Chapter 5 Section five

after breakfast. Dan, who forgot his lighter at work, asks Jennifer where the matches are in order to light a cigarette.Jennifer had dark circles under her eyes, and she lay prone on the table until Dan called her name a second time.Since the incident where her son stepped on the slippery stairs and fell down three days ago, Jennifer has been having nightmares every night, dreaming that she was attacked by the puppet. "Hey, I've looked for the place you mentioned, and there isn't one." "Impossible. If you search hard, it's there. Don't you think I'm lying? You don't seem to believe me about the puppet, do you?"

Jennifer began to explain the scene she saw at the time, that is, the cloth idol walked past her like alive, which was really scary.Since then, Jennifer has repeated this topic over and over again like a demon. "I didn't say I didn't believe in the puppet, did I? I just didn't care too much about it. You were too scared of that puppet. You made me run all the way to throw it away a few days ago, so now you Just stop talking about it, okay? That puppet must have been burned to ashes in a garbage disposal station by now. And to be honest, I also feel that the puppet seems to be moving. There must be a wind-up or a motor in it s things."

"But it doesn't move like a wind-up or a motor, it's more like a human. Maybe I'm too tired? A dream?" Dan shrugged. "Let's go shopping tomorrow as a family for a change of mood. I'm also thinking about getting some new toys for Ted, since he got rid of that one, the kid seems so lonely." Dan then thought about the situation of his son Ted, who had traveled all over the house looking for the puppet.Dan just can't understand, what's so good about that puppet? "By the way, is that thing really thrown away? You did throw it in the dumpster far away from home, didn't you? Did you check to see if it was actually in the dumpster?"

Jennifer looked disturbed, she had asked this question dozens of times.Dan answered Jennifer's questions for the day yesterday and is now almost an expert at calming Jennifer.Apparently Jennifer was terrified of the Muppet until now. But Dan didn't think that the puppet was so bad. Although it looked ugly, according to Jennifer's words, it seemed to move by itself to save Ted. Dan, who had put out his cigarette, kept shaking his legs, and planned to sit next to his son who was watching TV and read the newspaper.Ted, who was staring at the picture tube with his knees in his arms, caused Dan to have complicated emotions. Recently, his son had always had the puppet by his side, but he threw it away. Now Ted suddenly became a person again. Make Dan feel like he's done something bad.

Suddenly Tad stood up and ran to the window. "What happened?" The son who couldn't speak just tilted his head and pointed to the window. "Is there something in there? You don't mean the puppet is there now?" Ted nodded.Dan wondered what Tad's nod meant. He opened the window and looked around, but saw nothing. "Did you say that the blue puppet was hiding by the window, looking at the house?" Dan stared at his nodding son, who now regretted not reading anything about child psychoanalysis.If this continues, it is very likely that Ted will think it is the blue puppet as soon as he sees something blue.

Jennifer, who was staying in the yard and tending her vegetable garden, saw Dan, who was in deep thought, went to the window and asked what happened. "nothing." Dan said so and drove Jennifer away.An hour later Jennifer ran into the living room screaming. Dan was dragged by his wife to the patch of tomato in the yard, and immediately understood why Jennifer was screaming.Under the overripe tomato fruit lay the dirty blue puppet that shouldn't be here at the moment. The wife passed out after that, and Dan put her on the bed and hid the doll in the utility room down the hall.He wasn't going to tell Ted about it, and had to come up with lines that would make his wife think it was just a dream.

I looked in the phone book, but I couldn't find the number of the antique store where I bought the doll.Dan wondered if the female shopkeeper installed a small artificial intelligence in the latest cursed doll, and then sold it to customers for free for product research.If that's the case, there's really nothing wrong with the cursed doll's functionality. Sunlight shone into the utility room through the gap, and Ah Lan realized that it was dawn before he knew it.It was locked here yesterday, and it has been twenty-four hours now.During this period, there was a moment of panic in the house, and then everyone ran away immediately, and peace was restored.Alan was worried: Did they forget that they were still locked in the utility room?Alan tried several times to open the door, but she couldn't open it with her own strength.What will happen to me in the future?Alan didn't expect that he was the same as before and returned to Carlos's house.

"Hey, Lan, where are you? Are you hiding somewhere in the house?" "Alan, where are you?" In the distance came the voices of the white horse and the princess.At first Alan couldn't believe it was a real voice, but after hearing the same voice again, he finally decided to call out to tell them that he was in the utility room. "Alan, why are you in that kind of place? I thought you were hiding somewhere at home." said the prince through the utility room door.Although Alan couldn't see the situation outside, it seemed that the four puppets were all gathered opposite the door at this moment.Everyone worked hard together, so the door of the utility room moved, and Alan came outside smoothly.

