Day 1
Three days had passed since her last encounter with a human and Mina was already starting to miss the bustling sound of the town of Era. “I’m almost wondering if it is even worth it anymore. My feet are splintering; my clothes are a mess; and the STUPID BIRDS WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!” Mina picked up a pebble off the ground and chucked it at the group of small woodpeckers that had been floating overhead nearly smacking one of them in the chest. She watched as they scattered in reaction and once the doll was satisfied with the scattering of the flock she continued walking along the dusty mountain trail.
Before leaving Era Mina had heard a rumor from a couple of people at the inn that a new hot spring had been created in the mountains to the southeast of the capitol city. Even though she was a soul in a doll there were still a few things left in the physical world that could touch her very being and bring her closer to who she was. Hot springs happen to be one of those places and are one of the few times where Mina risks revealing her true form to the public. Just the very thought of a little happiness caused Mina to jump for joy and quicken her pace.
It wasn’t very long before Mina began to notice that the scenery around her was turning from lush green forest to bare white snowy tops. She could tell the further forward she traveled the higher she was getting in elevation and before long small white specs began falling from the sky covering the road in a thin layer of fluffy snow. To avoid getting the bottom of her dress too soaked Mina used her wind connection to slowly lift her above the ground barely bringing the dress just off the snow. ‘I really need to find another outfit. This is getting ridiculous.’ Even though Mina had this unique ability to fly where ever she wanted she preferred to walk most places as it gave her the feeling of being more human than just a vessel.
As the snow began to fall harder Mina was beginning to wonder if she was even getting close to her destination. The wind was picking up, the snowflakes getting larger, and the mountains in the distance seemed to be staying the same size no matter how close she was. ‘Maybe it’s time I look form some kind of shelter till this blows over.’ Looking around she noticed one of the trees along the roadside appeared to still have a majority of its leaves on its branches. Mina walked on over and softly put a hand on the trunk of the tree looking up at the branches. ‘This will do for tonight.’ After a few moments of securing her things Mina floated up to the nearest branch and huddled herself up against the trunk of the tree watching and waiting for the storm to blow over for the night.
Day 2
“Come on Ninko move your butt! You’re falling behind! Any slower and the snails will beat us to the village!”
“Don’t give me that you old fart! Any faster and you’ll break the world record for fastest wagon puller!”
Mina sat there in the tree, silently laughing to herself, as she watched the two men struggle to pull the wagons through the snow. She had noticed them coming up from the road a while back and had decided to follow them. She floated from treetop to treetop watching and waiting. Every now and then she would see the younger of the two men stop and look around causing her to quickly hide behind the nearest tree to avoid being seen. Mina didn’t know why she was so interested in the pair but their little game of cat and mouse went on for at least a few hours and came to an abrupt halt when the group had reached the hilltop overlooking a small village at the base of the mountains.
The small village was astounding to Mina. The old time roofs, battered brick houses, and the sense of a place stuck in time. Not very many places in Fiore struck Mina this way and honestly it frightened her a bit. She spent a few moments debating whether or not to go into the village but her mind was made up when she saw the two men split up, the older one heading towards the village and the younger one heading up into the mountains. She decided to follow the younger man named Ninko up into the mountains.
For a tiny bit Mina stood back, while floating in the trees, watching the man pull the wagon cart down the snowy path. She had noticed that the wagon was carrying what looked to be a couple of window panes, some house furniture, and a stack of roofing tile material. ‘Why would he be hauling this stuff all the way up here?’ It peaked her interest even further as she continued following. This interest however nearly vanished as she saw the man pull out a strange device and strap it to his arm before hopping on top of the wagon. In the blink of an eye the man and the wagon shot forward shooting up snow and dirt leaving behind Mina as if she had been standing still. ‘What in the hell? Who is this man?'[i]
Mina bolted through the air in attempt to catch up to the man, weaving left and right through the trees trying to keep herself hidden as well but it was no use. As she rounded a bend in the road she noticed that the wagon had completely gone missing. The road ahead of her was untouched, not a single spec of snow or dirt out of place. She slowly lowered herself as an awestruck expression overtook her emotions. [i]‘No man could simply disappear? Or could they?’[i]
“Who are you? Why are you following me? Are you the mage that dad hired to help?”
The crackling of twigs spooked Mina as she stiffened up and watched as the man made his way past a tree and into her line of sight carrying what looked to be a small hammer in his right hand. Her mind went blank trying to figure out what to say and in the end failed to come up with anything. “Uh….yes…yes! I’m the mage that answered you dad’s ad.” She turned full front to the man and placed her hands on her hips and slightly tilted her head to the left. “I was following you so that I didn’t get lost.”
