Token Girls - Ethereum's Story

It was one of those nights when you can't sleep because of all of the excitement that fills your body, threatening to make it explode. Ethy wanted to play with her new dollhouse so badly. Yes, mother told her to go to sleep, and she was a good and obedient girl, but the dollhouse called to her, captivated her with all of the possibilities and fantasies she could enact. She checked if the door was closed again and slowly creeped out of the bed, taking only her favorite Sailor Star flashlight and a blanket. She would play just a little –  just check out all of her dolls again and put them back so nobody would notice – and then she would go to bed. Mom wouldn't notice a thing.

She took the Father and walked him through the front door of the dollhouse, where the Mother waited for him, her arms spread for a hug. They then shared an affectionate kiss and moved to the living room, where their dinner was already waiting. Ethy lovingly placed the dolls on their chairs and moved her hand to take the Daughter, when her playtime was suddenly interrupted by a loud noise from downstairs. It was like the rumbling of a monster, incoherent shouts and screams of two voices – her parents' voices. She was terrified and immediately covered herself with her blanket, praying for the monster to go away, but the voices became even louder and angrier. Ethy was too afraid to leave her room and confront the monster that came to their house every night, so she stayed in her room like a good girl, knowing that the monster would be gone in the morning.

Oh, she forgot! The dinner was getting cold while the Parents waited for the Daughter to join them, so Ethy gently took her and moved to place her by the dinner table. The Daughter looked perfect to Ethy, her stylish blue locks were shining under the flashlight, her black dress with white and blue accents looked incredible and her large beautiful blue eyes were full of warmth and intelligence. She was the ideal Daughter of the ideal Family.  Suddenly, a loud crash startled Ethy. The monster's voices became silent. It was unusual, and Ethy became even more afraid. She knew what the monster was, she just didn't want to make it real by seeing it, like she once did.

After a few minutes, while Ethereum waited, the silence was broken by the loud noise of someone slamming the front door of Ethy’s house. Then, she heard her mother’s cries echo through the house. Ethy looked at the Daughter in her hand, the perfect Daughter, and stood up on her shaky legs, and left the protection of the blanket with only the doll in her hand.  She had to summon every ounce of courage to be brave for her family.  Slowly she opened her bedroom door and moved downstairs, counting every step. Her mother’s cries became louder and louder until Ethereum saw the source. Her mother was sitting amid the destroyed living room, weeping, broken table and plates around her. Her mother's hands were covered in blood.

"Mom!" – Ethereum ran towards her mother and embraced her tightly, as if trying to squeeze all of the sorrows out of her.

"Honey? Why aren't you in bed?" – Mother's voice was raspy and full of surprise.

"I'm sorry. I heard you crying so I came. I was afraid that the monster was still here. But I came anyway." – Ethy pulled out of the hug and looked at her mother's face, distorted and badly bruised.

"The monster? Oh, don't worry. He's gone away and is not coming back, I promise you. Everything is going to be alright." – the mother and the daughter embraced each other, their eyes full of tears, the doll never leaving Ethy's hand.

Ethy knew she had to be perfect for her family, for her mother. She tried so hard – she was always polite and diligent, she was a grade-A student who won the praises of all her teacher, and she excelled at gymnastics, singing, and dancing. She even modeled for a fashion magazine! But it was never enough. She had to become an actress or even an idol. She prepared for it relentlessly, working every day to achieve this goal. At long last, the manager of the famous pop idol group Salty Sugar announced an audition for a spot in the group. Ethereum was one of the participants, and she was absolutely ready.  Her mother was expecting her to win; it was her moment of glory.

But she lost out. She lost by a small margin, but she failed nonetheless. Her mother was livid. Ethy now stood under her mother's furious gaze and didn't dare to raise her eyes. She grasped onto her old doll for comfort.

"Why did you fail that dance, tell me? You practiced it hundreds of times. Look at me!" – her mother roughly lifted Ethy's chin and their eyes locked.

"I'm sorry. Mom..."

"Were you slacking off? Playing with dolls, while you should be practicing?" – Mother's gaze shifted to the doll. Then she suddenly grabbed the doll from Ethy's hand and threw it on the floor. The delicate plastic of the doll's face cracked.

"No!" – Ethereum rushed to take her favorite doll from the floor, but her world suddenly turned upside down and her left cheek was filled with hot pain.

"No more dolls and silly games, you are too old for that. Apparently, I was too lenient with you. From now on this is going to end. Go wash your face and get ready for the dancing class." – her mother left, but Ethereum was still sitting on the floor, staring at the broken doll.

"Congratulations, you've passed. Your skills are very good for your age, clearly you’ve trained a lot and it shows. I think you'll fit right in our group" – the Chief's eyes were of sharp intelligence and her smile full of sharp white teeth. "Thank you very much. I knew my daughter would be perfect for this. She is my daughter, after all!" – her mother laughed, and as if on cue Ethereum smiled. The Chief stood from her luxurious chair.

"We'll finalize her contract later, but for now I think it's time that she and her future bandmates have a little tour around the place. Are you up for it, sugar?"

"Yes. Thank you." – Ethereum's perfect smile never wavered while the Chief walked her and her mother through the office. Ethy's smile never reached her eyes, and, while her behavior and looks were flawless, her small plastic heart was cracked.