The moment I showed the bear to the girl, everything froze.
The rattling, the shaking.
I could only watch her, heart pounding, as her black eyes remained fixed on the teddy bear, unblinking.
’She might not want it, but for now, it’s enough to stop her.’
The bear had such an effect…
And this was all I really wanted as I took a step towards her.
“Do you like this? It looks cute, doesn’t it?”
I gave the teddy bear a small shake, my eyes scanning the room. It was almost empty, the bare essentials filling the place: a bed, a wardrobe, a small desk. The room felt more like a spare closet than a bedroom.
Nothing more.
It was also a lot smaller than the other bedrooms that I had crossed in order to get here.
This felt more like a spare closet that had been turned into a bedroom.
“Bear…?”
The little girl tilted as she looked at the teddy bear, her large eyes blinking.
I smiled before moving closer to her.
“Yes, teddy bear.”
The small details, along with everything I’d heard, told me all I needed to know about her situation. As I stepped closer and slowly leaned in to meet her gaze, I brought the bear closer to her.
“Touch it.”
“….I can?”
She looked hesitant.
’No, not just hesitant… she also looks scared.’
I pressed my lips together while bringing it closer to her.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
Not that I could…
“The bear will also not hurt you.”
“Really?”
The girl reached for the bear with her little hand.
And then—
Her hand finally came in contact with the bear as her little eyes started to widen.
“Soft…”
“Right?”
I brought the teddy closer to her.
“You can have him if you want.”
I felt a slight pang in my heart while giving the bear to her. This wasn’t exactly cheap, but thinking about the points I’d soon receive from the game sales, I felt much more at ease.
Furthermore, I needed to do this in order to preserve my life, so…
“…..”
The girl hesitated for a moment. But then, after seeing that I really wanted to give it to her, she reached for the bear and tried to pull it into her grasp.
At the same time, her black eyes became clearer.
“….”
Key word.
Tried to.
The moment her fingers touched the bear, it wouldn’t budge. It stayed firm in my grip.
“Huh?”
I looked at the bear, stunned.
And then her.
“No, wait…”
The darkness in the girl’s eyes resurfaced as she looked at me, and a suffocating weight clutched at my chest.
“You lie.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Her gaze pierced through me in a suffocating manner.
I struggled to recover my breath.
“No, no… I’m not.”
I tried to push the bear to her while letting go, but I realized that I couldn’t.
My hands…
They refused to let go of the bear.
’Shit.’
I suddenly remembered the description of the bear, and my stomach sank.
Rattle! Rattle!
Once more, the surroundings shook.
The room trembled again. The curtains swayed, and the sound of footsteps outside the door grew louder, heavier.
The servants…
They were coming.
I bit my lip while staring at the teddy bear in my hand.
’Let go. Let go.’
I felt a rush of anxiety. Never in my life had I thought my survival would depend on something as simple as releasing a teddy bear.
And yet, here I was, in that exact same situation.
Rattle!
The rattling grew more prominent, and the sound of the steps coming from behind became even more rushed.
My heart raced out of my chest, the beat drumming loudly in my mind.
Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump.
But even despite my best attempts, my hands refused to let go of the bear.
It was as if they were glued to it. Refusing to let go.
I glanced at the door. The servants were getting closer. I had no choice.
In desperation, I bit down on my tongue.
“….!”
The moment I did, pain shot through my mouth like fire.
’Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’
I didn’t hold back. I bit harder, my face contorting in pain. But in that same instant, the rattling stopped.
“Hehe.”
A soft, almost innocent giggle echoed in the stillness.
The footsteps stopped.
I turned my head. There, on the bed, the girl was playing with the teddy bear. Her black eyes, which were previously fully black, were starting to clear, and she looked… almost happy.
“….Hehe.”
Her laugh was light, like something that hadn’t come from her in a long time.
For a brief moment, I forgot about the pain in my mouth.
The sparkle in her eyes was like that of someone who had found something that they had never seen before.
It was almost as if… this was the first time she had ever played with a teddy bear.
’Perhaps that’s really the case.’
I glanced at the servants by the door, their faces obscured, their bodies like shadows. I could feel them there, waiting, but they didn’t move.
’This place… the reason why they don’t have faces…’
It clicked. This was a reconstruction of her past memories. The servants had no faces because she couldn’t recall any of them, and the same applied to her parents, who appeared only as hollow skins laid out on the dishes.
In that sense, she was… the key to everything.
“Do you like it…?”
And as I asked that simple question, I saw her looking at me again.
The darkness in her eyes was still present, but it was a lot less than before.
I met her gaze while she met mine.
Eventually, squeezing the teddy bear tightly, she nodded her little head.
“…Yes.”
“Is that so?”
I smiled at her while pulling my hand back.
“Then, you can keep it.”
“…..”
The little girl blinked, her eyes falling on the bear.
“I can?”
“Of course.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really? Really?”
“Yes.”
“…..”
After a brief pause, a smile blossomed on the little girl’s face as she squeezed the bear tightly. The darkness in her eyes had almost fully retreated by now, and as I stared at her, I brought my hand forward.
“Are you hungry?”
“….?”
Her gaze shifted back to me, confused.
I thought back to her previous words and continued,
“I heard that you were hungry. I can give you food. Do you want it?”
“Food?”
“…Yes.”
The girl’s small hands tightened around the teddy bear for a moment, then loosened slightly. She held her stomach, and that’s when I noticed how thin her arms were. My lips pursed once again.
Finally, she reached out to me, her little hand before me.
I opened my lips, but soon closed them as I reached for her hand.
It was cold.
“Let’s go.”
I pulled her gently toward the door.
“I’ll bring you to eat.”