A Lost Ballet in a Wild World

"Hmm..." Pearl hums a tune in her seat. The carriage rolls on the railway without a horse or a push but with an electrical motif.

That boutique she saw was definitely real. That fine dress, shirt, and suit—each displayed with their own spotlights by the window. Humans do have a taste for beauty like her, and they have more than just one that looks like Pearl's dress. But oddly, other humans didn't wear those gorgeous attires outside.

Sometimes, they wear uniforms when there's no event nearby to cherish. Sometimes, they wear it like they were working from morning to night, stained with dust and mud as they sweat. But mostly, what they wear always looks dusty and unironed. Yet Pearl was hoping to see a model like her.

"Is this...the human world?" Pearl uttered.

"Yeah! Isn't it great? It just looks like where you left it before, dear." Donna commented.

"Wiltham may not be a big place in Britannia, but at least you didn't have to wake up on a sunless morning, right?"

Shops lined the streets, sometimes with roofs that were as colourful as the pink on her skin, as green as the leaves on her hat, and as blue as the sky. And there are flowers everywhere on the street, which Pearl recalls as Bluebell, Allium, Lily, Edelweiss and Primrose from Doorwell's session of spring-plucking season.

"I...guess so..." She was entertained.

"Ah, I knew you'd like it. Maybe we should pluck some for Doorwell when she gets out of that place." Starglaze pokes.

"Well, do these flowers not belong to the humans?"

"Who cares? Not like they couldn't grow more!" His chuckle seems mischievous.

Is this what the human world is? Pearl thought all those sets on the stage and the background hidden in the red curtains were just a play. But the bricks are there for a reason, and the gravel is shaped like a heart in a square line. What a lovely town that knows beauty and Pristine's likes.

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The carriage stops unexpectedly, but Pearl isn't home yet. At least from what she sees, she is still hanging by the street railway. The father stopped the carriage because his eyes were perched on the tall arch beside them.

"What happen? Why are we stopping?" Pearl looks left and right.

"Because our stop is right here, sweetie. You don't think we would miss the whole party waiting for you at the Rosemary Plaza, right?" Donna left the carriage.

"Hehe, r-really? I wouldn't mind if we stayed on the carriage until we get home." Pearl excuses.

"Well, I don't think you would've wanted to stay there, Christine. There's nothing for four of us here..." David replies.

There was a paradise on the other side of the arch—of human houses and treasures. How unbelievably innocent for a place that seems to hold such danger. Pearl couldn't think of staying on the rail while her family shimmered with some sweets, right?

"Come on, Pearl. I wouldn't want you to miss this whole show with us!" Starglaze invites. With no choices, Pearl had to leave the cart unwillingly.

"Oh, I hope nothing gets onto me." She steps.

From the first touch of the ground with her black shoes, she felt the warm gravel in her sole touching like no rocks from the ocean floor of her stage. That's how she knew she would need to have her hat on when she stepped out of the carriage. The dress is blue, with no ribbon at the back, and the shoes are black, as no Joyling would ever dress.

"Do you remember this place, sweetie? We used to be here when you were young!" Donna cheers.

"I...I don't..." Pearl replies.

"Well, then be glad this is your chance to have that time again."

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Humans surely love this place—otherwise, they won't slump around the houses like a curious Joyling who had their first candy for a week. So many little humans are wearing what Pearl also wears, but they are more natural with those choices.

Nothing was interesting for them to show to this new Joyling who wanted the comfort of a house. She could only dream of stars shimmering like those garments around her body. But the moon is still far from her.

"Hm..." She ponders doubtfully.

"Maybe next time..."

Nothing much more interesting to reach Pearl's interest than a walk through the long lane for home. At least she knew it would be over afterwards. The couple seems happy with what they have, even if they haven't touched them yet. Even Starglaze could be amazed by a statue.

"Woo! That statue looks exquisite enough! I wonder if they have candy slots for Joylings. Or if they had peppermint eyeliners! Or...or..." Starglaze swings freely like a paper.

"Keep yourself low, Starglaze. You know that Ms. Carolina said we shouldn't reveal ourselves to people like that," Pearl said, covering him in her arms.

"Aww, come on, Christine. Are you going to deny your friend's wish over a little show?" The father teases.

"N-no, father. I believe this would be for the Starglaze's sake. He's not good with humans, and I don't think he could be alone without me..." Pearl replies.

"Hey, don't tell them that! I'm a capable man, too! I just don't get used to a wide place before..." Starglaze angered.

Something rumbles, and it's not from Pearl, Donna or Starglaze.

"Hey, we could go for a treat. Some of us do have a stomach to fill, right?" The father jokes with his rumbling stomach.

"Come on, Christine. You should eat a lot now...I doubt that stomach could last for anything else..."

