His oppression

Simple Make Over and Mind Made Up

Chapter Fourteen: SIMPLE MAKE OVER AND MIND MADE UP

Full moon doesn't come by for at least a few weeks from now. For today, I've gone to the art store to pick up some things that I can use to fix up Radcliff's doll form. 

Day by day that passes by, the more I really don't want him to leave. But that is just a selfish move and I'm just going to try and help him to break out from his injustice he'd been feeling all his life. That's just really what I want from him; he's been nothing but pleasant to be around with. From my first thought that he's just going to be annoying and would just pull me back from my life, oh how have I been wrong all this time. It's just me denying all of it.

Maybe I've never met someone that could keep up with my attitude for this long. You know when I don't really pretend to be nice for someone to continue hanging out with me.

Really, he's kind of made it better. But I don't want to tell him that. Even if it's too late— you'll never get me to confess.

When I got back to my apartment, the lights were off. I only have one window and the sight outside was just the wall of the building beside. So sunlight barely seeps through my space. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. No wonder I'm a pretty hostile person, I receive no sunlight whatsoever.

"Radcliff, where are you?" I called out, opening the lights as I made my way towards the kitchen to grab some water.

A few seconds later, I heard a door open and Radcliff's voice was heard.

"Good morrow, where have you been?" he greeted from the bedroom door 

"Grab your doll, I'll try and fix it." I told, pointing towards the supplies I brought home as I put the glass down on the counter.

He understood and got back inside to get his doll before making it sit on the counter. Looking at the doll again before taking in Radcliff's features, I felt irky.

"It didn't even look like that the first time," he said, patting the doll's clothing. "Over time, it adapted my face. It was just made of wood with human features before."

"That's really eerie." I commented, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "It's porcelain now."

"The wood had rot," he implied. "If you this is frightening now, you could have seen what it looked like before."

"I could only imagine, I don't even want to see it!" I laughed lightly, "You would be okay with me fixing it?"

"Just be careful. Like I said before, I could feel whatever you're going to do to it."

"I haven't asked: when you're touched like this," I poked his shoulder. "Do you feel that?"

"No. It's like a gust of wind." he remarked with a smile. "But if you do that to the doll, I might feel it."

I poked the doll, causing it to lose its balance and fall to its side. Radcliff sounded like he giggled at that which made me turn to look at him.

"What? It gave me a tingling feeling." he chuckled, putting the doll on its bottom again. "It's not as strong as it used to make me feel."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When I was touched or carried somewhere, I used to really feel their grip on myself— around my body. It was such a suffocating feeling and a horrible experience." he sighed. "And I couldn't get far away from it."

"What changed that?" I asked, curious once more. "I mean you just said it isn't as strong as it used to."

"Yes. I am clueless on what could be the reason. Maybe the curse is gradually breaking? I could go with you at your work and anywhere else and it hasn't been limiting me."

I don't know if I should be happy hearing that or not. It really bothers me.

"That's good news for us," I just smiled a little. "We just need to further break the curse. If what that old lady told us would work, then you're really going to be freed."

"I hope so. I don't want to be a nuisance to people anymore."

The people he's talking about, is it me? I’m the only one he’s talked to or is he referring to the people from the past that he’s encountered? Because I’ve been very verbal with how I’ve seen him and it’s the actual first time that I’ve felt bad about it. I’m not even going to contradict myself that that’s what I wanted him to feel like primarily.

“I think it’s the other way around, yes?” I patted his back even though he just said he couldn’t feel that. “The world has been the nuisance to you.”

“The world has its flaws but we can still see beauty in it if we look at the smaller things.”

That didn’t make sense whatsoever and it wasn’t related to what I just said but he can go off, I guess.

I’ve just gone and organised what is needed to whilst I let Radcliff rest on the chair. “Um, I need to remove the clothes. Will that be a problem?”

He looked at me before shaking his head ‘no’. “That wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Okay…” I nodded my head before peeling off the clothes from the doll itself and putting it on the side. “You have weird fashion back in the 16th century. Isn’t it hot?”

“It was hot but I didn’t want to dress like them. They were in it for the norm and I did not want to be a part of that.”

“Not like other men?” I laughed a little.

“If you have the wealth and authority, you might as well be one of them rich people.”

“But Radcliff, you’re rich.”

“Not by money, I am not.” he clarified with a cheeky smile. “I have not really done anything great in my life to be titled with such

“Still, you were rich. Does this mean you appeal to the poor? Because you weren’t really like these rich people that-- nevermind~”

“Sure, I guess I’m nicer to the servants.” he paused for a moment as if he was thinking hard. “Times were really different back then and I suggest you do not want to find out how people were really mistreated and there’s little to nothing you could do about it.”

“I told you before, whatever f*****g century it is, equality does not exist.” I told, kind of getting frustrated at that fact whilst getting the paint ready, forgetting that Radcliff can feel what I do to the doll.

And when I say he started dancing when I dabbed the paintbrush on the doll’s body, I can’t even come up with a lie like that. Though it seems like Radcliff would dance out of nowhere, this was really unexpected and I burst out laughing when I soon realised that I was the cause behind his antics.

“I never knew a smile could be beautiful on a person before.” he looked at me whilst he held his sides.

I coughed, not really knowing how to react to that. He knows how to play with his words and it was working with me and I curse myself for that! He’s grasped ways on how I could burn my face red with just his words alone.

“You could have told me I was tickling you.” I told him with a hard frown.

“If I made you stop, I wouldn’t have seen you laugh. All the laughs I get out of you are sarcastic or you don’t really mean them.”

I smiled at him slightly before painting the other parts that looked like paint was coming off. “Did someone else change your form? You said that the doll was wood before.”

“I remember it being the 17th century, the wood had rot after a hundred of years and so. The family that kept me had made me move to a different vessel.”

“This family you’re talking about, are they nice?” I just asked, going over the other parts that had scratches. “Because they took care of you. Do they know you existed? Can they see you?”

It took a moment for him to reply to my answers but the first thing that came out of him was a sigh. “The doll has been locked up, passed down to the next generation of family and I never got out of their houses. They knew I was around but never really tried to communicate with me even though I would try my hardest to communicate with them.”

I nodded my head, understanding the fact that he really got it rough. “You just watched everything happen and it pained you that you couldn’t do a single thing about it.”

“That pretty much sums it up, yes.” he smiled sadly. “But I am glad that I met you, Aria. I couldn’t have a chance at life again if it weren’t for you.”

“I have yet to prove myself worthy.” I said with the most posh accent I could muster. “And we aren’t sure if you’re even going to live.”

“You gave me hope again and that alone has a big impact.”

“H-honestly, too, it ain’t bad. It isn’t bad that you’re here with me.” I bit down my lower lip in embarrassment. “You’re not a nuisance if that’s what you’re thinking.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw the corners of his mouth go upward.

“Y-you’re not, I just told you. Don’t make me repeat it!” I tried to focus on the paint job because I was just too shy to even look at him not like before. “You’re not a nuisance when you’ve made my life not so repetitive anymore.”

“That’s a good thing?”

“I hate change and you know that when I say that to you all of the time.” I finally looked at him. “And you’re not so bad a change.”