Ninko stood there staring at Mina and for a bit there she didn’t think that the guy was going to believe her but then he placed the hammer back in his pocket and turned back to the now visible wagon. “Alrighty then. You could’ve just said that from the beginning.” Ninko hopped onto the seat of the wagon and motioned for Mina to join him. “Better hop on board. Going to be dark soon and we won’t be able to work on the cottage tonight but you can start tomorrow.”
Looking left and right Mina finally loosened up and moved forward and hopped onto the wagon next to Ninko. Once she had sat down Mina crossed her arms, squinted her eyes, and stared right at Ninko. “Alright but no funny business or else there’ll be hell to pay.” She watched as Ninko laughed nearly all the rest of the way to the cottage. [i]‘Looks like the hot springs will have to wait for now.’
Day 3
For a majority of the morning Mina and Ninko spent their time shoveling off the snow from around the tiny wooden cottage to allow them to walk around without having much of an issue. The man had warned Mina to avoid using any magic as Ninko’s father wasn’t a fan of people using magic to complete projects and used the term “lazy good for nothings” as his father’s way of treating said people. So for the time being Mina decided that flying around was out of the question and that a little hard work wasn’t going to hurt her.
Quite a bit of the wooden cottage had already been done by the two men before Mina had come to help. Apparently the cold weather prevented Ninko’s father from helping out too much but the two really wanted to get the house done before Ninko’s sister’s wedding that was in a few months. All that needed to be done was finishing up the tiling on the roof, installing the four windows, and setting up the furniture on the inside. To their luck most of the furniture was in the village and that’s where the old man had disappeared to so they still had time to get the roof together before he arrived.
First things first they had to get the roof together so that the snow didn’t leak into the house. Mina watched Ninko climbed the ladder with the tiling before she too followed right behind him with the nails and tools needed. The two of them spent the next couple of hours hammering and pounding away delicately placing each and every tile. One time Ninko accidently hammered his thumb causing him to yell in pain and sending Mina into an all-out laugh. For what felt like the first time in a while her emotions were starting to open up and to a stranger at that. She was finally starting to feel happy again.
They had just finished the roof when Bartre pulled up with the other wagon and the rest of the furniture. He secured the wagon and walked up to Ninko and Mina observing the job they had done on the roof. “I say who is this and why are they up here Ninko?” The old man’s stern look caused Mina to feel intimidated and forced her to take a step back.
“Ma….ma…My name’s Mina sir.”
“She’s the person that answered your ad for help.” Ninko placed a hand on Mina’s left shoulder but in a more calming reassuring way that she wasn’t quite expecting. “We’ve actually just finished with the roofing right before you got here.”
The old man sat there looking from the pair to the roof and back again before turning around and walking back to the wagon. “Alright, better late than never I suppose. Come help me with this furniture then we can have Mina here set it up inside while you and I finished placing in those windows.” Mina looked towards Ninko and mouthed a silent thank you to the young man before heading over to help with the furniture. A couple hours of lifting, yelling, and “gentle” arguing the small group managed to get all the furniture in the house.
Mina thought the inside of the house was quite comfortable. A nice two bedroom cottage with a wood stove built into the wall of the living room. It felt more like the whole place was just one big room with the dining room and kitchen being connected as well to the living room. Furniture lined the hallways waiting for Mina as if they were calling for her. She decided the best way to start was with the living room since the heaviest and largest of the furniture was the couch and chairs and from then on everything would be easier.
After what seemed like an hour, Mina had managed to make the living room actually look decent enough to…well…live in. She decided to take a short break and watched the two men struggle to put in the living room window. Between the two men it was like watching a circus act in motion as Mina quietly laughed to herself each time one of the men would stumble and start arguing with the other. Finally she decided that they needed help and brushed on over to help them from the inside of the cottage. With her help the process went smoothly and by the end of it the three of them all began chuckled at their efforts. It only took a short time after that to finish the rest of the inside before they all retired for the night.
Day 4
The three of them stood outside the cottage watching as the sun started to break over the top of the mountain peaks. The old man gathered up what tools that was lying around and placed them on the back of the wagons. He then turned to Mina and held out his hands. “Thanks missy for the help. I’m sure my daughter will love all the touches you did on the inside of the cottage. I know I did for sure.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope and handed it to Mina. “Here’s the reward that was promised.”
Mina took the envelope and stuffed it in her pocket. “Thank you sir. It was a pleasure helping both of you.” She gave off a smile and a small wink to Ninko. “Now if you don’t mind...” Mina began to float in mid-air just above the two men’s heads. “I have a hot springs to find.” She then blasted off towards the mountains waving bye to the two men behind her. ‘I could use a good soak about now.’
