Charlie

"What?!" she exclaimed. Yeah, I definitely should've explained that little thing to her. She had probably not found out herself, given how few people actually talked about tuberculosis in the modern day. None of the movies or shows she would've watched would've shown it, after all.

As a matter of fact, it was not impossible for me to have gotten it given my old profession as a nurse and working with patients. I didn't think that I had taken care of a patient with it though for several years as of now though. Still, while the cure was not nice, involving several months of rather strong drugs, it wasn’t the death sentence it used to be.

"Plus," I said, shrugging. "Why would that bother you? Wouldn't you rather see me gone and have the house to yourself again, finally?"

It was said as a joke. It was meant as a joke.

As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the weird sickness messing with my head, I probably wouldn't have said it at all because I'd normally have had more sense than to say something like that.

If I was in my normal state of mind, I would've thought making a crude joke like that would've resulted in a smack to the head- though I would've preferred it to what happened.

Charlotte wasn't angry, tears were streaming down her face with no end in sight like storm clouds had just burst. She had cried before, yes, and I had seen her cry, but never like this.

"Charlotte why are you-" I began, but she burst out before the question could even leave my lips.

"H-How could you even say that?! How could I be happy when you died? How... I've never wanted to ever hurt... anyone... you know that!" she stammered. The tears were now flowing with no end in sight. "Least of all you... I don't want to get rid of you..."

It occurred to me how big a mistake I had made in that instance. "Charlotte, I'm sorry but that wasn't serious-"

"...because I love you!" she said. I forgot what I was going to say next as my brain seemed to shut down at that moment from those words. "I love you- I don't want to ever think about you dying. I want... when I was still alive... I thought how it would be like... just like a perfect dream... to live with my husband within this house..." She took a deep, rackety breath. "I want to live with you in the house... together..."

She then ran off before I could say anything, her teardrops continuing to stain the floor.

Though I had no idea what I was going to say, I knew I had to catch up to her. It wasn't hard, given how short her legs were and the fact that she couldn't go outside the house, to find her near the West Wing, sobbing.

"Charlotte," I told her. "That was an offhand joke... I mean, I just have a cold, I'm not expecting to actually die, you know..." I told her. "I probably got it from someone when I was at the fireworks show. It’s just a flu and I’ll get better soon. You obviously didn't have anything to do with it at all."

She calmed down after two minutes and met my gaze, her eyes still moistened by those tears that somehow, I still couldn't wrap my head around as to how that body of hers made. "I... I understand that but..."

She didn't have to say anything, as I knew what she wanted. She wanted an answer to her confession.

If you had asked me just a few days earlier, and as a matter of fact, my parents had- I would've said that Charlotte was just a friend I was roommates with. Granted, one of the closest friends I had now given how small my social circle was, but just a friend nonetheless.

When I looked back at the recent weekend when I was away, at all the times I had wished that she was there beside me - it struck me that, even though I had known her for little over a month, I couldn't imagine a life without her. I couldn't imagine walking through the doors to this house and not seeing her waiting for me - it would seem so wrong.

If you had described this past month to me before, and the things I'd have to do once I moved into the house, I'd probably say that I would be miserable doing it.

But I wasn't miserable. Despite a few setbacks, this last month had been the most fun I've ever had for an entire year. And it was all thanks to one person.

"Charlotte Evergreen," I told her. "I was lying about why I had put that ring on you when I first saw you... it wasn't a joke, and it wasn't so it would fit somewhere while I thought of what to do with it. I put it on you... because I was entranced by you the moment I saw you. And I would've loved nothing better than to be with someone like you - if you had asked me in that moment whether I would've fallen in love with the doll in front of me if only she were real, I'd have said 'yes' without any hesitation. And now, after I've seen that doll come to life, after knowing you... my answer is still the same."

With that, I sagged a little. "Please, Charlotte, I know it's selfish of me to say so... but can we put a pin in this conversation and speak of it later? I'm already feeling tired again.... like I want to sleep...." I was so tired that I hadn’t even wanted to chase after her, but I felt no matter how sick I was, it was important to at the very least get the gist of my feeling out to her. To let her know what I thought of her - and how important she was to me.

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Because if I didn’t, I knew that she would continue crying. And I just couldn’t let that happen- I didn’t want for even one more of those priceless pearls to have to leave her eyes. If anything, I wished to keep a smile plastered upon not only her face as a doll- but when she was alive as well.

Charlotte did not reply verbally, but immediately came over to support me. Her body was frail, but she put every bit of effort she could to help me. I got to my feet, now steady again, and went back to my room.

I went to sleep.

I had a dream, though. A dream where I was lying in bed, just as I was in reality.

