Down on the mountain, tucked just a few feet below the ground, the Joylings sought their eyes with wonder. However, if it wasn't for Starglaze and his stubbornness, this whole silence could have been a perfect moment for the three of us to enjoy.
"Starsy! You'll pay for this!" I pushed my hands on his face. He retaliates with his edges—though dull but still hurtful.
"No! You'll pay for that! Who do you think you are, Pristy?"
"Guys, please stop it! You're making a fuss here! I don't like that!" Doorwell stands uninvolved between us.
The longer we fought, the more terrible this place goes by. Before we even knew it, the humans were coming from afar. None of us could hear their footsteps because Starglaze and I were busy battling each other, and Doorwell could only lay low in defence. I felt so ashamed being this unaware.
"Alright, watch yourself, people. These two kids are new and they haven't experienced much with people like you. Better not putting them in fear after this." Carolina stands on the vault door. Faint voices of numerous humans can be heard alongside.
"I wanna see her! I wanna see Christine!"
"I want to see Emma! Where's she?"
Creak! The vault door was opened, but we didn't hear anything. We were so busy fighting that our human relatives weren't aware of our presence. Carolina steps in and is the first one to see the chaos made by the three Joylings that she particularly cares not to be this cluttered.
"Pearl, Doorwell, Starglaze! I hope you don't mind if I made you wait for—long?"
She was surprised. How couldn't she? A ballerina girl stands with her hands grasping a star against her sight while a cupid tunes a song beside our fight nervously. When the rest of the humans looked forward to our presence, it was already too late for us to stop.
"Get off of me, Starglaze! You're ruining my hairstyle!" I yelled.
"Not until you say sorry for my hat! Sorry now!" Starglaze latches furiously on my face again.
"No, you deserve it. Take it like a real Joyling!"
"Guys, stop! I can't keep tuning on this lyre over and over!" Doorwell remains our bard.
The humans are standing there, quiet and passive. Why didn't they do anything about us? They were entertained by this, and we didn't think they would be invested in something like this. I could have stopped, but does that make any better with my poor greeting skills?
"What the...what is this?" The one woman with brown skin seems confused. Though her face was covered in a mask, it's hard to tell what emotion she gave other than a judging tone.
"Is this some kind of joke? This can't be some kind of joke!"
"I don't understand what's happening here." The man with a dark overall seems more concerned.
I haven't stopped yet, and I think I won't. Starglaze made me deaf and blind to the outside, and I couldn't hear much from the window. Doorwell's lyre also makes too much noise for us to hear. We looked stupid, especially in our pyjamas when doing this.
"P-Pearl...?" Doorwell was the first one to see through the window, pausing her lyre.
"That's the last time I'll ever let you—go...?"
Carolina stands before our sight. My act was paused in an instant as I saw not two but five humans behind her who had been looking at our show for a long. I remember moving around tables and dropping things while trying to get Starglaze off of me, so that also makes it more embarrassing.
"Yee!" I threw that star away into the ceiling, waving at the humans with the remains of my pride. I knew I had failed, but I had to go. I stand without a word after, watching as their faces turn off and are disgusted by me. I was hoping to try again, maybe to the best of my luck.
"F-family! I mean—hey, looks like we've met again! I mean—hello?"
"Oh, I messed that up so much,"
"Hello, family! Woah, I have a lot of them..." Doorwell still stands perfectly as before, waving calmly at the humans while looking at her family. My face was buried under my right hand as we both stood aside, waiting for one of them to respond. We don't expect this much.
Slowly, we've got a clue about our human family from their looks. The one couple who appears as a commoner belongs to Doorwell's family. Whereas the one masked in a white porcelain face and expensive clothes belongs to me and Starglaze. Only when they heard our voices they finally acknowledge us.
"Dorriel...?"
"Christine...?"
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Those two names they were calling us. They were crying, kneeling like a desperate me on the backstage, and watched as the two of us looked indifferently at them. There are no more windows bordering us anymore, as the humans seem to have made it into their heads. We were on a stage, and they were the ones sitting on the audience chair.
For them, it must have felt like watching their daughters a star. We were showing the humans our best here, and Doorwell sang a perfect song to make our act more believable. They clapped—in their hearts—and came forward to meet these actresses.
We greeted our best while we heard them crying in joy. Our family get together in line to spare their words. All of them are mourning in jovial, with an emotion of happiness only a Joyling who has lost everything could ever regain. For six years, it was a strong and harsh line.