"You seem to know that I am at home." "We've been very worried about you, Alan, it's great that you're okay. There was a commotion downstairs yesterday, but it turned out to be you. I already have a premonition that you might come back." The princess gently stroked Alan's head and said. "Actually, I don't plan to come back, but I can't worry about Ted. I originally planned to hide there and watch that child from a distance. I didn't expect to be discovered. I was telling the truth." "Ok, I know." "Are you annoyed when Jennifer found you walking around? Are you annoyed because you're back in this house again?"

"Alan is not angry." "I was almost spotted by Ted yesterday. I tried my best to hide it. I hid under the tomato. But it happened that Jennifer went there. I didn't mean it. And it wasn't Ted who messed up Marcus the bear. Because I've been with that kid, I know he didn't do it. Someone else did it." "Alan, we already know, don't talk about it." The princess said so, and hugged it in her arms as if to comfort Alan.The uneasiness and sadness of the past few days seemed to be dissolved, and the cotton in her body seemed to stretch out, and Ah Lan felt the peace in her heart.

"Alan, let's go to the children's room." Hearing what the prince said, Ah Lan wondered if her ears had heard it wrong. "Will you let me in?" "Of course, aren't we good friends?" The white horse pushed Ah Lan's back with its nose, pushing it towards the direction of the stairs.In this way, the white horse could not make a sound, and it could not speak for a long time. "But is it okay for everyone to walk around like this today? It's daytime! Where are Wendy and the others now?" Alan asked them this as he climbed the stairs step by step, and the prince replied: "They've all gone shopping, it's sure to be fine, don't worry. You see your body is wet, the sunshine in the children's room is better, and you can dry it in the sun, that's great. There is no one at home for the few of us. do it all the time.” The children's room was filled with warm sunlight, and Ah Lan was almost dizzy in such an atmosphere.For a long time he couldn't believe he had come back here from the cold dumpster on the street.The dust glistened in the sunlight coming in through the windows.Including Marcus the bear, the room is still full of Wendy's favorite toys.Alan recalled that he was very eager to join them before, and now that his wish had finally come true, Alan couldn't help but stand there dumbfounded.It felt very happy, and a little bit of fear. The puppets scurried back and forth across the bed where the books were strewn about, occasionally pushing a child's chair on wheels or a box of candy, and finally crafted a stairway for the puppets to climb up the bay window. .Only the knight has been silent since just now and has not said a word. "This is because the sun is best around the bay window." Thus said the princess, and skilfully climbed the stairs made of boxes, chairs, etc., and stood by the potted plant at the bay window.Alan thought it was a good idea to bask in the sun here.Perhaps due to the recent fatigue, the cotton in Alan's body, including the ones on his hands, are all wet. At this moment, he just wants to lie here comfortably and let the water evaporate. "Hey, Lan, are you exhausted? You don't have to climb the stairs. I'll pull you up with a rope, and you just stand there and don't move." "Ah? It's okay, no need." Alan replied shyly to the princess who took care of her like this.But at this time, the prince and the white horse got the wool from somewhere, and tied it around Ah Lan's body.The knight watched all this coldly, and walked to the side of the princess. "I don't think I need to tie so much wool around me so I can't move." "It's okay, don't say that. Otherwise, it will hurt if it falls halfway, won't it?" "It won't hurt, because I'm a puppet." Regardless of Alan's answer, the white horse tied the wool around Alan's body round and round.Alan, who was unable to move, was pulled by the knight and princess to the sunny bay window. The wind blows in through the wide open windows and the place feels really cozy.The sun's rays warmed the cold blue cloth, and the cotton inside seemed to be very happy.No one came to untie the wool tied around Ah Lan's body, but Ah Lan didn't care much. After a while, the five puppets lined up to dry their bodies.Kelly once taught them that it can kill bacteria, and it is also a kind of protection for children. "Why, why do you come out to the bay window to bask in the sun? There's a nice place to dry off over there, too, across from the children's room." Alan asked the prince like this. "Because it's the best here, you see, can't the ashes of the burnt things be thrown out of the window immediately?" "Burn something? Are you going to burn something here?" "We're going to burn rubbish here later, and it's going to be bad if the ashes stay in the house." "However, puppet is not allowed to use fire indiscriminately. Please untie the wool on my body quickly, or there will be marks on my body." Alan begged the knight, but the knight just shrugged. "Hey, Lan, do you feel happy now?" Faced with the princess's question, Alan nodded. "It's so warm and warm. Can I stay here? Don't I have to go back to the utility room until Jennifer and the others come back? I really want to see Ted now." "If you don't want to go into the utility room, then don't go." "Really? I like you so much, princess. Because you are so gentle, I have always wanted to have a sister like you, princess. How wonderful that would be, just like the real sisters in human families in TV dramas. Can I call you sister?" "Alan, this..." The princess said regretfully: "That's absolutely impossible." All of a sudden, Ah Lan couldn't understand the