Plastic is Fantastic (A Barbie fan-fic)

Chapter three: No escape from reality

Weird Barbie resembles the Barbies dolls that were treated brutally by the children and she reminds me of the wise, powerful witches in fairy tales.

After hearing Barbie-B's request to go to Realworld, Weird Barbie hands over a pamphlet and says, "Read this. It has everything you need to know about Realworld", then let her go.

Weird Barbie asks me, "Do you remember your name, what is it?"

What a strange question! But I say my real name anyway.

Weird Barbie tells me that I can freely go back to Realworld if I still know my name, or I can choose to abandon my original name and live as one of the Barbies in Barbieland.

"What kind of benefits can I get from becoming a Barbie?"

Weird Barbie uses a question to answer my question, "Do you have any childhood dreams?"

"Huh, yes? I guess. I wanted to be a manga artist as a kid but I ended up being a software engineer instead."

Weird Barbie digs into the pile of papers on her desk and finds a blueprint of a Barbie doll house. She shows me the blueprint and starts pointing at the details on it, "Check this out. If you become a Barbie, we will build a house that has a manga studio for you. Then all the Barbies and Kens will respect you as a master manga artist. Here in Barbieland, you can be anything."

"But, at what cost?" I still can't devote all of myself to Barbieland, since I believe every benefit comes with a cost and it's not clear whether I am comfortable with the cost.

Weird Barbie wraps up the blueprint and puts it back to the desk, "I am glad you asked this question. The first cost is..."

Barbie-B suddenly comes back and breaks into our conversation.

She returns the pamphlet to Weird Barbie and yells, "I am ready! Amber, what are you waiting for? Let's go!".

We run into Ken-B while on our way to get the car. Ken-B starts begging for going to Realworld as soon as he sees us.

"I was listening your conversation last night and got fascinated by Realworld." He takes a step forward and holds Barbie-B's hands, "I would like to stay with you, no matter how far we have to go."

I say I don't mind if Ken-B joins us and let Barbie-B decide.

I can tell that Barbie-B is not glad to take Ken-B with us by her facial expression, but Barbie-B approves his suggestion anyway.

On our way to the Realworld, Barbie-B and Ken-B are singing. They invite me to join their chorus, but I don't feel like singing.

Weird Barbie didn't have time to inform me of the costs of becoming a Barbie. What can be the possible price? I try to answer this question using my life experience and my highly-limited imagination but still have no clue.

Anyway, I will come back to Barbieland in the future and find out the price, then I might consider becoming a Barbie if the costs turn out to be acceptable for me.

We arrived in the Realworld later that day.

Ken-B and Barbie-B are busy gasping in admiration at the tall buildings, asphalt roads and decorative plants.

"This place is... beautiful," Ken-B murmurs.

"It is a much bigger, diverse world than Barbieland," Barbie-B replies.

I walk with them quietly and aimlessly. I am thinking about life in Barbieland, until a thick dust smoke and noise disrupts my mind.

This is a construction site. The workers are focused on their own job and don't notice us.