Doorwell and her father were having the time of their life. He didn't even need to look for Doorwell's voice to know it was her. There was something in her looks that matched this 'Dorriel' girl he was talking about.
"Dorriel, is that you...? Daughter?"
"Y-yeah! You must be my father, right?"
"Hehe, I can still see the look of that face in you, Dorriel. I'm so glad you were here..."
My father and I were also having fun too! The man didn't look as sad as Doorwell's, but he was so curious about my clothes and face because he realized he was looking at a superstar, Pristine Pearl.
"Christine, you look...great." He complimented me.
"Am I? I mean, I know that! But...aren't you looking for C-Christine...?" I was worried about his words.
"Why should I? You're still alive and sound like her! You'll never be less than that." He gave me a warm hug and lifted me up.
"Hey, what about me? Am I not great, too?"
Then there were our mothers, who were in for more than happiness. Both are crying for us, happy but more strict and worried than our fathers. They seem to have lost and earned more than just a daughter here.
"Dorriel, even after death, you're still a saint as you are..." Doorwell's mother wiped her dough-made cheek and was numb by that touch.
"Christine, how could you do this to me? How could you leave me?" My mother raised me as much as my father did. She was angry! I know that, but she's also...happy? I don't know that.
"Ouch! Ouch! Mother, please!" I begged her, but she was too excited.
I thought it would've been over. But then, there's Doorwell's older brother, whom I didn't have. He was even older now, and I was surprised to hear that he wasn't too happy with Doorwell.
"You...you..." He looks grimly at her, one finger pointed at her forehead, and it seems he is going even forward.
"W-what?" Doorwell stares in confusion and discomfort.
"Ehm, Doorwell? Are you okay? Get away from her!" I tried helping her, but my hands quickly swept her brother's hand as soon as I could.
Suddenly, it was silent. Everyone looks at us with shock, as if they see something within us, yet my care for Doorwell was as strong as she cared for me. But I never thought kindness was so rare for these humans to understand. They were speechless.
"Woah, Christine. What are you doing?" My father dragged me away. Doorwell's family looked at me awkwardly as I tried to protect her.
"It's okay! Pearl was just trying to...protect me..." Doorwell replies, but her brother ends up grabbing her right arm tightly.
For a moment, it was a perfect thing that happened to me and Doorwell. We were talking like family, sharing our past, and I especially mentioned my achievement alone as a superstar. My family was proud of me, but their eyes hadn't moved past that mask.
"My, you have that face of a star..."
"Oh, hehe...I heard that a lot. It's just how my face was, father..."
"But you do have a beautiful face! Even your foreheads...are those ears?" The mother makes her move on me. I felt so terrified, pressed, and had to move back before her fingers touched something I didn't want to.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...uhm, I was hoping you don't do that.."
Doorwell's parents were looking at her with more passion. I can see the mother's attentive stare on her face while she flapped her wings with nervousness. She gave them so much more performance than I do.
"Doorwell. What a beautiful lyre you have! Aren't you such a singer?" Her mother asked. Doorwell continued playing her lyre, and the music was beautiful.
"I don't sing...but I do make music! I share love with everyone through my lyre." She replies, tuning the lyre even more. Wings float higher than before.
"Haha! My daughter now has a wing! Look at that wing! Heaven gave us an angel!" The father bows to the ground with happy tears. How lucky Doorwell was to hear that.
Doorwell impresses her parents even more. Not only was she a good musician, but she was also flying around the room to showcase her performance. Even my parents didn't look too interested enough to stay with me. Their eyes had already looked upon the floating cupid.
Was there something wrong with me? My human parents didn't seem to talk much about my role as a ballet. Instead, they looked only at my face and attitude, calling it somewhat adorable. But I feel like it could have been more than just complimentary.
"F-father! I have a mirror. I mean, look at this? Isn't it beautiful?" I showed my mirror, trying to impress my trinket.
"Whoa, that's great...I can see my face still there..." My father didn't seem to be interested. Nor my mother.
"Woah, that girl flies really high." My mother even forgot about me.
I feel terrible. Rather than being ashamed, I only felt disappointment for not being bright enough for these humans. I watched behind the curtains once more, thinking my time was come, only to be taken by Doorwell. Maybe she deserves all these people after everything that I did to her back then.
"Oh...okay..." I mumbled in acceptance. As the one cupid took the room in surprise, I sat along with Starglaze in the corner, watching as time passed.
