Child's Play

The prince of the story was a doll with a shaved head.

Isabel had asked her neighbor Fernando if he had any action figures that they could use for the purposes of a game. Pretending to be very offended, he objected that his "collectibles figures" were not for such nonsense. "I don't want to play princess with you," he had told her with a raised eyebrow and a racing heart.

Isabel only had to give him one of those pouts that she knew to make when her parents scolded her for eating more than her portion of dessert so that Fernando clicked his tongue. With half a turn, he returned to his apartment after mumbling that perhaps his little sister had a stuffed animal that they could use instead. After all, pride would not beat the opportunity to play outside on such a beautiful day with the prettiest girl. Although, of course, Fernando would never admit that to himself or anyone else, much less to Isabel. He called her “Sabionda” sometimes, when he found himself admiring her and quickly dusted off some horrifying defect of hers to cut the line of thought short. It was very ineffective to him, but he would not admit it to himself. At his age, he still did not learn that lies did not suit either the one who believed them or the one who told them, regardless of whether they coincided as a subject.

Isabel sat waiting on the steps of the apartment complex. From there she could see the park where reality would blur for them. There it was where the trees were so robust that their bark peeled like cinnamon chips and the chirping of the birds was as sharp as a primal song. Nothing was real and so anything was possible. Isabel was adjusting the dress of her favorite doll without much dexterity when a scream from behind startled her. Her body shuddered before Fernando laughed.

"You should have seen yourself!" The boy put a hand to his belly. Isabel was about to push him away in response until she saw what he had brought. She wrinkled her nose a little, which Fernando interpreted as if she had become angrier at his reaction.

"And that ugly thing?"

The boy pursed his lips in response.

"Well, she's a prince now, don't you see? Agata cut all her hair and painted her face.”

Isabel couldn't really be upset. She was a pretty ugly doll, but that was every doll's fate if she seriously considered it. They would get old, their hair would start to fall out, and the plastic would get stained in a way that left them looking yellow. Like the teeth that her mother warned her she would have if she didn't brush them before going to school. It was a little disgusting. The doll was not even dressed. It was more work for Isabel, but it wouldn't be hard to tweak the doll's appearance a bit in her mind to make it look like one of the handsome princes she saw on TV.

"Yes, yes, I can see it," the girl murmured to herself.

He was a beautiful heartthrob. His hair reflected the sun like the black car of Fernando's parents. Mischievous eyes scanned their surroundings until they fell on a maiden moving through the grass. Strands of grass rose halfway up her torso hugging her body as it made its way to nowhere at all. She didn't seem to advance more than a few steps before returning to her starting position. This flew to the knight by the crown of his head. He was in love. The love of his life had appeared out of nowhere, who cared that she did not respect the rules of dynamics when moving? Whatever, it’s not even like he knew that was yet.

The maiden met his eyes when the knight called to her.

"Wait a minute, what did you say the doll is called?" Fernando was not amused to say the lines that Isabella loved so much: Princess, let's run away together! How embarrasing. Anyone could walk by and hear it. His cheeks flushed just from repeating the words in his mind.

"Come on" Her voice came out plaintive when they had to stop the scene. Fernando managed to keep the serious expression for a few seconds. Isabel snorted. "Cristina, and the knight will be Aragon. I like it, I saw it in a movie.”

She showed her teeth proudly. Fernando would surely think she was very intelligent, but the boy only rolled his eyes. He added something about how idiotic those names sounded; his cheeks still stained with grenadilla.

Cristina approached the gentleman gropingly. He was really handsome. The gentleman kissed her hand without taking his eyes away.

"Mr. Aragon, what brings you here? Did he come looking for me...?

The gentleman rose to his feet with a movement as fluid as his joints would allow. The gallant smile he offered her indicated that he was about to express his unwavering love to her, that he would ask for her hand, that he would love her until the sky fell...

"Come on, let's go explore the land instead, don't you want to?"

His voice came out shrill. Like a chick that hadn't yet booted the fluff. The maiden gnashed her teeth. However, she allowed herself to look around. The place was like no other. The sun's rays filtered through the treetops, which could hardly be seen for miles high. There was something magical in the air. The creatures of the grassland made it vibrate. Griffins flew in circles above them. Cries of war, murmurs of persecution kept the pasture pulsating as if calling them to find them.

Having forgotten any prospect of love, Cristina and Aragón threw themselves into the adventure without fear of falling. The grass became tiny under their feet with each leap they made in the direction of the forest.

It was a virgin land. It still smelled of flowers and the earth under their feet was soft in the absence of constant footsteps. There was no path to start from there.

"All this will be ours!" Aragon exclaimed in a loud voice. He rushed forward with a laugh. He couldn't appreciate the whole space at once; he circled around claiming everything with his eyes and running from one side to the other. His footsteps fell on dandelions and daisies, crushing them until their screams were stifled. They hadn't even heard it. After all, to do so they’d have to count as a living thing.

