CHAPTER 60: 60. DONETTA, THE LIVING DOLL

The walk back to Ferndale was full of awkward silence and short bursts of conversation as the woman who had just come back to life tried to make sense of everything that was happening to her. She would stop every few steps to look at a flower or touch the bark of a tree, amazed by how things felt and looked that most people didn’t think about.

She kept saying, "It’s all too much."

"I can feel everything. Everything has weight and presence."

Felix walked next to her, still wet from the lake and looking like a miracle had hit him in the head. He kept looking at her like he was afraid she would disappear if he didn’t look at her for too long.

As they reached the top of the last hill that looked down on Ferndale, Greg said, "We should probably come up with a name for you."

"I can’t keep calling you ’the woman who used to be a doll.’"

She stopped and tilted her head as if she were thinking. "A name. Yes, that sounds like it matters."

For a moment, she was quiet, and her brow furrowed as she thought. "Donetta. That seems right in some way. Like it was always there, waiting for me to remember it."

"Donetta," Felix said again, trying out the name. "It’s lovely, and it fits you the best!"

"Thank you," Donetta said with a real smile. "I guess everything is lovely when you’ve only been awake for an hour."

Somehow, news had already gotten out by the time they got to the workshop. Everyone in the house was outside, staring at the group that was coming toward them with different levels of shock and confusion.

Lylia was the first person to speak up. "Is that a real person in Greg’s shirt, or am I just seeing things because I’m stressed?"

"Yes, a real person," Greg said. "A very long story. Can we go inside first?"

"Donetta needs real clothes."

That made people act right away. Lylia hurried Donetta inside, and Seraphine followed, her analytical mind already asking questions. Bork just stood there with his mouth open and his hammer hanging loosely in his hand. Mira floated around happily, singing about how wonderful it was to have another sister.

Greg fell onto one of the new chairs in the meeting room, and Felix sat across from him, still looking dazed. Elwen began to make tea quietly, and her movements were quick and calming.

"So," Bork finally said, taking off his headphones. "Did you just make another life? Again?"

Greg said, "Not exactly."

"This one was mostly Felix’s fault. Additionally, the magic associated with a lake serpent’s stomach played a significant role. And a lot of luck."

"It’s not easy to just fucking explain it with a logical explanation! And it’s fucking complicated...!" Greg looks stressed while crashing out.

"Everything about you is complicated," Seraphine said from the other room, where she was helping Donetta put on some of Lylia’s extra clothes. "That’s what makes you who you are at this point!"

They were all around the big meeting table half an hour later. Donetta was now wearing a simple blue dress that Lylia had given her. It was a little too small in some places, though.

She sat next to Felix with her hands neatly folded in her lap. She looked nervous but excited.

The questioning started right away.

"How are you?" Seraphine asked, and her notebook was already open. "Physically, mentally, and emotionally?"

"Can you tell me what it feels like to suddenly become aware?"

"Too much," Donetta said honestly. "Like waking up from a dream where you couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything, and then everything is there at once."

"I can feel my heart beating. I breathe in and out of my lungs. My thoughts lead to other thoughts."

"It’s quite amazing and scary, in fact."

"Do you remember when you were a doll?" Lylia asked in a softer voice.

Donetta nodded her head slowly. "Yes and no. It’s like remembering a time when you didn’t know how to talk."

"I knew in some way, but I couldn’t understand or process it. I knew that Felix was there, talking to me and caring for me. That feeling stayed with me even when nothing else could."

Seraphine wrote notes quickly. "Interesting. So there was some kind of proto-consciousness even before the change. That means that the craftsmanship had hidden potential that just needed the right spark to come out."

"The magic of the snake," Elwen said. This includes Felix’s blood and genuine emotions. Three things that can’t happen come together at the exact right time."

Felix said with a smile, "My Infinite Luck System has finally paid off."

Then Lylia asked the question that made everyone stop talking. "So, Donetta, how do you know Greg? And what’s your relationship with him?"

The room was quiet. Everyone looked at Donetta, then at Greg, and then back at Donetta.

"The fuck...? Why did she ask that?" Greg said in his mind with confusion.

"How do I know Greg?" Donetta really seemed confused. "He’s the one who tried to help Felix bring me back to life."

"I appreciate that he did that for me, but I don’t think we have a relationship beyond that."

"So you don’t love him?" Lylia pushed, her eyes narrowing a little.

"Do you love him?" Donetta blinked. "No? Should I be? Is that necessary to live?"

Greg put his hands over his face. "Why do we need to ask this stupid question?"

"Because you have a pattern," Seraphine said in a matter-of-fact way. "You made Mira because you loved Lylia, and she fell in love with you."

"It’s not crazy to think that Donetta might go the same way."

"But I wasn’t made because Greg loved me," Donetta said in a logical way. "I was made out of Felix’s need and hope."

"I should have feelings for Felix, if anything."

She turned to Felix and really looked at him for the first time since they had sat down. Her face changed from difficult to warm and real. "And I believe I do."

"He wanted me to be real so badly that he was willing to put himself in danger to save me when I was just a thing. That’s not little. That’s all there is."

Felix’s face turned a bright red. "Really? You really care about me?"

"I think so," Donetta said as she reached out to take his hand. "I should probably figure out what it means to have feelings before I make any promises."

"I’ve only been alive for a few hours."

"That’s fair," Felix said in a high-pitched voice.

Mira floated over and looked at Donetta with interest in her golden eyes. "You don’t feel like me. Like, but not the same."

"We were made from the same kind of magic but for different reasons."

"What’s your goal?" Donetta asked.

Mira’s face took on a dreamy look. "To look after Master-forger-darling and make his life easier!"

Donetta said with a small smile, "My job seems to be to try new things and sometimes say things that make Felix’s brain short circuit."