Rebirth
Chapter the First

It was only near twelve o'clock in the evening when the antique-fashioned telephone began to ring a shrill bell sound. It was placed on a very old wooden nightstand in the main room of the building's standards, and the room had so few furniture objects that any sound could be heard in the rooms surrounding it. The ring echoed throughout the halls, and eventually reached the ears of Jun Sakurada.

"Oh," Jun said as he dropped the carving knife in his hand onto the workbench before him. "Is this it...?" Jun took his working apron off and threw it on a stool next to the bench, as he walked over to the crying phone. His hand shaking, he picked up the phone from the receiver and placed it to his ear.

"Hello? Hello?" Jun spoke. When he got no answer, a slight frown curved his face. "Is anyone there...? Hello?" Still no answer. Jun slowly placed the phone back onto its stand.

He had to admit; he was a little disappointed. Tomoe, his beloved wife of three years, was taken in to the hospital earlier today. Jun was expecting a very important phone call any minute now from Nori, his older sister, as to up-to-date information on how she was doing.

Jun inhaled deeply and let out a long, drawn out sigh. He went to pick up his paint-stained apron from its place on the chair and began to put it on. He tied the back, and looked up to the grandfather clock.

Nori should have called by now.

He walked back into his studio, hands in his pockets, and resumed his actions. Jun picked up the wooden paintbrush that lay on its side on the table, and picked up the brown paint palette. Adding the final details to his newest creation's face, he was displeased with himself. He looked down at the doll, and sighed again.

After high school, Jun aspired to become a doll-maker. Although he had only been in the industry for about four years, starting when he was eighteen, he was already following in the footsteps of Rozen himself.

Many people asked Jun why he had become a doll-maker. He kept his explanation short and simple, saying that 'It was just what I felt like I was meant to do.'

In truth, however, his past was a great role in his conclusion. He had remembered the days when he had lived with five rambunctious and energetic dolls; they had taught him some life lessons that he needed, and eventually convinced him that the outside world wasn't as bad as he had made it to be.

Who would believe Jun if he had told his friends this story, which seemed like such a tall tale?

Jun was hard on himself when it came to his work. He didn't accept compliments from anyone, and if they insisted, he would deny that he did not do a good enough job as he would have liked to have done. His current project was one that he had been working on for months, now. Ever since Shinku's Roza Mystica had been taken in the Alice Game, Jun had a hole in his heart. He missed her company, and had felt empty without said doll. That is why, for days in and out, Jun has taken it upon himself to recreate Shinku.

He tried to remember every detail about her: Her long, golden hair that had naturally curled into ringlets at the ends. Her gorgeous ice-blue eyes that seemed to peer into your very soul. The way her eyelashes fluttered when she blinked... Every little detail that Jun remembered from Shinku, he had placed onto this new doll. Right now, Jun was in the process of painting her facial features. He had set aside the glass eyes, in fear that he would accidentally get paint on them. Many passerby would stop and marvel at this New Shinku. They would press their hands and face against the outside window of Jun's shop and encourage the beauty of the doll. Sometimes, however, this would irritate Jun to no end.

"She's beautiful! You should make her hair short and wavy, though," a passerby once suggested. Jun's eyebrows twitched as he snatched the unfinished doll away.

"No! Never! She has to look exactly like her... She has to...!"

The customer muttered something as they walked away. "It was just a suggestion..." Jun watched through the window as the customer left. He shut his eyes and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

Jun didn't mean to yell. But, the very idea of this doll being different from Shinku was absurd, in his mind. It was unacceptable.

Jun took the tip of the paintbrush and dipped it in the red paint, and then white. He mixed the two colors together and got a very light and cheerful pink. He resumed painting the lips of the New Shinku, taking extra special care to get it perfect. However, Jun was having difficulties. Were Shinku's lips light and thin? Or were they curled and cute? Although Jun remembered Shinku's primary features, there were just some details that remained blank in his memories of her. He continued painting the lips, when he let out an angry sigh.

"I can't get it right..." Jun complained as he threw the paintbrush back down on the table. The brush bounced off the paper matting and left a light pink stain on the table. "Crap." Jun reached into a bin in the corner of the room, pulling out a red rag. He dampened it with some water from the sink, and placed it on the table. Swishing the rag in circles, he removed the traces of paint. He went to the sink to wring the water out and wash the rag off, and also took the time to wash his hands. He had been working for five hours today.

Jun decided it was time for a break, and went to the secret room in back of the shop. It was hidden behind a large cabinet that contained painting supplies. Jun pushed it to the left, revealing a large door. He went inside and took a seat in the comfortable chair. Tomoe was always telling Jun that he needed to take breaks more often, but Jun was a hard worker when it came to his job. When he did relax, however, he took a lot of time to recollect old times.

"Wow... I never noticed how many antiques I have, lately..." Jun marveled as he glanced at the shelves, chock full of dolls; voodoo dolls, porcelain dolls, paper dolls, marionette dolls... You name it; he had it, and then some. With hundreds of glass eyes staring at him, he didn't feel lonely. Old habits die hard, and Jun was still very much into online shopping... Although, instead of returning them, he had now made purchases if he liked what he had been given.

Jun remembered the day that he opened the drawer desk and pulled out a letter from the spirit, Hollier. "Wind", he had circled, when presented with a two-way question. What would have happened if he had picked, "Don't Wind"? Would he have met Shinku by some other means? Would he have met Tomoe, who would grow up to be his best friend, and eventually his dearest wife? Probably not. But, 'what ifs' didn't matter. He had selected "wind", and sealed his fate.

Tomoe... Jun thought to himself. Are you well?

Tomoe was in the hospital, expecting to give birth to their first child in exactly one week from now. Jun had told Nori to call him at least an hour before she went into labor, so he could rush over and witness the birth. Jun knew that the baby could be born at any time now, but it was not expected for another week. Jun was hoping to give New Shinku to their baby when it was born, but it was probably not going to happen. Jun was too far behind on crafting her. Oh well.

"Haah..." Jun couldn't hold back a yawn as he stretched in his chair. He put his feet on his desk and rested his hands on the arms of the wooden chair. Jun was very tired, and couldn't seem to hold back a few more yawns. "I need a nap," Jun thought to himself. He reached over to the digital clock next to him and hit the "Alarm" button, and set it for an hour from now. An hour nap won't do any harm, right? If Nori called, it would wake him up, anyways.

Jun drifted off to a deep sleep, a nice relievement from his day at work...

To be continued in Chapter Two...