meaning of the princess' words. "Alan, it's no wonder you are surprised, but listen now, I hate you so much, I hate you so much that I want to vomit." The princess put her hand to her mouth, and "uh—" made a gesture of vomiting. "What are you talking about? Aren't you nice to me?" Alan was feeling very uncomfortable, and finally only said this sentence. "Because if I'm with you, it will bring out my cuteness even more." The knight obeyed the princess's order and took the match from the inside of the curtain.Alan had a bad premonition, and tried desperately to break free from the shackles of the wool, but failed. "Alan, we are going to burn the trash next." The white horse grabbed the struggling Alan and whispered to it. "What do you mean by trash?" The prince seemed to be telling Alan how ignorant he was, and replied: "Is there any other garbage in the children's room besides you?" "No! You can't do this! Why are you doing this? I'm so scared, help me!" Alan's body shrank into a ball because of fear.The white horse smiled and walked around beside Ah Lan, as if very happy.The feeling of happiness that Alan had before has long since disappeared without a trace. "Princess, you said that you have always hated me? Is this true? It must be a lie!" "Do you think I'm lying? I also hate that kid named Ted, you see he's filthy, if only he fell to his death when he fell down the stairs. I also hate that Marcus the bear , I hate all other toys, Wendy belongs to me alone." "You dirty Marcus with juice?" "That's a real masterpiece, isn't it?" Hearing the princess's laughter, Alan felt intense fear for the first time since it was created, and finally realized that the princess really planned to burn herself to death with fire. "Help me! Untie the wool on my body!" Alan asked the knight for help. "Let me tell you, it's almost the same for you, right? There's no need to burn it and dispose of it, right?" "No, I'm going to burn it." The knight had no choice but to shrug his shoulders at the princess' short answer. "Oh, what a pity." The princess and the knight tried their best to light the match. It seemed that the hand of the puppet was not suitable for striking the match.The princess was holding the matchbox, and the knight was holding the matchstick. It waved its long arms and struck the match skillfully.It was the first time for Alan to face the fire at such a close distance, and Alan's body could not move due to the momentum of the fire. In order to prevent Alan from escaping, the prince and the white horse stood behind and twisted Alan.The princess joined them after putting down the matchbox. The knight came over with a marijuana-like match in both hands.That look is like death.Alan couldn't take his eyes off the knight and flame because of fear. The knight brought the flame close to Alan's eyes and said to it: "Maybe everyone doesn't believe it. I really feel very sorry. We used to have five people, and from now on there will be one less." Alan realized that he could not escape at all, so he lowered his head.It knew it would never see Ted again. "I thought I could go on like this forever, Your Highness, I won't be able to follow you in the future." The knight seemed to have made up his mind and walked forward.Just when Alan thought he was going to die, the flame of the match brushed Alan's nose and burned the princess's yellow hair.By the way, Alan has no nose at all. The panicked princess fell from the bay window to the floor.It let out its hair screaming, and the fire went out in no time.During this time the knight set fire to the prince and the white horse.The two men also fell to the ground one after another, frantically trying to put out the fire. The fire on the prince was extinguished immediately, but the fire on the white horse was not extinguished. Its buttocks were burned, and then it ran all over the room, so that the books on the floor were also set on fire. Alan looked at the three puppets on the ground in astonishment. At this moment, the knight extinguished the match and took out a fruit knife from behind the curtain.It used this knife to cut off the wool on Alan's body, and Alan was finally free from the shackles of the wool. "Are you trying to save me?" "I do not know either." The knight only answered this sentence, and said nothing else. The fire from the book reached the sheets on the bed.Although the white horse's buttocks were scorched, it finally calmed down.But no one can do anything about the flames that are spreading at the moment.In the blink of an eye, the flames turned into a huge pillar of fire, which was beyond the control of their puppets. "We must find a way to put out the fire. If we don't put it out soon, Wendy's room will burn down." "It's useless, Alan." The knight shook his head. "But here are the puppets that Wendy likes. If they are burned, Wendy will be very sad." "It would be the best if the other puppets were burned. We will all escape, so you can stay here forever." After the prince finished speaking, he left the room, and the princess and the white horse followed suit. "If we don't escape quickly, our dry bodies will be burned to charcoal." the knight urged. Alan couldn't let go of these puppets left in the children's room.How sad it would be for Wendy if Marcus the bear she got from her grandmother was burned.That kid really cares about these puppets. The knight jumped from the window ahead and landed on the protruding roof of the first floor.It seemed difficult to climb up the bay window after falling there because of the height difference.The knight beckoned to Alan who was looking down from the window, making him quickly jump to the roof below, and shouted eagerly: "Alan, come down quickly! Just leave Wendy's puppets alone." "why?" "Wendy doesn't care about