The Dolls

Everybody saw the Dahl family as perfect. They were something to be jealous of; they had the tall handsome father, the gorgeous mother, the well-groomed son, and the pretty blonde daughter. People only see the nice view. What they miss is the truth; the unfaithful father, the drunk mother, the rebellious brother, and the depressed sister. Nobody sees what they truly are.

Jessica sits in her room listening to her mom and dad fight over whose turn it is to do the dishes. Jessica gives a sigh while lying back on her bed, and covering her ears to block out the noise. Through the muffled voices, she hears a glass shatter in the distance. Jumping out of bed, she runs out of her room and climbs into the attic. Recently, during her parents fights she has been climbing up there playing with the boxes filled with old things. As Jessica pushes some old dusty dresses off a trunk, she spies an antique dollhouse. Upon closer inspection, she notices that it is a scale model of her house. Jessica wonders if the old owners had left it here. Sitting on the floor, she opens the panel wall. In the nicely preserved house there is a mother doll dressed in pearls, a father wearing a nice suit, a brother with his shirt tucked in, and a sister doll sporting a fluffy pink dress. While her parents fight below, Jessica allows her dolls to live a perfect life. The mother and father dote on their precious daughter. Buying her new clothes and toys. The brother tries to make her laugh. For hours, Jessica enjoys the life of her little toys. In the distance, Jessica hears her mother call her name. She closes the dollhouse and starts down the stairs.

When entering the kitchen, Jessica is met by the smell of meatballs. A smile lights her face at the irony of the food prepared. When her family asks her why she laughs, she tells them about how the people in her dollhouse made the same thing for their lunch. Everybody but Jessica seems un-amused by her information. 

The next day after her father leaves work and her mother drinks herself into a stupor, Jessica climbs into the attic. She finds her dollhouse and opens it up. Today her dolls seem a little faded and less happy. Jessica makes the father leave for work, but unlike hers, he comes home at night. Her doll family is happy again once she leaves to go eat dinner with her family. Sitting around the large table with her real family, she thinks back on the dolls in the attic. Her mother and brother seem civil and her father walks through the door before dinner is over. Jessica smiles realizing there is hope for her family. 

The next day during the stoned silence of the morning, Jessica climbs into the attic. She pulls out her dollhouse and sits down to play. Her dolls live their perfect lives. They talk, dance, and live merrily. Before she gets up to leave, she notices that the little toys seem unhappy. Their colors are faded and their smiles are disappearing. The dollhouse color itself is fading. Jessica frowns wondering what is happening to her toys. Going down into her room, she finds a pink dress lying on her bed. She smiles as she puts the beautiful clothing on.  Walking down stairs, she finds her mother wearing a strange color coordinated outfit while she is making breakfast, and a string of pearls grip her neck. Jessica watches as she smiles while mixing pancake batter, and she is surprised when her father walks down the stairs. He seats himself at the table and reads the newspaper. Jessica stares at his perfect suit that is pressed in just the right places. Her brother enters the kitchen and sits quietly at the table. He has no wrinkles in his clothes and his shirt is tucked in. Jessica looks around the room. Her family seems perfect... Her family seems like dolls. She looks on with shock as her mother turns her plastic face towards the table and robotically places the food on the table. Her father looks up with his painted eyes and grabs the food. Her brother uses his plastic hands to reach out and grab the plates filled with food. Jessica stares at this mirage of a family. She looks down at her hands and notices that her fingers are stuck together. Her dress does not come off no matter how hard she pulls. Her shoes seem painted on and her body is made of plastic. Her family stares at Jessica waiting for her to take a seat, but she knows that once she sits she will never get back up. Jessica looks at her finally happy family and takes a seat at the table.

Her last thought is of the dollhouse, and when she opens her eyes she sees a small brunette child reaching in to play with her new dolls. Jessica tries to scream.