[2]
She thought the world would accept her, but as she opened her wings, the once indifferent face turned into a hateful one. The humans she thought to have loved her were not so loving after all. So she fled into a distant land, where there's no humans around her and only the overbearing silence within the sand to lament. Yet, she wasn't left unwatched by the heaven, for she knew the crime she had committed was outstanding.
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Woosh...woosh...woosh...
That's the sound of sand being blown by the wind on the beach and a wave brushing off the coast as Doorwell and her family set foot on the coast at last. Surrounded by humans alongside us, I feel the touch of life in my cookie skin for the first time.
My body lay on the ground in peace, savouring the taste of sand and sleeping under the sunlight that I never had for years in the studio. Children passed, birds flew, and water splashed around me. Oh, the beauty of lying on a warm and soothing breeze, replacing that temptation with a sweet.
"Eh...eh...hehe. There..." I walked out, covering my wings behind my shirt. It was hard, but there shouldn't be any human who would find out.
"What the...?"
I'm still outside, filled with humans who shouldn't look at me in this form yet. However, if it wasn't for my near-human look when Sebastian baked me, I would've found it hard to blend in. Most of them often ignore me, but as long as I don't turn back and reveal my wings.
"Dorriel, what did you do with your shirt?" My mother had finished pouring a white cream on her face. I'm not sure why.
"Sorry, mom. Had to hide the wings..." I struggled to hold them together.
"Isn't it...hurt? That looks hurt..." My father holds me from behind.
"I...can handle it."
My wings were in pain, and I couldn't shrink them to fit my clothes. I have never felt so much of this pain since Sebastian gave me the darkest time of my life. I couldn't even fold them properly, and now they are twitching behind me—trying to be free. But I am a strong Joyling who could take some pain before love.
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As we settled our spot on the coast, I finally got to see the view of festivity and love on the shore. There were not just my human family who were cherishing love and affection with one another. There were also humans who came here to feel loved with their bloomed ones. What a perfect opportunity to be.
"You're so funny..."
"I always love you..."
"I wanted nothing but you here, darling..."
My eyes are gleaming. It was the world I've been waiting for so long. The humans were all here to lavish as I do, and they were desperate for a call of blooming that only Doorwell could give to them. It's in the air, harmoniously beating in a rhythm. My lyre was out of my hands, and ready to tune a song.
But before I could strike a chord, the humans left and headed out further into the shore, ignoring my beautiful plea for assistance. After all, I was a Joyling who could not be along with these people and intruded on their activities. It was one wall that hurt me more than it hurt them.
"Man, I love to have some music here! Too bad I hate those tunes!"
"Uh oh..." I hid my lyre as quick as I could. The humans haven't caught me yet, but I have a feeling they would.
"Yeah, if I find it! I'll break that instrument!"
They were having fun without me, and I couldn't do anything but lie on this soft mat and ponder the sun behind my visor. Children run around beside me, toiling with sand and playing with the water like any young human would do. Yet I am here, bored and warm like a new cookie in the oven.
"Okay, okay...I'm having fun..."
"Heh, woo. Doorwell is now on the beach...haha..."
"Hm..."
The humans were frolicking around me, and they looked as lovely as they were funny. How can I not be so bored when I'm the only one here who cannot toss a ball or build a sandcastle or—or help bloomers? The beach is lively and filled with love. Humans made it hard for me to enjoy, yet they also made it easy to be tempted.
"Doorwell, are you having fun right now?" My mother was relaxing, pouring white cream on her back. When I tasted it, I was disappointed and disgusted to find out it wasn't a cream.
"Yes, mom. But can I play with the humans, too? I wanted to help them." I begged.
"Aww, that's sweet. But the doctors said we couldn't let you around them. Maybe you can help mommy here? You said you wanted to help, right?"
I cannot leave this place, leave my spot and spoil myself with these humans. Mother and father, and the higher-ups in white suits who accompanied me forbade even close touch with the humans. Meanwhile, my brother gets to spend the rest of his time toying with his bloom one among the humans.
"Hahaha! This is so much fun, Darren!"
"I know, right?"
The life of a human was so tempting, yet far in my reach, if not for my wings and gracious looks. I feared the day that my friends here would leave without a love, forgetting Doorwell and her beautiful lyre as they set sail into the loveless world. For that, I cannot allow it.