"We have to find a home," Cristina said. "I'm not going to get all muddy—oh no, help me!”

An insect scurried down her leg. It was a wild beast that had just come out of its line to see if the new visitors would bring anything to devour. Its body was long, the size of a vitamin C pill, though perhaps smaller. Its antennae moved, groping in the air without finding anything.

Cristina screamed, trying to knock it off without success. She continued shouting, how disgusting! Gross! Get it off my back once and for all! until the knight, having first complained of how exaggerated she was, saved her life.

"It's a pity that such a beautiful place is infested with such wild creatures," was Cristina's conclusion when she was finally able to keep her composure. Aragon agreed with her just because, yes, it was very annoying to have to share his new garden of Eden with nasty little creatures. To consider that they already lived there crumbled as an argument on its own, for both. It would have to start from the assumption that a flower or an ant could stand at the height of Princess Christina and the knight Aragon. How ridiculous. Not even Isabel's imagination stretched far enough for that.

A home, a home, a place had yet to be found for the brave explorers to settle.

It was when Cristina observed in the distance, hidden among dry leaves and twigs, the palace of their dreams. It was a somewhat rudimentary structure, a functional and impressive building. It was a fortress waiting to be claimed by figures like them.

Without further ado, Cristina and Aragón approached with the greatest stealth that their school sneakers allowed them. The twigs on the ground crunched in harmony. One silenced another. The other replied not to tell her to shut up, that there would be nothing there.

The palace was vacated. It should have been built in the beginning with the purpose of being a prize to be claimed. Inside it had oval-shaped pearls like the ones they kept in the crates of the pantry.

Cristina bent down to get a better look. The details were incredible. It was a combination of interweaving and different materials that somehow created a structure strong enough to look unbreakable.

"Hey, I want to see it too!"

The knight ignored Christina's reproach to admire the palace with his own hands. The pearls inside took up all the space, so there would be no choice but to take them out. Aragon's fingers were not as delicate as Cristina's. When he grasped one of the beads to begin the move, the matter seemed to reject the grasp itself and slipped between the explorer's fingertips.

Something cracked producing a dry sound. Something else accompanied the sound. The pearl had broken over the palace, soiling the other pearls with a sticky, yellowish substance. And among the broken pieces of plaster, a squawk caught Cristina's attention. A beak stuck out between the carcasses.

The creature was in such pain, whether it had been due to the hit of the pearl or some sense of awareness, that it would not shut up. Groan after moan, the substance of the pearl seeped through his beak. For a second, Aragon wondered if the animal would know that it was swallowing its sibling. What does it matter, if it doesn't understand anything, what damage there is?

Another peak came out from behind, and another and another. All squawking in anguish. Go away! Go away! They shouted with one voice. Aragon took a step backwards without being aware of it. Cristina's eyes were caught by the expressionless gaze of the birds. How dared they disturb them like that?

Run! Get out of here! One voice gave way to another. This time, behind his back. Aragon turned his body to find himself face to face with a maiden dressed in white, if that could be called that color. The stains of earth were intermingled with greenish tones similar to the ink of his markers. At some point, Aragon felt a grip on his arm that pierced his veins.

Cristina couldn't stop looking at the chicks covered in that substance. Their bodies twisted, hitting each other as they tried to get out. Its beaks, when opened, revealed a dark tunnel from which a voice came out that called her by name. The blood that flowed inside her felt cold.

From among the trees, a monster appeared. Cristina let out a horrified scream. Giant antennae stretched out to touch their faces, their bodies, whatever it could reach.

“Come here, Princess! Let me give you my kingdom if you want it. But who will give life to my dead when you already conquer your home?”

"Get away from me!” She cried with her eyes wide shut. Nausea rose through her body like spoiled milk. “How disgusting, let's go!”

The girl took her friend's arm. Without stopping to look back, they shot out into the woods.

“And why are you leaving?” The voice asked. A murmur followed them in the breeze as they ran. “Do my inhabitants frighten you more than my wonders retain you?”

Aragón and Cristina felt from the tips of their feet the tingling of hundreds of beasts that were climbing up their bodies. The fangs that clung to them could hardly pierce their skin, but the feeling of rape that enveloped them was enough to override the real damage.

Both fell to the ground. The grass covered them but did not save them from the creatures. And there they remained inert.

Isabel and Fernando walked home with identical pouts. There went Isabel’s birthday present. And surely Agata would put up a fight with Fernando for losing her doll. Fernando laughed a little.

"How silly you looked playing pretending to be so delicate, Sabionda.”

"I just didn't want to get dirty.”

And that was the only explanation she offered her mother when she was scolded for losing the toy for which she had begged so much. That her beloved Cristina had been attacked by creatures for no reason. That she had soiled herself for someone else’s fault. And that the next exploration she would do would be with equipment that would allow her to clean the place before settling into it.