Word Count: 2232
Minimum Word Count: 1500 (10 posts x 150 words)
Three days had passed since her last encounter with a human and Mina was already starting to miss the bustling sound of the town of Era. “I’m almost wondering if it is even worth it anymore. My feet are splintering; my clothes are a mess; and the STUPID BIRDS WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!” Mina picked up a pebble off the ground and chucked it at the group of small woodpeckers that had been floating overhead nearly smacking one of them in the chest. She watched as they scattered in reaction and once the doll was satisfied with the scattering of the flock she continued walking along the dusty mountain trail.
Before leaving Era Mina had heard a rumor from a couple of people at the inn that a new hot spring had been created in the mountains to the southeast of the capitol city. Even though she was a soul in a doll there were still a few things left in the physical world that could touch her very being and bring her closer to who she was. Hot springs happen to be one of those places and are one of the few times where Mina risks revealing her true form to the public. Just the very thought of a little happiness caused Mina to jump for joy and quicken her pace.
It wasn’t very long before Mina began to notice that the scenery around her was turning from lush green forest to bare white snowy tops. She could tell the further forward she traveled the higher she was getting in elevation and before long small white specs began falling from the sky covering the road in a thin layer of fluffy snow. To avoid getting the bottom of her dress too soaked Mina used her wind connection to slowly lift her above the ground barely bringing the dress just off the snow. ‘I really need to find another outfit. This is getting ridiculous.’ Even though Mina had this unique ability to fly where ever she wanted she preferred to walk most places as it gave her the feeling of being more human than just a vessel.
As the snow began to fall harder Mina was beginning to wonder if she was even getting close to her destination. The wind was picking up, the snowflakes getting larger, and the mountains in the distance seemed to be staying the same size no matter how close she was. ‘Maybe it’s time I look form some kind of shelter till this blows over.’ Looking around she noticed one of the trees along the roadside appeared to still have a majority of its leaves on its branches. Mina walked on over and softly put a hand on the trunk of the tree looking up at the branches. ‘This will do for tonight.’ After a few moments of securing her things Mina floated up to the nearest branch and huddled herself up against the trunk of the tree watching and waiting for the storm to blow over for the night.
Day 2
“Come on Ninko move your butt! You’re falling behind! Any slower and the snails will beat us to the village!”
“Don’t give me that you old fart! Any faster and you’ll break the world record for fastest wagon puller!”
Mina sat there in the tree, silently laughing to herself, as she watched the two men struggle to pull the wagons through the snow. She had noticed them coming up from the road a while back and had decided to follow them. She floated from treetop to treetop watching and waiting. Every now and then she would see the younger of the two men stop and look around causing her to quickly hide behind the nearest tree to avoid being seen. Mina didn’t know why she was so interested in the pair but their little game of cat and mouse went on for at least a few hours and came to an abrupt halt when the group had reached the hilltop overlooking a small village at the base of the mountains.
The small village was astounding to Mina. The old time roofs, battered brick houses, and the sense of a place stuck in time. Not very many places in Fiore struck Mina this way and honestly it frightened her a bit. She spent a few moments debating whether or not to go into the village but her mind was made up when she saw the two men split up, the older one heading towards the village and the younger one heading up into the mountains. She decided to follow the younger man named Ninko up into the mountains.
For a tiny bit Mina stood back, while floating in the trees, watching the man pull the wagon cart down the snowy path. She had noticed that the wagon was carrying what looked to be a couple of window panes, some house furniture, and a stack of roofing tile material. ‘Why would he be hauling this stuff all the way up here?’ It peaked her interest even further as she continued following. This interest however nearly vanished as she saw the man pull out a strange device and strap it to his arm before hopping on top of the wagon. In the blink of an eye the man and the wagon shot forward shooting up snow and dirt leaving behind Mina as if she had been standing still. ‘What in the hell? Who is this man?'[i]
Mina bolted through the air in attempt to catch up to the man, weaving left and right through the trees trying to keep herself hidden as well but it was no use. As she rounded a bend in the road she noticed that the wagon had completely gone missing. The road ahead of her was untouched, not a single spec of snow or dirt out of place. She slowly lowered herself as an awestruck expression overtook her emotions. [i]‘No man could simply disappear? Or could they?’[i]
“Who are you? Why are you following me? Are you the mage that dad hired to help?”
The crackling of twigs spooked Mina as she stiffened up and watched as the man made his way past a tree and into her line of sight carrying what looked to be a small hammer in his right hand. Her mind went blank trying to figure out what to say and in the end failed to come up with anything. “Uh….yes…yes! I’m the mage that answered you dad’s ad.” She turned full front to the man and placed her hands on her hips and slightly tilted her head to the left. “I was following you so that I didn’t get lost.”