"Ugh, I can't believe these humans forget about me! Hey, do you humans even know decency?" Starglaze sat in disbelief, just as we both got the same treatment.
"It's okay, Starsy. Doorwell is just being Doorwell again."
I congratulate Doorwell for her stunning performance for me and my family. I feel like we deserve to give these humans what Joylings are—show. I really wish I could've shown my human parents some of my ballet skills here, but my shoes were no good for that.
—————————————————————————————————
We've had a lot of bonding with our family here. And now that our family knows us, it's time we've heard their stories. I was curious about human me and Doorwell for a long time. I could listen to the sound of greatness and life on their shoulders. We both sat on our chairs as our family sat with a cheerful thought.
"Dorriel. Do you remember that name?" I heard they called her that name.
"Christine, I know you're in there." My mother comforted me with her words. Her hands are on mine.
Our stories began as children, wandering young and innocent with lives that had never hit a star until we found our trail into the studio, never to return. But our lives only crossed that way and never before because we are different.
"You were a naive kid, Dorriel! I never thought my daughter's years of music come fruitful!" Doorwell's father commented.
"You were a great girl, Christine! You love Pristine Pearl so much you even become her! How...odd to say..." My father commented.
One story felt deep, touching the heart of a Joyling who had always been on a light of daylight. Sun shining above her head, music tunes in her ears, and a family who always remembered a face like her. Doorwell was a girl musician even before she hit for a show.
"But I believe Dorriel deserves to play her little music for a good light, not for someone else like that stupid Sebastian."
"I see you like ballet. The little you loved practising a twirl yourself. But you must have felt so terrified with those repetitive dances, aren't you?" My mother pities.
The other story felt shallow, read only by the moments of her presence and favour. Ballet surely feels like an achievement, but what is an achievement if it can't be shown to people? I was a girl of all spots and no act. Maybe my life was all about poise.
In the end, our story was written before our eyes. My story, my part, my name—I believe I could have been more than that. But like Starglaze, we weren't too much favoured by older humans. Children used to see me more than Doorwell, even going as far as stealing my looks.
"*Sigh* Okay..." I sat in dissatisfaction with Starglaze, fingers twitching with disbelief, and my parents' voices sank into the abyss. I put a smile for them while they kept talking about this 'Starstuhm' name again and again. I couldn't remember where it began, but now I hope it ends.
"Haha! I love your joke, brother!" Doorwell enjoys her moment again. I could not be any happier for her.
"Who said I'm joking? You're still naive as I remember, Dorriel..."
"Chris, be nice to your sister.
"What? I couldn't be a good brother if I wasn't too tough for her."
The world is spiralling on me, the light is shining on my face, and I see only a bright white light cleansing my pearly skin. As I 'bond' with these humans, I feel more like a tethered Joyling than a comforted spirit and a joining wave in the ocean. I feel even low and tired.
"Dorriel, would you like this food I've made for you? Mommy's got a lot of prize for you!"
"Aww, you don't have to do that! I can't take all of them at once! This little Joyling didn't deserve any of that!"
"What a humble girl. Just like I taught her!"
Doorwell continued talking beside my ears, and I could hear whispers about a lovable daughter, but not me. As I fall even deeper, dreaming of a star once more in the darkness where I was once awakened by suddenly this morning. My pyjamas felt weak and huge around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry for everything...*sobs* I'm sorry..."
"I didn't mean for you to be like this. You were more than that..."
"If only we could tell you now. We didn't mean to..."
Somehow, my eyes are still looking for Doorwell's happy face. Between the shoulders of my human parents, I saw a creak where a light showed me the life of a cupid without fame yet unbounded. She was happier than me despite all the things I'd done to her long ago. I was punished, but why do I feel like I'm not being properly punished?
"Christine? Christine sweetie?"
"H-hello? Christine, are you there?"
"Christine? Pristine? What's her name again? Pearl?"
"Pearl." That word called my name out of nowhere. I never heard that voice before, nor it speak so humanely. I couldn't describe what kind of voice is it, but it echoed out of my ears all of a sudden. My conscience was cleared, and my ears finally heard again.
"What?"
"Are you okay? You look...pale."
Everyone was looking at me. My human parents, Starglaze and Carolina had an eye on me so sharp and judging. I must have spaced out for too long, but it seems it was finally over.
"I...I'm fine." I replied. Doorwell still continues.