"Okay...just had to keep this hat on my head tightly or else I'll be—caught...?" She pauses.

But then something hits her by the window. Just as she was about to pass a smell of garlic bread in a nearby cafe, she saw a boutique displaying a stunning blue blouse and skirt. It's more elegant than the one she's wearing, and it has a perfect ocean theme from a pale cyan.

"T-that gown."

"C-could it be? I...I can't believe it..." She gasped.

Something tells Pearl that destiny brought her here for a reason. A blouse with a white sailor-like collar surely fits her theme, especially with the smell of the sea from a distance. But to think it lies here, only to be displayed as a relic that no one had ever desired.

"That blouse called upon me! I needed it!" She was entranced. Her star pupils dilated even bigger in the void of her iris.

"I need it more than ever! No Joyling clothes had ever made such wonder for me like that!"

"That wave pattern on the neck is surely an ocean's call. It's just like what I wanted..." She shed a tear of joy.

"But it was here—confined in a human's grasp. How could they...?" She leans down in the face of a breaking heart.

"Come to me, little one. The humans didn't deserve you...I do..." She reaches for the clothes, but there's a glass bordering their love.

"W-wait...where's the others?" Her eyes went off as she saw herself alone.

"Oh, no! I left them! I shouldn't be too distracted! Oh no!"

Pearl couldn't think much but to have it on her now. Someone could have taken them before her and perhaps misused their beauty. But she was left alone by her family, and that blouse could not be saved by her reach now. Her heart was broken by the day she was fixated with it.

"No, no, no! Why do this have to happen to me?" She grunts.

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In her walk of sorrow, she could only recall the beauty of that blouse while she had to keep the bland blouse she had on the street. The beauty she could have been was only an inch between a glass. But the daydreaming Pearl strayed too far from her path—walking a long way until she ended up somewhere she didn't know. Plaza rises with more humans by the street, and Pearl is clearly lost.

"Huh? Where am I? Am I...lost?" Pearl looks around her.

"Oh no...no, no, no, no..."

More humans are around, forcing Pearl to put her straw hat even low. Many appear suspicious of her, catching the veil on Pearl's face as an interest. As it seemed that Pearl was about to be at the cafe, munching on a custard with her family, a human stood in her walk, unaware of Pearl's presence.

"I got to get out of here! I got to get out of here now before—umph!" She bumps into a man.

"Hey! Watch out!"

"I'm sorry! Please don't look at me! I'm—ugh!" She bumps again. A woman seems unsatisfied with her.

"What's wrong with you?"

"No! No! Nothing! Please don't look at me! I—ugh!"

"Hey, do you mind?"

How many humans has Pearl bumped into? There are so many, and there's nearly a space for her to hide her cover. She could only run, hoping that she make it to her family in time. But she couldn't even remember where they had gone.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" She keeps bumping aimlessly into a human. More sorry than she could ever have.

"Watch where you going!"

"Please I don't mean any harm! Please don't hurt me!" She met a woman with lots of papers on her back.

"Hey, can you help me carry out these papers you just dropped?"

"No, I'm fine! Find another human instead!" She breaks the heart of a child with something precious.

"Ouch! You dropped my ice cream!"

"Why is everyone on my way?—ouch!" She ran as fast as she could.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't look at—me?" She bumps for another time. But this time, something was different.

The human who stood before Pearl was someone with a class like her. It's a blonde-haired human who looks like he was after a casual party, wearing all white except his boots. But sadly, someone spilt precious water into his all-white suit right before the other humans. And he didn't seem to be happy with his pale-stained shirt.

"Eugh! My shirt..." The boy looks disappointed.

"Aww, man! I just buy this thing from the store!"

"Told you pale white fits you more..." A girl beside him said.

"Ugh! Hey, do you mind? Some of us are not here to waste our money!" The boy turns back.

Pearl was in for a bad time, and there was clearly no reason for her to stay. So before the man could find her, she took the energy to run as fast as she could. But it doesn't mean the other humans can't catch her slipping her shoes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!" Pearl yelled in her flee.

"What the...hey, come back here!" The girl yelled.

"Darn it! Someone's trying to prank on us! Get them, guys!" The boy yelled.

She ran as far as she could, breaking no sweat on the pile of humans on her way. Her chasers still tail behind, keeping an eye on her blue dress that sticks so well among the bland-suited humans. She shouldn't have worn something too conspicuous to eyes if she knew how dangerous they were.

"I need to hide! I need to hide!" Pearl mumbled to herself.

"Hey *pant* *pant* come back *pant* *pant* here...!"

"How is she so fast??"

"I don't know! But I won't let her go! Come back here!"

