Page 11 of Scary & Bright
“Holy smokes,” I mused, allowing my eyes to wander around the kitchen. There was exactly zero natural light, and the area was lit by a combination of candles and Edison bulb lighting. The space was cozy, well-kept, and seasonally decorated.
“Right?” Tuff said, admiring my response. “All this, and nobody really uses it. It’s really a shame.”
“Nobody uses it?” I asked, astonished. Back when things were good for me, I really enjoyed cooking and would have absolutely lost my mind if given the opportunity to get comfortable in a kitchen like the one I was standing in. “Why not? Seems like kind of a waste to have all this great stuff only to not use it. I can’t imagine the hoops people had to go through to get all this equipment in here.”
“No hoops at all, actually. Just magic. And to answer your question, it doesn’t get used because toys like us don’t need to eat,” Starlight said with a tilt of her head. “And it’s not like Krampus is the type to make a nice meal for just himself…”
The way she just glazed over the word “magic” felt so wild, but I was starting to get comfortable with the concept. Every moment I spent in the castle made me more and more of a believer. How could I not be after waking up in the South Pole, making friends with living toys, and meeting a creature I thought only existed in fairy tales?
“Let’s keep it moving, shall we?” Tuff suggested, waddling his short legs past Starlight and me into the next area of the castle. “Lots to see and plenty of time to dawdle later on.”
I gulped and felt the stone of my anxiety drop back into my stomach. I hoped there would be time to dawdle later on, but I still wasn’t entirely convinced that the beast wasn’t watching from afar, waiting to strike and take me by surprise. Still, we followed Tuff, who appeared on a mission to get through the tour as efficiently as possible.
The moment we stepped through the circular cutout that led out of the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks, in awe at the next part of the castle. From what I could see, the castle was built as one massive circular tower with balconies circling along the walls, spiraling up several floors. A massive Christmas tree, larger than any I’d ever seen in my life or would likely ever see, was erected in the very center of the castle, a massive holiday centerpiece. Twinkling lights surrounded the tree, and glass ornaments hung on every limb in every shape and color you could imagine. It was all the glitz and glory of the tree in Rockefeller Center but combined with the cozy nostalgia found only on a traditional family tree. Being on the very bottom floor, I felt so small in comparison to the tree and could easily stand at my full height underneath it. The flooring transitioned from stone to hardwood, and a plush maroon rug started just outside the kitchen and acted like a trail toward the first set of stairs and the lowest balcony. I couldn’t help but notice, though, that there were no windows to be seen. The shimmering lights on the tree were enough to cast a warm glow over this entire main tower, but the lack of any and all natural light was jarring, nonetheless.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen it. It’s like I’m seeing it for the first time,” Starlight whispered from beside me.
“As someone who is seeing it for the first time, I am…” I paused, trying to find a way to explain the conflicting emotions raging inside of me. The castle was beautiful. A little dark and glum but still incredibly beautiful. “Wow. Just wow.”
“Do my eyes deceive me?” a new voice called to us from the direction of the Christmas tree. “Or is that Starlight finally making her way out of the basement to join the rest of us!?”
I hadn’t noticed it at first, but around the base of the tree was a small train track. The tiniest choo-choo noise came just as a tiny toy train came to a halt. Bubbles floated out of the toy train’s smokestack and danced through the air until they popped on the lowest branches of the tree above it. On the train car, just behind the engine, sat a toy soldier swinging his stiff legs over the side of the car and tipping over onto the floor.
“Oh my gosh!” Starlight exclaimed, rocking herself toward the collapsed soldier. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I stood where I was, unsure if I should wait for Starlight to have her reunion or if I should follow Tuff, who had marched ahead of us and was now tapping his rubber foot impatiently.
“Don’t worry about me,” the soldier assured her, doing his best to set himself upright with his limited joints. “It’ll take a lot more than a tumble like that to keep me down.” I couldn’t tell if he was made from wood or tin, but I could tell he was definitely old. His coat was painted red with gold buttons, paired with cerulean blue pants and a stiff black hat on his head, styled like the Queen’s guard. Finally, a brass key stuck out of the middle of his back, identifying him as a wind-up toy.
Once the soldier finally got back to his feet, I watched as the realization washed over him. His mouth gaped open, and his painted eyes shot back and forth between Starlight and me.
“Who…” He pointed at me with his little arm straight out, only having a joint at his shoulder. “How?”
“That is Holly!” Starlight explained. “She is our guest this year, and we are actually on our way to find her a room to stay in… per Krampus’s request!”
Once again, Starlight was doing a poor job of disguising her true feelings as her tone wavered between happiness and deep concern. The soldier continued to stare at me with eyes full of shock. Feeling awkward, I raised my hand in a little wave, showing that, at the very least, I was friendly and not entirely weird. Unlike this awkward introduction.
“Oh. Wow. Um. That’s mighty different, isn’t it?” the soldier asked, shaking his head to snap himself back into reality.
“Sure is, but we’re taking it one step at a time, aren’t we, Hol?” Starlight answered, really laying on her phony ‘everything is fine’ tone.
The soldier, picking up on Starlight’s urgency, decided to introduce himself. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Holly. I’m Tipper. As you can imagine, I came across the name honestly.”
“Pleasure to meet you too,” I said in response, and I genuinely meant it.
Tuff cleared his throat.
“Shall we?” he urged, clearly ready to keep moving.
“We shall.” Starlight sighed. “Sorry, Tipper. We’ll catch up soon. It was great to see you!”
“Likewise,” Tipper responded with a friendly bow in our direction.
If each encounter with every toy was going to be like this, I would have to get used to being gawked at rather quickly. There was something inherently strange about me being the odd one in a castle occupied by animated inanimate objects.
“I have to ask… since I just met another one of you all,” I started to say as Starlight and I meandered toward Tuff. “And forgive me if this is rude or in poor taste, but… How did you all get here? How many of you are there? Other toys, I mean. And how are you all talking and moving and…” I gestured out with both hands, implying that every single thing about this magic castle was blowing my human mind.
“Not rude at all!” Starlight chirped, excited to have the limelight. “I am happy to answer all of your toy-related questions.” I noted that she was specific in saying toy-related.