the dolls as much as you think. It would be a pity if those dolls were burned, but she will get new toys soon." The knight looked very anxious. Alan looked back at the inside of the room again.The flames would turn into bigger monsters every few seconds, and if they were burned by it, they would definitely be burned to nothing.Black smoke came out from the window where Alan was standing, and Alan's body felt a huge heat wave. But Alan couldn't do it anyway, so he jumped out of the window and escaped. "I don't want to see my child cry anymore. I recently learned what it is to be sad, you know? It is very painful and painful to be separated from the people I care about. I want to save Wendy's cloth I will escape later. These puppets here are much more expensive than me. I know Wendy won’t cry if I get burned, but she will definitely cry if Marcus is burned. So you first Get out yourself." "Big idiot! Why are you always so stupid, Lan? Everyone will be back in a while. Don't you want to see Ted? He will be very happy to know you are here." "Thank you, I was very happy when you saved me. But it is enough, although I don't know why, but I feel very happy now." Alan touched the badge on his chest, made sure it was still there, and then recalled an incident after returning to Carlos's house.Although it is painful many times, Alan is not angry and resentful.For some reason, Alan's broken and tattered body was suddenly no longer afraid of the flames, and an unstoppable sense of happiness surged from his body like spring water. The knight's long arms extending from the roof were still too short to stop Alan who returned to the house to save the puppets. Because of Jennifer's bad mood, the Carlos family finished shopping early and went home.When they got home, the firefighting operation was over, and the spectators had disappeared.Dan learned from asking the firefighters that thanks to the early notification, the fire only burned the children's room. Jennifer, who was holding luggage in both hands, heard this, and the things in her hand fell to the ground, and she sat down on the lawn. "Dan, I forgot to buy a neuroleptic." Jennifer hugged her son tightly, and stared blankly at the burnt windows on the second floor for a long time. Wendy was the one who reacted the most when she heard that the children's room was burned.Dan thinks that his daughter's collection of puppets is in the children's room, so he sympathizes with Wendy. "But there are four people in your family? Do you have a child?" the fireman asked Dan sullenly. "Sorry we didn't sneak up and hide the kids." "That's weird..." Dan heard the screams of Wendy, who was the first to rush into the house, and ran over to see that his daughter's collection, which was supposed to be burned, was piled on the kitchen table. "Dad, look, Marcus is fine." "Oh, so, so they rescued these puppets too." Dan went to thank the firefighters, but the firefighters had a look of incomprehension. "That's not the case. It wasn't us who rescued these puppets, but someone who was in the house at the time. According to witnesses, someone threw these puppets out of the smoking window." "Who the hell is it?" "There was too much smoke and we couldn't see clearly. But we knew someone was in the house and rushed in, but there was no one there. Anyway, the fire was put out quickly, and the damage was very small." The firefighters left.Dan was there thinking for a long time who saved the puppets, and he wanted to thank that person, but he couldn't figure out who it could be. Wendy wanted to check the rabbits, mice and other dolls piled on the table for burns, but sure enough, Wendy yelled "ah". "Dad, this one is a bit burnt, I don't want it anymore." Dan was a little disappointed. It turned out that his daughter was referring to the three puppets that were given to her on her last birthday. "But, isn't it just a little darker?" "I just don't want it." Wendy put her hands on the prince, princess and the white horse, but Dan was helpless.Only the knight was unharmed, thankful that he was not removed from Wendy's collection. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and it turned out to be the firefighter just now. "Actually, I came back to return this to you. It was supposed to be given to you, but I forgot." What he held in his hand was the blue puppet from before.The puppet is still an ugly look, with holes all over its body and a cheap badge pinned to its chest.Nearly half of its body was charred.Firefighters said they didn't know why the stuffed animal was hanging from the roof. "I don't know if it can be thrown away, so I brought it back for you." "It doesn't matter if you throw it away, but thank you anyway." In order to send the firefighters away, Dan came outside with the puppet in one hand.To be honest, holding on to this stuffed animal would make me a little sick, and Dan was going to throw it away sooner rather than later. The fireman's car drove across the tree-lined road and was immediately out of sight. At some point Ted was standing next to Dan who was about to enter the house.He pointed to the puppet that Dan was holding that the fireman had just handed him, his eyes were red from crying.Dan handed the puppet to his son, and Ted accepted it as respectfully as he would the bed. Is it an illusion?Dan had the feeling that the puppet's short wrist moved slightly, touching Tad's face, which was about to cry again. "Puff puff puff," the thread at the eye of the puppet's body broke, as if it had exhausted its strength, it finally fell apart on Ted's two small palms.The blue cloth and wool, as well as the cotton stuffed inside, were blown away by the wind and drifted away. All that Tad had left was the badge and the tattered piece of blue cloth that was pinned to it.