Prologue - The Day of Fortune's Dolls

(Xiong's Perspective)

The small scarlet banners within the miniature house were Mama’s, so I understood why I couldn’t touch them. The rest of the model, however, was made directly from the wood of my shelf, which is what sparked my irritation.

“Why can’t I play with it?! I promise I won’t break anything, promise! I swear!”

“Xiong, you know exactly why, so let’s not start this again.” Mama hadn’t bothered to look in my direction when she responded. Instead, she reached to the cabinet beside her desk, one of the only shelves left in the house that hadn’t been taken apart. She took out a bright yellow lacquer and delicately painted the last chair to be placed within the house. I sat on the floor with a huff, still watching her as she worked.

“No, I don’t.” But I didn’t argue any further.

The Day of Fortune’s Dolls was by far the most cherished day of the year. Banners made of households’ finest fabric decorated the outside of each house, each hand-painted with a different symbol of luck. The rituals were unique to each family, and many, like our family, decorated miniature houses in preparation for the visit. Some families would even write notes of welcome, but Mama found this practice tacky, and whatever she says, goes. All preparations would take place before the setting of the sun, on which at the moment the sun could no longer be seen from within the empire, small wooden figures wrapped in red silk would appear in the spot the family had arranged.

These dolls were of no particular beauty, they were simple in design and the wood was too fragile to play with, at least according to Mama. The value of their looks, and the reason they are so celebrated in the first place, is only in the information they hold. Short, cropped hair represents the loss of a loved one. Any more than three buttons on the clothing means great wealth and prosperity. A red bracelet tied around the wrist implies a future lover. Through details to their clothing, hair, and face, a doll showed what the owner’s future year held.

If blessed with a year of prosperity, a person would go to bed and continue their life contently. If the future of an individual was one of misfortune, the person could take the doll to the center of the empire and burn it. With this, the fate of the person was now uncertain, but no longer one of certain adversity. However, people only do this in examples of extreme catastrophe, out of fear that the outcome might be even worse than the doll’s prediction.

After a couple of minutes, Mama had finished the last chair and placed it carefully in the living room of the small dollhouse. The moment she did so I was also ushered out of the room to which I let out an exaggerated sigh. Once our family’s preparations were complete, Mama didn’t allow a single person to touch the setup until the end of the day. It was a shame I couldn’t look at the finished piece, since I truly love the things Mama carves and paints. I’ve asked Mama if I could try painting some of the furniture, but she says I can only do that when I’m older and more “responsible.” I’m plenty responsible, but I think she doesn’t trust me to make the furniture look pretty. After all, it’s hard to paint something as pretty as Mama.

By dinnertime, Mama remained unconvinced in allowing me to look at the model. Throughout dinner, all on my mind was the dollhouse and the dolls’ future appearance. So much so, that looking at the celebratory dinner in front of me became dull in comparison.

“Mama, can I go look at the banners outside?”

“How much have you eaten?”

“Two servings already. I’m full, see?” I patted my stomach as a demonstration.

“Fine.” My Mama waved her hand off with a sigh. “But come back before sunset, or you’ll miss the appearance.” I got out of my seat and quickly cleaned my dishes. Because lively kids grew even more excitable, it became a tradition for parents to send them into the city for errands as a way to get them out of the house. I knew full well that she would rather me be outside since, on this day, I was a living menace. At least it worked to my benefit. I headed to the door, which was just out of sight from the dining room, and opened and closed it with enough force to make a sound. Then I turned left to head for the doll room.

The room was the farthest from the dining room, my brothers’ voices not carrying over at all. I looked over to the dollhouse sitting elegantly on the table in the center of the room.

“Ah. Still empty.” Which was expected, but I couldn’t help my disappointment. I stared at it for a long while but didn’t end up touching it. The perfect placement of each piece of furniture, the delicate paint strokes bringing vibrance to the house, and even smaller details in the walls and floor, all of those combined made the piece look too fragile to touch. The only thing missing was the dolls. I sat down just to gaze at the model until the sun began to set. Fairly soon my family would enter, so I turned to leave.

Fwsh-!

The sound of muffled fabric sounded easily through the silence, forcing me to turn back around. I rushed to the dollhouse almost tripping in the process. There they were. Five silk-wrapped figures were placed upright within the house. The smallest one bore the name “Xiong,” and I picked it up. My hands unwrapped the silk and-

a blank doll stared back at me.

The piece of wood was completely unpainted without any decorations. It only communicated that it was a doll at all through its vague carved shape. I turned it over in my hand, expecting some surprise on the back. Nothing. Although it was out of the norm, I wasn’t completely shocked. After all, my parents had always told me my fortune by translating the doll’s details through a book, so I had never actually understood the implication of nothing appearing.

