The Collection - Chapter 5
“He’ll bring her back, as usual, Keiko. Would you stop worrying?” Said Rin. Keiko didn’t answer. She knew he had never hurt them and had always brought them back, so far, but she couldn’t believe that this was all there was to it. She couldn’t believe that all he wanted to do was feed them, bathe them and change their clothes. HE HAD to want something else. He had to, otherwise… well otherwise they were never leaving this place.
At that moment she heard him open the door to the next room. She heard all the noises that had become familiar to her. He was putting Shigeko on the bed, went out closing the door. He opened the door again, moves about, probably leaving the pitched of water and the purple plastic cup, no, it would be green for Shigeko. He went out the door and now she had to wait for Shigeko to wake up.
Rin was right. It was pointless to worry but she couldn’t help it. She worried about them all and especially for Shigeko. They had been each other’s rock since he’d brought her, who knows how long ago. Sometimes it seemed years.
“You think she’s ok?” Keiko heard Takara ask.
“For god’s sake! We are always fine aren’t we? She’ll wake up, just like we all wake up every single time.” Rin’s answer was rough as always, but Keiko knew that she was worried, that she always worried, just like the rest of them.
“Sorry.” said Takara.
“That’s fine.” Said Rin and took a deep breath. “Just go to bed, the lights will be out anytime now.”
Keiko heard all of this but said nothing. She sat on the bed and waited for Shigeko to wake up.
Sometime after the lights went out, Keiko heard Shigeko moan a little. She kept quiet and let her drink some water.
“Are you awake?” Shigeko asked unnecessarily. She knew Keiko rarely slept until she knew the girl taken was really ok.
“No. How are you?”
“My head pounds like hell, I’m in the same god damned dress and… Oh, hey, my hairdo seems to be different.” She couldn’t be sure because they didn’t have mirrors in the room, not even in the bathroom.
“So you know, I’m great! Peachy!... Ugh I’m starting to sound like Rin, aren’t I?” She heard Keiko laugh.
“A little” she said and sobered up “You’re right you know. He is humming. He was humming when he took you and when he cleaned the room and he was also humming when he brought you back.”
“And he was humming before he brought Takara”
“And before he brought you. Rin says she doesn’t remember if he hummed before he brought me, but you know how she is.”
“So he’s bringing someone new. How many more do you think he’ll bring?”
“I don’t know”
“I think he only has 5 rooms, unless there is another floor of rooms. I mean all the rooms are connected and my room is only connected to your room. But that’s not what worried me.
Then, what worries you?
Shigeko was silent for a moment. Then she got on her knees and crawled to the hole that connected hers to Keiko’s room. She made a sort of sound on the wall that indicated Keiko to come to the hole too. Shigeko waited until she could see Keiko’s eyes and then said in a very soft whisper, so that the other women couldn’t hear.
“What will happen when his collection, because that’s what we are, is complete? Will he keep us here forever? And what if he gets bored with just dressing and washing us?
+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Akane was sitting on the park bench next to Yamashita, just as she’d been doing for the past week...
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Sorry it's so short, but after this I couldn't find a good place to stop it and it would end up too long. But, I'll post more of Akane and Yamashita later. =)
CH01 - CH02 - CH03 - CH04 - - CH06 - CH07 - CH08 - CH09 - CH10 - CH11 - CH12 - CH13 - CH14 (Final)