By Missng

She received her first porcelain doll when she was eight; a beautiful gift that had been the envy of all her friends. Like any eight year-old would, she loved the object dearly. Its pale skin, silken hair, and beautiful clothes were her delight. Year after year she received other gifts to accompany the doll: intricately painted shoji screens to house the doll, embroidered silk kimonos to adorn its body, a small tea set to play with. All these things she naively treasured, until one day, the doll broke.

She was twelve and holding a tea ceremony with her lovely doll. Both of them dressed in kimonos, they sat upon pillows, the tea set filled with lukewarm water. It had been an accidental nudge as she poured the doll tea, but that was all it had taken for the fragile thing to topple over and shatter upon the hardwood floor. As she stared tearfully at the fragmented pieces, her first thoughts were how angry her father would be at her carelessness. Hands over her mouth to stifle her sobs, she looked around for somewhere to hide… and all she saw were painted screens. She rose to her feet to run to her room, but the beautifully embroidered kimono limited her movements. Tripping over her feet, she fell with a dull thud, landing next to her broken doll. She tried to get up, but instead cried out in pain as her hand was cut by one of the fragments. It was then that a servant finally burst into the room, clucking her tongue over the young heiress' clumsiness and herding her towards her room to bandage her wound.

It was just an accident - she needn't worry about the doll, the servant cooed. Not to worry, not to worry, hush, dear, hush. The doll could be replaced easily. So long as mistress was safe, the doll could be replaced. And she had been hopeful. Drying her tears with the back of her hand, she thought everything would be alright. The doll would be replaced. It was simply an accident. She watched as the servants swept up the pieces – a mouth, an eye, a hand – her father would buy her a new doll in a few weeks. He wasn't angry. She had not been hurt. The doll would be replaced.

The doll would be replaced.

His doll was not hurt.

It was just an accident.