends as kind as the cookie brothers and sisters of mine? Surely, they couldn't be my friends if they weren't as nice as me. But after what happened yesterday, I wonder how challenging this reunion would be.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
"Mom, dad! I'm ready!" I went downstairs. I decided to go all red because I had never worn red before. I find this red blouse lying in my closet like a fruit on a tree.
"Ready for what?" Samuel was standing next to my bedroom doorframe. "Why are you wearing red like that? Did you not see yourself looking awful?"
"H-hey, Samuel. You look good! Y-you must be here to meet my friends t-too, right?"
I have a human brother that I did not expect to be so grim like this. He was scary, and I worried he could crumble me anytime. Samuel's eyes had never been so friendly since I met him. It's always looking sharp and angry at me for no reason. I don't know why he did this. Does he not like me?
"Mom and dad's not here. They're out buying some groceries for your needs. Your friends will come in no time..."
"O-oh, that's great! I can't wait for us to—"
"Don't disturb me, Dorriel. Your friends are annoying to hear when they are around, so I better not hear anyone out or else I'll flat you cookie skin." He was scary. I was silent when I heard that from his mouth.
I was just happy this morning, but then Samuel came to scare me again. I saw him leaving downstairs while bumping my shoulder with the same threatening stare. I say he ruined the joy for me! But Doorwell did her best to stay focused on her friends. He could have some of his sad face elsewhere!
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"Oh, no!" I panicked.
There was nobody downstairs. Home is as good as a cave, and I don't like a cave. It was too empty, too bland, and too cheerless to see. So I decided to do some decoration—add some flowers to where it deserves one. I needed only a few seeds of old flowers here to grow them quickly.
But the house has a terrible seed. All of these flowers are not for fun. When I found a bouquet of flowers in the wardrobe, it was all just the sad-themed flowers inside, many of which were familiar to Frowling's pick. I was repelled by this terrible view.
"Poppy...? No, why only roses? Lilies? Chrysanthemums? What is this flower? This is not good for a happy one! Where's the tulip? The Daisies? Orchids?" I peeked around vases, grabbing petals and crushing them into a pulp I could later on use to grow a new one.
"Looks like Doorwell had to do all of this herself..."
I decided to use my hands and nourish these sad-looking flowers into something beautiful. With their petals now a sheet on my finger, I can refine them into something as colourful and lively as a rainbow. Seeds are spreading across the room, growing as I will without grass.
It is the power of nature that was gifted to me. As with many cookies, flowers and sweets are two symbiosis for an environment to grow. Be it fresh or decayed, our hands are as living as the soul that makes this sweet aware of loving.
"Bloom, my children! Grow!" I spread across the room. What a gardener I am, yet I am a matchmaker. I yell for the flowers.
"It's time for Spring hours! Get your petals out! Now!"
Alas, the place was blooming and beautiful, as I expected. Green, red, blue, white—and colours are all here! Except grey and black. Now the house is dancing with rhythm! Flowers covered the pale and dull side of this house, all thanks to Doorwell. I couldn't wait to see my new friends in this beautiful garden I just made.
"Dorriel, can you keep it down? I'm trying to—what the??"
However, just as I was about to cherish my works under the pile of tulip petals I'd grown on the floor, Samuel arrived completely speechless when he saw my works on the whole house. I was so busy holding the basket of flowers around the home that I barely noticed his presence on the stairway.
"Hey, brother! Look what I did! Now the house looks good, don't you think?"
"D-D-D-D..."
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me. I can read from your lips that you were enthralled by it. I mean, who could have denied the beauty of packed tulips? I have purple, orange, yellow, and—"
"Dorriel!!!"
I thought he was happy like many humans do. I thought he would have been kind to me. But when he saw what I did in the house, happiness was not the first thing that came to his face. It was a disappointment, and it was a disappointment that I was not prepared for.
"EEK!"
I have never backed off so quickly when hearing that scream. Samuel was standing before me with fury, and he shouted so hard I could barely fly away from him. Everything fell silent in this beautiful garden, but I'm too scared to think about that!
I dropped my basket out of fear, and my body was shivering like a winter. He only let out a shout before turning silent, then started to tap his forehead before looking back and forth with another disappointment. It was only a relief for me when he didn't look at me, but he did.
"B-brother?" I begged for him.
"What did you do to the home?? Do you not see what you're doing here is a mess??"
I'm scared! I'm scared! He's hurting me, and I don't know what to do. His other hand is gripping into a fist. Is he trying to hurt me? I couldn't run anywhere with his hand gripping my wing. It hurts a lot, and he pulled it so hard that I feel it slowly ripping from me!
Why did they do this to me? Why did he have to be that 'human' to me? Why couldn't he just...like others? Was there something wrong with him? Why, out of all humans outside, did he have to be the one who hurt me? I thought they were nice!
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm just trying to impress my friend! I thought if I could make the room colourful with flowers, my friends would love it more."
"I don't care about your friends! Fix this mess now before mom and dad come home! If you don't clean this mess in five minutes, you're flat out on the tray when I'm done!"
"No! Please, brother! It's only for my friend! Please!"
And I fall kneeling again before a human. My own brother threatened to turn me into a flat dough over this. Before I could ask for mercy, he just left me in this garden I made with another angry face. It's not fair! I was only trying to help myself and others like the Joyling I was!
