"I don't know how to lift people properly. I only know how to carry them," Goody said in both an angry and apologetic voice, looking out from the balcony at the shimmering valley between the mountains.
"Please accept my sincere apologies for calling you a blockhead," the girl replied quietly.
"Well, my head is really made of a wood block," replied the animated one sadly.
"Does that upset you?"
"No... I don't know."
He shuffled his foot and turned to her.
"It's hard for me to figure out."
"I can understand," Gerda nodded, glancing out into the valley, and then turning to the doll again, she asked, "Have you been here long?"
"No, a few... hmm... these time intervals are called a day."
"Did you get there on your own?"
"Yes. And I brought two more."
"Something tells me you came from the City?"
"Can someone come from somewhere else?" Goody asked with a touch of surprise, taking off his hat and placing it on the bench in front of the girl.
She looked unintentionally at the animated one's hand, and noticed several small twin leaves growing there.
"Rumor has it that one of the local dolls came from the desert. They say there's an endless sea behind it. And it's not me at all," she declared, smiling and plucking the two biggest leaves from the animated one's hand.
Twisting them between her fingers, she tossed the leaves upward.
"Yes, my friend says so. The one I brought in," Goody answered, watching the spinning leaves drop onto his knee.
"But you brought him from the City, didn't you?"
"No, from the desert. He was brought from the City by the Pile of Meet. Or more specifically, it was a flying motorcycle, a scooter, a police swallow series 7711, that dragged us from the City."
"I see you'd make a pretty good reference book."
"Yes," Goody answered confusedly, and frowned, "I didn't know. I mean, I didn't know I knew it. And now I do. It happens to me a lot now."
The girl laughed even louder.
"You have a certain amount of comic charm, blockhead."
"I am no blockhead, I am an animated one, a doll, a slave."
"Ugh. You are not a slave! That sounds quite unpleasant, the blockhead, on the other hand, though a bit naff, is nevertheless elegant and simple."
"Then you will be..."
"What?"
"I don't know," Goody became even more angry, getting lost in the lines of association.
The girl stood up and took his hand.
"That's enough," she looked into his painted eyes, which he tried unsuccessfully to hide in his wooden face.
"Let's go for a walk."
Goody looked back at her, caught the sparkling glare of the moons in her eyes, and without expecting it, nodded.
From the balcony, a narrow serpentine path led down the mountain to the valley deep within the plateau, beyond the large canyon. Glowing insects flickered in the sparse vegetation with green and blue lights. Stepping between rocks that had fallen down the slope, Gerda was careful not to scratch her red patent leather shoes. Goody was following her, wearing his triangle again. He kicked the small rocks off the cliff one by one and listened as they tumbled down, silent somewhere in the valley. He called them travelers to himself.
YOU ARE READING
Heart's tale
FantasyA long time ago, there was a planet on the surface of which a real living Heart was beating. Each of its beat gave life to many wonderful creatures, and humans were no exception. Once, during a mountain collapse, they became afraid that something m...