Ninko stood there staring at Mina and for a bit there she didn’t think that the guy was going to believe her but then he placed the hammer back in his pocket and turned back to the now visible wagon. “Alrighty then. You could’ve just said that from the beginning.” Ninko hopped onto the seat of the wagon and motioned for Mina to join him. “Better hop on board. Going to be dark soon and we won’t be able to work on the cottage tonight but you can start tomorrow.”
Looking left and right Mina finally loosened up and moved forward and hopped onto the wagon next to Ninko. Once she had sat down Mina crossed her arms, squinted her eyes, and stared right at Ninko. “Alright but no funny business or else there’ll be hell to pay.” She watched as Ninko laughed nearly all the rest of the way to the cottage. [i]‘Looks like the hot springs will have to wait for now.’
Day 3
For a majority of the morning Mina and Ninko spent their time shoveling off the snow from around the tiny wooden cottage to allow them to walk around without having much of an issue. The man had warned Mina to avoid using any magic as Ninko’s father wasn’t a fan of people using magic to complete projects and used the term “lazy good for nothings” as his father’s way of treating said people. So for the time being Mina decided that flying around was out of the question and that a little hard work wasn’t going to hurt her.
Quite a bit of the wooden cottage had already been done by the two men before Mina had come to help. Apparently the cold weather prevented Ninko’s father from helping out too much but the two really wanted to get the house done before Ninko’s sister’s wedding that was in a few months. All that needed to be done was finishing up the tiling on the roof, installing the four windows, and setting up the furniture on the inside. To their luck most of the furniture was in the village and that’s where the old man had disappeared to so they still had time to get the roof together before he arrived.
First things first they had to get the roof together so that the snow didn’t leak into the house. Mina watched Ninko climbed the ladder with the tiling before she too followed right behind him with the nails and tools needed. The two of them spent the next couple of hours hammering and pounding away delicately placing each and every tile. One time Ninko accidently hammered his thumb causing him to yell in pain and sending Mina into an all-out laugh. For what felt like the first time in a while her emotions were starting to open up and to a stranger at that. She was finally starting to feel happy again.
They had just finished the roof when Bartre pulled up with the other wagon and the rest of the furniture. He secured the wagon and walked up to Ninko and Mina observing the job they had done on the roof. “I say who is this and why are they up here Ninko?” The old man’s stern look caused Mina to feel intimidated and forced her to take a step back.
“Ma….ma…My name’s Mina sir.”
“She’s the person that answered your ad for help.” Ninko placed a hand on Mina’s left shoulder but in a more calming reassuring way that she wasn’t quite expecting. “We’ve actually just finished with the roofing right before you got here.”
The old man sat there looking from the pair to the roof and back again before turning around and walking back to the wagon. “Alright, better late than never I suppose. Come help me with this furniture then we can have Mina here set it up inside while you and I finished placing in those windows.” Mina looked towards Ninko and mouthed a silent thank you to the young man before heading over to help with the furniture. A couple hours of lifting, yelling, and “gentle” arguing the small group managed to get all the furniture in the house.
Mina thought the inside of the house was quite comfortable. A nice two bedroom cottage with a wood stove built into the wall of the living room. It felt more like the whole place was just one big room with the dining room and kitchen being connected as well to the living room. Furniture lined the hallways waiting for Mina as if they were calling for her. She decided the best way to start was with the living room since the heaviest and largest of the furniture was the couch and chairs and from then on everything would be easier.
After what seemed like an hour, Mina had managed to make the living room actually look decent enough to…well…live in. She decided to take a short break and watched the two men struggle to put in the living room window. Between the two men it was like watching a circus act in motion as Mina quietly laughed to herself each time one of the men would stumble and start arguing with the other. Finally she decided that they needed help and brushed on over to help them from the inside of the cottage. With her help the process went smoothly and by the end of it the three of them all began chuckled at their efforts. It only took a short time after that to finish the rest of the inside before they all retired for the night.
Day 4
The three of them stood outside the cottage watching as the sun started to break over the top of the mountain peaks. The old man gathered up what tools that was lying around and placed them on the back of the wagons. He then turned to Mina and held out his hands. “Thanks missy for the help. I’m sure my daughter will love all the touches you did on the inside of the cottage. I know I did for sure.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope and handed it to Mina. “Here’s the reward that was promised.”
Mina took the envelope and stuffed it in her pocket. “Thank you sir. It was a pleasure helping both of you.” She gave off a smile and a small wink to Ninko. “Now if you don’t mind...” Mina began to float in mid-air just above the two men’s heads. “I have a hot springs to find.” She then blasted off towards the mountains waving bye to the two men behind her. ‘I could use a good soak about now.’
Word Count: 2232
Minimum Word Count: 1500 (10 posts x 150 words)