"Hm!"
But luckily, I'm not staying here to be a wanderer and wasted my opportunity. The longer the humans are without me, the more bored and sadder they become. With my human parents blooming in their love on the sand, they weren't too attentive to their surroundings. Thus, my chances are out.
"Mom, can I go to the restroom? Had to clean off the syrup off my body."
"Syrup? What syrup—oh, okay! Go ahead!" My mother quickly gave me a hint to leave. I ran as far as I could to the other side of the beach.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
My ginger sweat was smeared over my skin again, and I couldn't let others smell the pouring syrup coming from my eyes. These sugary tears can be a problem when I am unwell, and I cannot let their odours spread across humans's noses. Firstly, I had to wipe them clean before I could be meddling with bloomers.
"Alright! Phew...that was close..." I left the potty—the portable toilet thingy that the human called. I have also never seen one in my life until now. Such a terrible space for relief.
"I hope nobody sees that."
Finally, I am alone and free. I could go anywhere I wanted to, and nobody could stop me. My wings are sealed and hurt, but they felt more alleviated when I didn't lay on them. My only goal here was to find a way to bring love back to humans without creating too much attention.
"HAHAHA!"
"Ooh..." I ponder.
A crowd of children ran past me, and it was my chance to follow them into the shore. I walked behind them like I was a fellow human, chasing after a ball on one child's hand and ended up on the edge of the shore without a single eye batted at me. Fortunately, my lovely-dovey parents are still busy blooming again with teases and flirts.
Woosh...
Before I knew it, the water from the ocean hit me, sweeping off the sand in my dough skin and receding back into the sea. It was a warm feeling, unlike how I thought a water would be. I couldn't help but chuckle as the ocean teased me again with a second wave.
"Haha! Haha! Hey, stop it!"
"You're not Sweepy! You can't tease me, water!"
"Yeah! Woo! Haha!"
I was laughing, having the best time of my life on this beach alone while watching the sun rising from the east. The view here was bliss! Nothing in the studio had ever made me ever feel this alive. The ocean, the air, and the sun—it's like I was in another world.
But the ocean smells weird! It's like someone is putting a grain of salt in the water to make it salty. At first, I was happy to feel its cold breeze on this warm day. But when the second wave hit my sweet dough leg again, I found that my dough didn't like it.
"Aah!" I yelled in panic.
My dough was thinning! The water was seeping some of my sweet skin away with its saltiness. I couldn't feel the pain, but I could see the inner white dough coming out where it shouldn't be. It was definitely a salt that was residing in the water!
Me and salt didn't get along well. When little Doorwell was made in the oven, she was made to be all sugary and sweet that could only birth love and kindness. While perfect in all views, the baker Sebastian tells this little Doorwell that she could not be around salt because little Doorwell is not going to love salt. Salt hurts Doorwell, even if Doorwell can't feel it.
"Okay! Okay! that's enough..." I walked away before the third wave hit me. Maybe someday I could find water without a grain of salt in it.
"Let's never do that again!"
"Hey, you there!"
As I left the ocean with soaked pants and a few pale on my dough skin, I heard the young humans whom I had followed previously calling me in the distance. They noticed me alone on the shore, covered half chocolate and half raw on the skin, while I was about to head away for my parents.
My pale dough was exposed slightly, but the humans didn't seem to pay attention. Somehow, it only made them believe I was one of them. I was stunned, and they were confused by my stunning. So I chose to play along, waiting to see how far they would accept me before my human parents showed up.
"H-hey, there! What a beautiful day to be a human here, aren't we?" I waved calmly, trying to be as human as I could.
"Uhm, sure...? Anyway, are you here to join us with the crabs, too?" The kids are inviting me to play with them. How can I not?
"M-me? Well, do I even have a choice?" I tease. But the human didn't like being complimented by me.
They led me into their human space, welcoming me as the center of the crowd. Before my eyes, I saw a small cage prepared with two clawy creatures pinching on one another. I believe Mr Volcker called these red, big-meaty claws crabs.
The humans made it from sand and moulded it into a perfect cage to keep these two crabs together. Oh, how romantic it was to see these two red creatures bonding together in such a small space. Even the young humans are here to witness them together.
"Ooh, what is this? Are these crabs blooming in a cage right now?"
"Death battle!" They yelled.
"W-what?"