“Boring!” As I wrapped the doll in the fabric once again, I paused, glancing over at Mama’s large cabinet. I knew I wasn’t supposed to, Mama never let me touch her things. But wouldn’t she be happy if she knew I had made something nice? I reached for the handle pulling it open. Lacquer of all kinds, brushes of different sizes and colors, sewing supplies, fabrics, all this in a single cabinet with still some space. It was like a dream.

Tap, tap, tap!

“No, nonono-!” I whispered in panic. Footsteps were approaching and I was not in a good position. Without thinking, I immediately crawled inside the cabinet, squishing some of the lacquer in the process. I felt it stain some of my clothes and knew that I would be in huge trouble, but I kept moving until I was securely inside and could close the door. Just then, I heard my family come in.

“Dolls! They’re here!” I heard my oldest brother shout.

“Alright,” Mama replied, “Everyone, find the one with your name.”

I heard my family move around through the room as my foot began to cramp from being stuck under my chin. My focus strayed away from listening to them as I wriggled around trying to get out of the uncomfortable position I’d put myself in, to no success.

“—-blank—! Mama—”

“City center—- now-”

Footsteps passed by the cabinet, and all was quiet again. I pushed the door a little and peeked out. When I saw no one there, I carefully stepped out, trying to avoid spilling any more paint or brushes than I already had. I could already tell the back of my shirt was soaked with the paint from the way it stuck to my back.

“AH!” I let out a yell when I took a look at the doll. Its head was covered in bright blue lacquer, and a few buttons stuck to its face.

Mama’s gonna be so mad, I thought frantically glancing around, eyes once again laying on the cabinet. Maybe, if I could paint something over it…

A few hours later, I had painted the doll over so many times from mistake after mistake that all the paint had blended, muddying the hues and smudging away any hint of detail. The layers of paint had also added a bumpy texture to the wood, which disturbed me but I hadn’t the faintest clue how to fix the disaster. It was nowhere near blank anymore but this wasn’t any better.

Disappointing as it was, I was more concerned about where my family had gone. Our house was on the outskirts of the empire, but even then it was only an hour's walk at most. Looking at the clock, it had been at least four since they left. I took this moment to take a break from my work.

By now, night had fallen and most would be in bed, so I left the house without any lantern in hopes my neighbors wouldn’t see me. Though, when I first opened the door, it was eerily silent. So silent that I could hear my footsteps on the cracked stone beneath me. With the silence came a warm light that fell across my face, despite all the houses’ lanterns being nowhere to be found. As I breathed, a smell of smoke and ash overshadowed the incense Mama had left out near the door. With it, a sinking dread fell heavy from my chest to my stomach. A bright light was coming from the direction of the City Center. A flame so tall, so wide, I could see it from our own house.

I remember my feet were still bare as I sprinted towards where my family had headed, and how they stung from the rocks and hot pavement leaving my soles scraped and burnt. I also remember the ash that flooded my lungs and the stench of charred flesh that hit me soon after the main flame came into view. My sight was blurry, the bright reds and yellows slowly filling my vision ‘til no other colors were left. The more rubble and remains I came across, the more I felt my steps hesitating. My family was somewhere there, all I could do was search and hope.

Right as I reached the edge of the largest part of the fire, I stopped. The fire getting close enough for me to feel the heat evaporating my tears before I could really cry, I turned back. Still, something about that sight remained in my mind, even after months passed by.

—

Sometimes I wonder if I had gone just a little further, could I have caught a glimpse of my family. Although it’s more likely that by the time I had first stepped out of the house, they were already long gone. The fire had spread so quickly people were choking on smoke before they could even scream for help.

I don’t remember how I continued life for the next month or two. The empire’s outskirts, which also happened to contain mostly those of the lower class, were the farthest from the original flame, so those who lived there had the best chance. Many were children who were left at home, not brought to the city center in the first place. Some of the neighborhood kids I knew survived, many were kids I had played with before. I don’t remember talking to them, though.

I listened to the adults talking. I learned that that day, everyone’s dolls, no matter what class or age, were completely blank. Nearly everyone saw the dolls as a sign of extreme misfortune, a sign that they were not going to have a future at all that year. Hence, almost everyone went to the City Center at once, fueling the flame until the pit could no longer hold it. That day, the air was dry and the sky showed no hint of rain, so as the fire unleashed itself upon the fearful people, it showed no mercy until it had devoured the middle of the empire entirely.

The people who survived hadn’t gone to throw their doll in the fire, and instead dressed and decorated it. Especially for children, the traditions of the dolls were less ingrained in their minds. They dressed them in old clothing, painted their faces, and adorned them with cheap jewelry. After all, if there’s a blank canvas it’s only natural to fill it with color and shape.

Although I wasn’t able to save much from our house when the fire eventually reached it, after much effort, I managed to drag out Mama’s cabinet. It was the only thing of value in our house, holding most of Mama's crafting supplies, as well as a couple of her older paintings. I suppose I’ll be using it for future dolls, too.