She bumps herself into a wall over and over again, trying to distance herself from her captors in a place she is unfamiliar with. But no matter where she goes, she is as lost as the one looking for her. Her only choice was to keep going until the wall was thick enough to hide her.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me!" Each excuse was meant for herself, not others.

"She's so agile! Is that even a human? I wanna see what's behind that straw hat!" A boy yelled.

"Eek! They find out...!" Pearl whines to herself.

Such stamina and time were so thin, but Pearl was closer to an escape than she had thought it would be. Just as it seemed she ran in a circle, that same boutique she passed before appeared again with its sailing blouse. This time, she was close to returning.

"The blouse...I'm back!"

"W-where are they...? Where did my family go?" She wonders.

"Aww, no! I need to run! To run! Or maybe...?"

But her chasers are still behind, tailing on that dress when she was wandering around. Pearl was desperate, and while she had more strength to run than the young humans, she wouldn't risk straying again. Luckily, Pearl was not that stuck on an idea.

"*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* Where...where is...where is that...girl...?"

"Aw, man! Now I'm sweating on my shirt, too! If I find that girl, I better get a money for this!"

"Come on, guys. Let's not ruin this perfect noon for one girl..."

They left just as they came. The chasers had no idea where Pearl had gone afterwards. Yet little did they know that if they went closer for the boutique store, they would've found her hiding behind the glass display with the blouse.

"They're gone? They're gone! Phew...!" Pearl cheers from inside the store.

"Thank you, majestic sailor blouse! I could never ask for more to you than to join me in this humanly adventure..." She hugs the mannequin.

"Maybe someday, when I have enough human money and independency, I'll have you right on my wardrobe..."

"Mwah, mwah! I love you, majestic sailor blouse...you and I just had the best moment of our life! And it was only a glance between an eye..." Pearl kisses the blouse.

"Pearl!" Starglaze yelled from the other side of the boutique.

"Starglaze?? Eek! I mean, stay there!" Pearl backs off.

In that moment of enjoying her victory, Starglaze appears out of nowhere, turning the tide of relief into a shortcoming. Pearl immediately left the store with a blush, hoping that Starglaze wouldn't catch up to her fully in that embarrassing moment. But it is surely pristine that he had seen enough to look dissatisfied at her.

"Aw, I miss you so much! Where have you been? Why did you leave me? And how long have you been there?" Pearl cuddles him.

"Leaving you? I was looking for you! Where have you been?"

"Me? Oh, I...uh...maybe get a little too lost around here and...probably didn't make a trouble with humans?" Pearl excuses.

"Yes...now, can you come join us? We have a custard for a dinner."

"Dinner? But it's still daylight...?"

With Pearl finally able to lower her shoulders after a long tension between her and the humans, the day becomes shorter and lighter. Like the lost Joyling she was, the world didn't give enough direction other than back and forth. Everything rewards her for such bravery, yet it also challenges her for her vulnerability.

"Oh, this place is so terrible, Starglaze. I don't know how we will make it through these corners for the rest of our lives..." Pearl worried.

"Oh, you're bothering yourself again, Pearl. You seem to have forgotten one important thing that could help you relive a past of this... 'Christine.' "

"Really? What was it?" Pearl's eyes shimmer.

"Me. You have me...and I tell you what, my friend. As long as you have me on your side, those humans can't harm you at all!" He jokes.

"Hehe, you boast yourself again, did you?"

"Not this time, my friend! I just had the best custard in the human cafe and I couldn't be more certain that I wanted to be here more than ever."

"But I don't see you enjoying anything around here."

Her head lows—feeling bum as she thinks of a home, but not a human home, a home in the studio where she has a big lounge for a bedroom and one huge bed with all kinds of lamps on the side. Yet all she sees here is a glum, colourless, bland town calling itself a home.

"I miss my home..." Pearl frowns.

"And I'm too scared of trying to go back there..." Starglaze replies.

"Is it wrong?"

"If I was Carolina, I would say so. But I'm not, am I? I'm sure you'll find a soft side of this town like I do when you get along by the right person..." He wipes a stain of custard on his lips.

"I doubt that. I don't even think I could make a friend here..."

"Oh, Pearl. Maybe you should've tried."

"I don't know...it could be risky...Carolina said—"

"Shh—no more Carolina said. This time, it's Starglaze's says. And I say, you should let the humans get close to you..."

"You think I can do that? That's difficult."

But with Starglaze on her side, she felt an accompanying soul that reminded her she wasn't alone. Starglaze, despite his careless attitude, still knows how to uplift Pearl. The town is not ready for what she was once she was uplifted. But that's up to them to find out, right?

"Alright, world. Time to show you the Pristine Pearl," Pearl stands up confidently.

*Stomach growling*

"After I can have some custards first." She held her stomach.