By: Jiana Rush
the porcelain dolls she wanted and the pretty periwinkle dresses she would dress them up in for
their regular tea parties. Lynn had an array of dolls. Dolls that were pale, and dolls that were tan.
They had long hair and short hair in all colors imaginable. She loved her pretty dolls.
Lynn didn’t talk to people and it made no difference to her if people didn’t talk to her.
She lived in her world with her dolls and that was all she needed. One day, Lynn’s parents, who,
just like everybody else, thought her to be a very peculiar child, had taken her out to the park in
hopes that she would make some friends. Her parents had tried everything in hopes of seeing
their young daughter flourish in the developmental years of her childhood. It was all to no avail.
Her mom dressed her for the cold weather; Lynn grabbed her favorite doll, Clarice, and they left.
At the park, Lynn played alone in a corner with Clarice and they sipped their invisible tea.
Just as Lynn’s mom was getting ready to call her to go home, a little boy about Lynn’s
age walked over with his own toy truck. He sat next to Lynn and started playing, too. She paid
him no mind until he asked her if he could take her doll for a ride in his truck. Lynn silently, and
reluctantly, agreed. They sat there for the next hour just playing in silence with Clarice and the
truck. Lynn’s mom was amazed and almost emotional. Her daughter had made a friend.
After that day, Lynn went back to the park every day to play with the boy. They grew into
best friends and at the same time, grew into teenagers and then into adults. He loved Lynn and
Lynn loved him. 20 years later, they were exchanging Christmas gifts for each other. He handed
her a doll, one that looked just like Clarice. This doll had a necklace and hanging from it was a
diamond ring. As it clicked for Lynn what was happening, she looked up to see him on one knee.
By the next winter season, they were married with a child on the way; it was a little girl they
would name Clarice. As the best tales go, they lived joyfully ever after.
