6

The two of them, Liz and Raito, stuck together after that. Liz was recruited into Raito’s study of the city’s maps, which gave me the opportunity to finally overhear the reason he was so interested in them.

“There’s an old ghost story in this city. Not many people remember it; I only happened to find it by luck. A long time ago, this place had a famous theater. People came from all over to watch the shows they performed. But the biggest draw the place had wasn’t its performances. There was a young girl, the daughter of the theater’s owner. She was the shining star of the theater. As beautiful as a porcelain doll and with a voice that could bring any man to tears. Watching her onstage was like watching an angel perform.

“Her beautiful success didn’t last forever. Even with the fame of its leading actress, it was still only a small theater. And as times changed, it started losing money. Eventually they had to sell the building to another man. Such an event would have been tragic enough on its own, but the new owner didn’t just want to possess the theater. He wanted its actress as well.

“She tried to leave the theater with her father, but the new owner refused to let her go. He had some ties to organized crime, enough to let him hire the muscle needed to intimidate her into staying. But being forced to perform seemed to kill the light inside her. Her voice became bland, and her performances wooden. The owner tried to appease her, buying her flowers, vacations, and all kinds of wildly expensive gifts. Still, whenever she went onstage she was dull and lifeless.

“Eventually, the owner grew furious. If kindness wouldn’t make her perform for him, then he would try cruelty. He beat and raped her, and then locked her in the storage room with the theater’s puppets. For months, she stayed locked down there, the door only being unlocked so the owner could deliver her food and ask if she would perform. Each time, she said no. And so each time, he punished her.

“Then one day, when the owner came down to the storage room, he found the actress vibrant and full of life. She agreed to work with him, and took to the stage. Her performance that day was the best she had ever given. The audience was enraptured by her every movement. Even the owner was so touched by the show that he begged for her forgiveness, telling her she was free to leave and that he would never harm her again. But she chose to stay, and said she would continue to perform on the condition that he never went into the storage room.

“Soon the theater was drawing in more people than it ever had before. Demand to see the actress was so great that fights broke out over tickets in front of the building. She had been an angel before, but now she was a goddess. And her most devout follower was the owner. He would have done anything to appease her. Yet she remained a mystery to him. After each show, she returned to the storage room without saying a word to anyone. Eventually, his curiosity grew too strong. He followed her into the room, to see why she chose to stay there.

“The room was dark and filthy. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could live in such a disgusting place. Dozens of puppets hung from the ceilings, creating something like a maze for him to traverse. After pushing past them, the owner saw his actress. But she didn’t look like the goddess who had just graced the stage. Her clothes were torn and bloody, and she looked nearly starved to death.

“She was doing something to her arm, but the owner was too far away to see. He leaned in for a better view, and then screamed. She was sewing strings from the puppets into her skin. His shout drew her attention, and she stopped sewing to face him. Her smile was no longer that of a goddess, but a demon. When he tried to run, the puppets moved on their own to block his way. All of them had the appearance of the angelic actor, and her laughter came from their mouths. Their wooden hands grabbed at him, but he managed to push past and escape. But when he made it out of the theater, no one he told his story to would believe him.

“During the next day’s show, it was not the beautiful angel who came onto the stage, but the bloodied demon the owner had seen. The second she appeared, the audience was driven into a violent frenzy. They killed each other in their seats, and rivers of blood ran down the aisles. When the police arrived, they found no sign of the actress. All they found in the theater were puppets.

“The owner committed suicide two days later. With his death, the theater closed. The story passed into legend and the location was forgotten.”

A long silence followed after he finished as Liz processed the story. Then, she asked the same question I was wondering. Was that story true?

“Possibly. I’ve found enough evidence to convince myself that it is. If my theory is right, then that actress became the Wooden Girl. And I’m thinking… hoping that if we go to the theater, we can find Her original body. Not a puppet, not some extension of Herself, but Her real body. If we destroy that, we might just destroy Her.”

Destroy Her? That was something I’d never considered possible. She was something beyond any means of resistance. But if Raito was right, then it was possible to bring her down. It was possible that I could be free. For the first time in years, I felt an unfamiliar emotion. Hope.