Adelaide was lost. Terribly lost to the point where she would have panicked if she hadn’t felt more than a little hollow inside.

Wandering forwards, she could feel the air growing colder, the light fading away from the city. She couldn't say how long she had been out here, walking around the city, trying to find anything to keep herself distracted. Entering shops had been her main source of entertainment, but it wasn't as if she had any money to buy anything. Usually, she would have a small amount, a little bag that she kept in her shoe for emergencies, but she'd already used it. Her whole reason for getting away from the beach was to get away from scandals, and walking around in a beach dress was surely not the way to do that. She had needed something to conceal herself, and finding a cheap cloak had been her solution. A simple black one thatf tied around her neck with thin strings and flowed down her body. Though it wasn't something she would usually wear, it brought no attention to her as it wasn't a rare article of clothing for someone to be wearing. It was somewhat of a trend now, though she saw more men with cloaks than women she supposed.

As long as it took away the eyes, she was fine, as long as she continued moving she was fine. Every time she stopped, another wave of nausea would fall over her, and that white skin would appear, squeezing in her lungs. Because of that, she couldn't stop, trudging forward even as her ankles begged her to stop. She focused on buildings and people, on children's happy yells and their terrible screams. Anything was better than… than… She didn’t even know what to call it, her panic attack? Was that it? A breakdown? Maybe she was going insane, needed to be shipped off to a mental asylum to be fixed. That thought scared her, knowing that metal asylums barely ever worked. Who knew what horrible things they did there? Their patients were mostly little rats for them to test, the things they called medicine having horrible side effects. Even if she was crazy she prayed her family would never send her to one of those places. Locking her up in a room would be better, out of sight, out of mind. Just like she was doing, keeping anything having to do with water or sand or her sister away from her sight. She’d made sure she was going away from the beach at all times, and she swore she could feel a crawl in her skin whenever she got close. Though she could breathe again, she tried not to, every trace of salt reminding her of her sister rising-

No, she couldn’t let her mind go there, and she hurried to find something else to focus on, something much nicer. A small voice on the wind caught her attention, and her head turned toward the noise as well as her feat. With each step forward the voices got louder and louder, and well as Adelaide's curiosity. She knew it wasn’t someone singing, so it wasn’t something from the opera houses, so what was it? The voices sounded too goofy to really be someone speaking, but she hated to think that if it actually was someone. How rude that would be, but she couldn’t stop the thought from entering her head. She just hoped no one could read her mind else they know of her awful idea. And of her craziness. They would know everything about the doll and cracking, and Adelaide couldn’t imagine anyone taking her seriously if they knew that. She would be sent away to an insane asylum then, no doubt. Even if she screamed and flailed and begged, nothing would stop them from carting her off.

Luckily, she soon realized that the two comical voices definitely weren’t people, not real ones anyway. Set up at the corner of the street was a puppet display, one of the large boxes with fancy golden accents. Only a few people were gathered around, probably because of the time, but the show went on as ever, each little doll in the hollow box moving in its jolly way. There were two of them, each with big smiles, crazy hair, and hooked noses. Nothing very attractive, but people seemed to like them, especially younger kids. Adelaide had absolutely loved them, or at least she had the one time she got to see them.

They seemed to only be around in the seaside cities, not ever in her hometown, and especially not in the country. As such, back when Governess Edna was a little younger and was in a pleasant mood, she took Adelaide out to see one. It was early in the morning, and the Governess was sure that Eurydicia would only find it boring, so only she and Adelaide were going out on the trip. At first, it had made her scared, unknowing to what Governess Edna was fetching her to do. Had she done something wrong? Was she going to be beaten in the middle of the street for a punishment? She was quite an imaginative child.

When it turned out not to be that it was safe to say she’d been relieved. Her feelings had turned into a confused-excitement as they came to a box on the street, a crowd around it whispering and mumbling. There was a buzz around everyone, one that held promise and something new that Adelaide had yet to experience. She immediately began asking what they were going, questions falling from her mouth, one after the other. Governess Edna wouldn’t give anything away though, and for once in her life, she was smiling. but she avoided spoiling the older woman’s mood. Any day was a good one when the Governess was happy.

So, after shoving down each and every curiosity she had left, Adelaide waited. . . and waited, and did some more waiting. It took a long time for the show to start, and after a while, it seemed like whatever was coming wasn’t worth all of the time. Governess Edna stayed happy the entire wait, but Adelaide grew bored, and she quickly tried to wander away, not willing to spend any more time on this. That was just when the thing finally started, and afterward, she had to admit that every second of it deserved the time she’d spend waiting. Actually, as she thought about it, the puppets ahead were the same ones she’d seen that day, two people, one woman and one man. They both had that slightly crazy look that had scared her at first, and too much humor had been put in the show to make her fearful for a long. She found herself laughing along with the show, having one of the best times of her entire life. What she would do to go back then, when everything was so much simpler.

Maybe she could.

Walking forward, the show in her sight, she joined the small crowd, catching just the ending of what was going on. A battle between the ghost and a male puppet were battling it out, the female puppet cowards behind them. Dramatic lines, jokes, exaggerated actions all unfolding before her, making her smile for once in what felt like a very long time. Drums reached her ears as the bottler danced around, banging on his instrument while he gathered money. The music always added another layer to the show, one she much enjoyed. Anything with music always to her taste, even Opera, which was sometimes boring to sit through. She always pretended as she preferred it, hoping to keep up with the elegance she had created but… this was something much more her style. A little crude, a little random, a little bit of crazy. It was a nice break, and when she listened to the banging, and the voices, and the songs, she could just grasp at what Eurydicia talked around. Freedom, rights, choosing, they were so close, but as soon as she opened her eyes again, it was all gone. She was back in the body of a porcelain doll, carefully stepping along her chosen path and praying she didn’t stumble. Getting up might not happen if she stumbled, and the cracks she earned would follow her forever.