The door to my room opened and a woman walked in. She was wearing a peach-colored dress, and I couldn't see her face as it was obscured by a delicate hat. She stood a head taller than Charlotte, and she came to the head of my bed. The way she moved made it seem like she was floating in air rather than walking on solid ground. When she was directly above me, I finally caught a glimpse of her face.

Eyes stared at me- almond-colored eyes that were so familiar and yet at the same time alien. She had a beautiful face - a face similar to Charlotte's, though this was a fully human face.

She cupped my head in her hands and started to sing for me as I drifted off- or maybe it was the dream ending?. The last thing I remembered was the gentle smile on her face while she was still standing above me, like my own guardian angel.

Charlotte's POV

The next few hours felt like the shortest as well as the longest hours of my existence since being turned into a doll.

I could do nothing now during the day, though I had fallen asleep in his room again so I was somewhat aware of how he was. I saw his chest rise and fall... good.

I hadn't planned to say those words to him - but at the same time while they had somewhat came out in the heat of the moment, they were words my heart knew to be true. Though, I was surprised, but still pleased beyond my wildest dreams that he had reciprocated my feelings.

Conflicting feelings clashed within my heart - fear, anxiety, hope, joy - but through them all, one thought pierced them like crossbow.

I want Charlie to get better.

Perhaps he was right- I had after all, gotten colds before. And he didn't look that sick. It was just the sight of him lying in bed all day that had awakened unpleasant memories. Of lying in bed for days on end, being told that I needed to conserve my strength as much as possible. Of slowly getting so weak I couldn't even crawl out of it. And feeling like my body was on fire...

There was quite a lot that I didn't remember from my long life- but that part, that part was always clear as crystal.

Had I overreacted? Yes, I had. I could see that now. It was completely irrational to think that he would die, and it was only because of my own personal experience that I had jumped to that conclusion. Even when I did as a matter of fact have Consumption, it had taken months before the symptoms became truly noticeable.

I had acted childishly and let my fears overtake me, and ended up hurting him as a consequence of that. I could see that my words had caused him pain, and to think I had done so while he was ill... now, that I had calmed down, such an action seemed unforgivable.

May, if she could see me, would be shaking her head while telling me what the right way to charm a man was - if only she was here to guide me! My parents - well, they likely would've disapproved of me being with a 'low class' worker such as Charlie, though after so many years such things didn't bother me whatsoever. I loved Charlie, and I hoped that wherever their spirits lay, that was enough for them.

How I wished that my body could move now, simply so that I could check on him myself with my own hands, to make sure that his fever had subsided, to hand him a drink of water if he asked so, and to soothe him with tender words if he so needed. What if he deteriorated? What if he had something like a heart attack in the middle of the day - unlikely as that was - and I had to call an ambulance but couldn't until nightfall? Rarely had I cursed this condition of mine so!

Instead, I was stuck like this, watching him. I never went 'to sleep' within his room before, as I knew it was a rude thing to do, and as was my wont I slept in my glass case usually.

Not today. Today, I wanted to be sure he was alright. If anything went slightly wrong, I would spring into action the moment I could.

And, feeling far too late, night came and my extremities finally moved as I went towards his bed. He was still sleeping - and I didn't want to wake him up, so I went to the kitchen to wait for him, though I would poke my head in every ten minutes just to make sure he was alright.

When he walked in, I could see how unfounded my fears were.

His face had regained its color, and he smiled, apparently holding no grudges for yesterday. "Well, I feel much better now."

There was an uneasiness in the air with the thoughts of yesterday tainting my mind, such as the idea that he had only said what he had said to placate me, or it was just something brought on by the fever. But all of these worries were blown away like leaves in an autumn storm when he added, "Say... I've been thinking about something, about removing this curse on you. If this was a fairy tale, the cure would be true love's kiss."

That was all that was needed before I launched myself at him, and our lips intertwined. He held me up in an embrace effortlessly, and time seemed to stop for those precious few seconds as it felt like only the two of us existed. As it felt like the only thing that mattered was that we were together now, and that everything that had happened before and after this moment was completely inconsequential. It felt like there had been a piece of me missing for so long without me even realizing it, and now, it was as if I was finally complete.

It didn't work in turning me into a human again, of course- but I had not expected it to. Nor had he.

When we were done, I said, "Please... don't go to work today." I could see that he was considering it, he looked better, and I could easily imagine him walking off through the door.

"Well, if you say so," he said. This man- I could tell from his face that he had been planning to head back if I hadn’t said anything! "Hey, hey, I said I was staying, no need to glare at me like that!"

I softened my expression. He was right - there was no need to hold these resentments that I had been harboring in my heart.

"So, now that I feel better, what is that you wanted to tell me happened after I left?" he asked.

"Well, first of all there was this amazing movie that I saw, but the sequels weren't that great," I said.

"Yeah, movie sequels tend to do that," he said with an understanding nod as I continued to regale him with what had happened when he wasn't here.