"Aww...huhuhu..." I stood up, collecting my basket.
"*Heavy Sigh* Now where is that milk when I needed it?"
Now I have to get rid of this beautiful garden while wearing this pretty red blouse. I quickly took a broom from the storage while trying to avoid Samuel's glare in the kitchen while he was distracted by the fridge. These flower petals are too beautiful to be swept out.
"Huhuhu...my precious flower...huhuhu..."
"Just be quiet and clean the mess, Dorriel." He sat there, drinking milk from the carton with a sight that was clear to see me.
"You're not going anywhere until you're done..."
It was so hard without something sweet to give me strength, but the broom had to stay awake while Samuel was around. I sweep and pluck all these flowers with pain, knowing that each of them is withering thanks to me. But I'm more afraid of my brother than these flowers.
I have planted so many flowers in this house that it was growing all over the floor with green. It was wonderful but hard to clean by yourself. I have to do all of this while my mean brother watches with such a sharp and unkind glare.
I never felt so...hurt and humiliated before. It wasn't my thing to be embarrassed by humans, but this wasn't something that I was hoping from him. I was being so nice to everyone, and only he was the one who put up this face.
"Dr Volcker...save me. Save me from this evil man..." I whispered, sweeping halfway into the living room.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! Hehe..."
Doorwell's working hard as usual on the back of the stage. It's been years since my last job in the studio was to pick up flowers and remove background props after the shooting. This job was a curse to me, and I hardly ever raised my back, trying to pluck every flower from the floor and tables.
"Huhuhu..."
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In the end, I managed to finish this job in less than an hour. But I was on the verge of crumbling afterwards, resisting myself on the couch while waiting for my friends to come and watch the dull and boring house. I had to rest after this.
"Augh...aw..."
"Done grunting, sister? You've almost had yourself in trouble, and you're grunting at me?"
"No, brother...I was just—grunting at myself...I'm too tired to meet a new friend now..."
"At least I can see the new faces on the house." I smiled.
Still, nobody came home today. It's just me and Samuel again in this house, with me still not being able to recover from what happened just a few inches from where I'm lying my body with. That anger made me so broken and afraid that I couldn't move much from my place.
Samuel was pausing his drink when he heard that word from me. "Nobody came, Dorriel. Your friends won't come..."
"W-what?"
"No friend of yours are coming here."
"But you said—"
"I'm lying. Your friends didn't even know you're here..."
"But I was doing all of this for them! W-what do you mean they're not coming? Did you forgot to invite them?"
"Forgot? You think we would invite the children who had thought of you dead to come here? Do you think they wanted to spend time with you after all those years of you leaving them?"
"They have a time out there, Dorriel. You're not special, and everyone was growing out of that fake love of yours..."
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The last person to have ever shouted like that to me was Mr Churnik. He was my old, not-my-caretaker human in the studio who managed all the cookies of love with such a fist as Samuel. Not many humans are kind to us. This love was born through harsh words and grunting to be special.
"Alright, all cookies! Gather up!" Mr Churnik was a judge along with Sebastian on the final showdown for the Lovebloom Lullaby Star choice, an event to decide which of us would be the star of it.
"Time for the finalization of your practice before you hit big on the stage for the Lovebloom Lullaby. Whoever manage to impress the judges with minimum of 6 score will pass."
"Those who went lower would face the dark room. No toleration or excuses..."
*Crack*
"Augh huhuhu! It hurts!" It was Cinder. She wasn't performing too well. Cracks is coming from her leg.
"Cinder! How dare you? You know how much those doughs cost?" Churnik was also loud.
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry!"
I was not a star like Pearl. When I was out of the oven of Mr Sebastian, I was still working on the background as a lame sweeper for another cookie show. But I saw every cookie crumbling on the stage, failing and shouted by Mr Churnik mercilessly. Those poor children, their parents could have been here helping them instead.
*Crack* *Crack* *Crack* Cookies are crumbling on the stage—sleeping forever in defeat. They cried, but the world is sile
The practice was difficult, and some cookies had already given up because they couldn't endure the responsibility of staying popular without cracking a crumb. Churnik lashes upon like a beast. All cookies were forced to do all the extreme stretches and restless performance, and most of them had sleep before Mr Churnik could even end the show.
"You there! Doorwell!" He caught me near the stage. I was frozen, thinking he was going to crush me too.
"M-me?"
"What are you doing here? You're not a participant!"
"I'm cleaning the mess! I'm..."
"Aagh! Screw it! The Lovebloom Lullaby are going to start tomorrow and we have no winning contestant! You're a star now, kid! Leave that broom immediately and head for the closet for your new role!" The man left angrily after picking me as the star of the show. It was the best day of my life.
"R-really? I mean, okay!" I continue sweeping all these crumbs of my brothers and sisters.
*Sweep* *Sweep* *Sweep* Broom sweeping the crumbling parts of cookie away.
"Uff...I think...I think that's all..."
"Yeah...I won the Lovebloom Lullaby seat...woohoo..."
Nobody in that stage had ever been able to replicate their needs—not even me. But somehow, I managed to do all of these without tearing a dough on my skin. Still, it feels so terrible hearing Mr Churnik yelling at those cookies for no reason. They didn't even know what Lovebloom Lullaby was.
"But my love is not fake..." I muttered in sadness.