Wintergreen

you insist that she show you what she really looks like, but this is really what she looks like.

the bows and sad smile, that's the real her.

unless you liked the spandex and mischievous grin better?

it's frustrating, this reflex of hers, so you pin her down and pop her core out: no camouflage magic for you, little doll.

a black tank top and a frozen expression of resignation. exactly what you expected.

…too like what you expected.

no truth here. just stuck camouflage.

one can only imagine the blissful ignorance of the first owner to find a porcelain doll empty, back split and cracked wide by what was pupating inside it

we know, now, and knowing is not even close to half the battle.

doll recovering from a period of non-awareness to find that someone has been at its abdomen with a rotary ceramic cutter, soldering iron, and several colors of stained glass

the flickering luminescence of its core is now visible for all to see, perhaps even through its uniform. so much for hiding inner chaos with outer stillness. and the luna moth is such a cliche, however expertly rendered. still… there are worse marks to wake up with.

has six tarot card tattoos, wears a topaz necklace for calm, and won't go outside without checking her horoscope.

you've reminded her that she has real actual magic that made you & your sisters.

she just laughs. silly thing, what would a doll know of anxiety?