Now though, she could pretend, scrunching her eyes shut as she let everything flow into and out her ears. It was nice for a long while, or maybe a minute, in her calmness she couldn’t tell. The tiny moment was something she desperately needed, the little break from the waves, from the storm.

“Miss?”

 “Hmm?”

The fantasy came to an end, and Adelaide opened her eyes again, everything rushing back at once. There was silence around, the box in front of her closed, and the bottler standing next to. She flinched as her eyes met his, and she turned away, instinctually going to grab at the fan she usually had. Being in her beachwear, it wasn’t there, and a tint of red made its way to her face. She went to hurry away, not ready to break any more rules, but the man’s voice stopped her, his question echoing in his head.

“Are you all right?”

No, that was a very clear question with a very clear answer, but… but it was one she didn’t get asked often. Not wanting to be rude she went to answer, facing away so it didn’t seem like she was breaking the rules. She wasn’t supposed to talk to men, not if there wasn’t a married woman around but, looking around, no one was here. As long as no one saw her, a quick response would be okay. She would hurry away right after that, pretending as if the event never happened. Even so, the event would chew at her for more than a few days, a constant wondering if anyone could have seen it in her head playing through the next. Appearing rude wasn't something she preferred though, and this was already a day she wanted to forget, so one more event of embarrassment to the list wasn't something she figured would make a difference.

“No.”

Oh. That wasn’t what she was supposed to answer.

  The bottler behind her seemed surprised as well, a slight stutter in his voice as he asked what was wrong. Adelaide only shook her head, frozen on the spot. She wasn’t sure whether to walk away or stay, to keep talking, or to go onto the dark corners of the city. That scared her a little as she surveyed the shadows that had turned to monsters around her. This was no place for a lady to be, especially not one strutting around in an expensive gown. Who knew what laid out there waiting for someone to walk by. Women were defenseless against people like that, and there wasn’t any way she would make it out unscathed.

“Madam are… are you okay? Do you need help?”

“I can’t talk to you.”

“Oh,” The bottler stuttered, finally coming to his senses, but not in the way she expected. “You’re one of those folks.” Those folk? What did that mean? Someone with etiquette? Someone who knew the rules? Those folk? Why was it said with such a surprise, this was how everyone was! Everyone except Eurydicia that was. “Please, stay right there, I uh, I’ll go find someone you can talk to!”

“No-” Adelaide turned around, but no one was there, only a scene of a late-night street. She was sure someone had been here, a man who worked as a bottler. She had been talking to him, hadn't she? Was she really going crazy? Once again, her eyes glanced around, seeing nothing, not a person insight. It was eerily quiet around her, and a chill crawled down her spine. Suddenly, the area didn't seem as safe as it had just a few moments ago.

Looking over, she could see the puppet box still there, drapes closed. Someone was in there, right? It was likely a man, but even so, the feeling of being trapped seemed to be bigger than ever within her. Safety wasn't something she felt anymore, and even just seeing the face of another person would give her something of a relief. So, even with everything screaming in her not to, she went up to the box, knocking on its side. It was definitely hollow, she could say that, but there wasn’t a response from the person inside. Had they left already? She couldn’t recall seeing someone leave, but she’d also had her back turned for a while. Maybe they already shuffled out then? Once more, she gave another knock, see if someone would answer. “Excuse me?”

Again, there was no answer, and Adelaide stepped back, sure now that whoever was in there had slipped out. Mostly sure. Pretty sure. Alright, she wasn’t sure at all, and she was doubting whoever was in there had yet to come out. Maybe they were stuck. Or… or something had happened, though she couldn’t think of many things that could go wrong in a puppet box. Still, Adelaide didn’t think she was a puppet box master, so maybe there were many more things. Or maybe it was her fear, the chilling sensation that someone was wrong and that if she saw someone, anyone, everything would turn back to normal. Slinking forward once more, she reached out and grasped the curtain, pulling them back to reveal the background. She couldn’t see anything at first, the night had finally taken over and not being revealed to the eye. Pulling her face away from the box, she sighed, feeling stupid as she turned away. What was she thinking? That she’d find something, that she would even be able to see anything. It was best to get going anyway, find her way back to the resort, wherever it was. She really didn’t want to run into Eurydicia, or anyone else who could have been on the beach to witness her scene, but it was better to do it now than later.

She was just about to take a step toward her first guess at where she was going when something stopped her. A light, from down the way behind her, just barely visible as she went to turn around. Was someone already out to light the lamps? She didn’t think they would be this fast, but then again, she wasn’t a seaside girl. Perhaps they got out early here, much earlier than they did in the city. It wasn’t anything she gave much thought to, at least, not until it got closer… and closer… and closer.

Suddenly, a breeze ran past her, whipping up her skit, cloak, and hat, that one flying away with the wind. She was too stunned to even try catching it, the large brimmed top leaving her on the ground, awaiting whatever was coming her way. As soon as the breeze disappeared, light was left in its place, every lamp on the street having burst a flame. Once again, Adelaide noticed how strange it was that no one was around her, especially just after a puppet show. Sure it was late, but there were always stranglers, drunk fools who were looking for someone to play around with. No one was out here though, only her and the complete silence. Something was really wrong.

Laughter caught her attention, and her attention was brought back to the puppet box. It was bubbling out from there, a little girl squealing… and… and it sounded like her. A younger her laughing from the box instead. There was someone in there, and it wasn’t a stranger. It was her.