I was surprised to see the children cheering for this unnecessary brawl. They were trying to make these crabs fight to death! These poor crabs didn't even want to hurt each other. They were only forced to do so because the young humans wanted entertainment. Such cruelty for a creature who had a pinch to grab something lovelier.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"I bet on the bigger claw crab!"
"No, the pale one will! Watch it!"
"Who cares! I want to see them dead!"
The crab claws turned into a deadly grip, pinching their loved ones until they could rip their heart. They were struggling to do so because their eyes were tearing with sadness and regret. But their claw had ripped something important out of them. Yet, the children enjoy their pain and suffering.
"W-why did you do that? Why did you hurt the crab?" I tried to stop them.
"Because we love it! This is how you have fun!"
"You...love it?"
I find it in disbelief. How can love exist in the same tone as pain and hate? These young humans are not as lovely as I thought they would be. But I couldn't let myself be influenced by their hate, nor can these crabs continue their unwilling hate for another. As I am Doorwell the love-bringer, I carried my duty and intervened.
"No! Get away from them!"
"Crabs, you don't deserve this!"
I gently grasp the two crabs away before they can harm themselves any further and hold them together to ease their hate away. The crabs were facing each other with a stare they had never had before, and it was only then that they finally stopped and pondered.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"You two, get along and feel happy together, okay? You have a bright future ahead of you. Crabs shouldn't fight with those claws, and they should have gone to the sea to bloom and dance with the fishes."
"Be free, my ocean friends! Be free and lovely!"
The crabs were off my grip and walked away into the ocean as I laid them down. Together they headed into the deep shore and vanished to start their blooming life. My duty to save their love was a success, but the humans didn't like it as I did.
"Hey! What was that for? Are you nuts??"
"I can't believe you just did that! Now what do we do now?"
"Hey, crabs are not for fighting! They're for loving! Love the creatures, not hurt them!" I replied, standing bold and firm. But the humans still didn't like it.
"Wow, you're more boring than I thought. Come on, guys! Let's go get another crab without this weird girl!"
They just left me with disdain when they saw me freeing these crabs. I couldn't believe I made them disappointed when I was only trying to help. I was alone, and I returned to the wave with a slight disbelief for what my kindness had offered. But my eyes weren't ready to see what was happening afterwards.
"Oh...?"
Right before my eyes, I saw a bloomer on the sand playing together. Their hearts were bonded by their love for the ocean, where their feet were always soaked, and their smiles were always shining. They were so happy, like the bloomers I've always been waiting for.
"Oh, haha! You're so lovely, darling!"
"Aww, we were such a lovebird!"
However, these bloomers still don't love each other enough. The bloomers' eyes were nodding away from each other instead of looking face-to-face like any bloomers would. Their grip wasn't tightened on their bloomed shoulders, and their smile wasn't wide enough to their half-one. Their feelings were sealed in their own thoughts, and their love was incomplete.
"*Gasp* Unhappy couple...don't worry, I'm coming!"
I rush as fast as I can, pulling my lyre from my wings as I approach the bloomers in surprise. Luckily, they still see me as a human behind the visor, hat and half-pale dough skin. Yet they were surprised to find me among the shore with half of my body soaked.
"Aaah!"
"Hello, don't worry! I'm here to help you bloomers happy!"
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I know I did my job well here because the humans hadn't yet suspected me as a Joyling. Moreover, the beach is filling me with more love requests from the humans. I tried my best to fulfil several bloomers' unrequited love while my human parents and family could stay on the sand as much as they wanted to. I didn't need to intervene for the bloomers who stayed strong.
"Mom, dad!"
"What? What!?"
"What are you doing? Are you two really going to do this here...? In front of Amanda?"
"Aw, come on! Can't a couple have fun? You and Amanda should've known better."
"Father, maybe you should cover that up first!"
"Anyway, look what me and Darren just found in the ocean! Think about how valuable is this!"
"Aah! Amanda, cover it up! People could've robbed that pearl out of you..."
"Wait, are you sure that was pearl over there...? Let me see..."
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Yep, that's definitely one."
"Yeah, does that mean we're finally rich?"
*Crowd* "Yeah!"
"Darren, are you alright? Dad didn't want you to feel like you were left out here."
"Yeah, I do! I actually like the golden prize we've had here, but..."
*Pause* "Where's Dorriel?"