Ian

Ian awoke in mid-morning by the ring of a bell. He rose to his feet, put on some clothes, and walked downstairs. At the foot of the stairs waited his lovely wife, Carlene. Her silky, blonde hair danced through the air.1

“Hey dear,” she greeted him. 2

“Hey doll,” he replied. “Sorry I woke up late. I’m just so dang tired.”3

Ian continued toward the kitchen and sat at the table. A plate of freshly cooked eggs and bacon lay before him. To the right was his paper and to the left his coffee. He ate his breakfast and read his paper while his wife, dressed in clothes of a maid, did the housework.4

Ian stared around the perfectly symmetrical kitchen with the maple cabinets and wood floors; perfect table with matching chairs and tablecloths; and the lovely wooden floor. “How did we get so lucky, my dear?” He asked his wife.5

“Just that, I guess. It’s luck. I really don’t remember anyway.”6

“Nor do I.”7

Ian stood and headed towards the patio. He nearly tripped over one of the chairs that belonged to the nicest set of patio furniture in Mayfield. He reached the edge of his patio and look over the fence. The bright blue sky shown into his eyes. He looked away before seeing anything else. 8

He stepped back inside, through the dining room, and up to his own private room. There he had his most prized possessions: his baseball cark collection, his autographed baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and a dollhouse left to him by his great grandmother. She always told him to be careful and treat the dolls and the dollhouse as if they were his own. He did this, although he didn’t understand why. 9

Inside the house were three dolls: one being Susie, the small child. She had blonde, curly hair and blue eyes. She wore a beautiful red dress with a ribbon on the front. She was always his favorite, even though he mistreated her and caused her pain. 10

“You know Susie, you were always my favorite,” Ian whispered in her ear. 11

Along with Susie came two parent dolls: one mother and one father. Each was the business type of person, wearing a certain suit and carrying a suitcase or special purse. 12

Ian played with the dolls, often finding himself in a sort of trance. He wouldn’t know how long he played and sometimes he wouldn’t even know he played at all. 13

“Ian, sweetie, I asked you not to play with those things,” cried Carlene as she entered the room. “You know I don’t like dolls. They’re creepy.” 14

“Yes, dear,” he replied. Carlene left soon and Ian began to play again, but this time much angrier than before.15

“Dangit, Susie,” he yelled to the doll as he threw her up against the house. “You always get me into trouble. . Oh, is that a laugh?” He thought he saw a slight smirk on the doll’s face. 16

Ian sat up from the floor and headed to the kitchen. It was now 7:30 in the evening and Ian felt it in his stomach. He sat down, and like breakfast, a full plate of food sat before him. Only this time it was a plump, T-bone steak, cooked medium rare, just the way he liked it. As a side meal, Ian had corn and mashed potatoes.17

“Thank you, darling,” he told his wife.18

“You’re welcome.”19

Ian finished his meal and walked into the living room and landed himself on the sofa made of the finest leather. This room, like the rest, was also perfect. A 52” television sat against the wall across from the sofa. Ian relaxed and fell asleep.20

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Ian awoke in mid-morning by the ring of a bell, just the same as he did the day before and the day before that. However, when he tried to get to his feet, he felt excruciating pain and couldn’t move. He was stiff as a board. When he tried to yell to his wife, no sound came. His lips were stuck shut. 22

After a few hours of nothing except lying on a bed that wasn’t as comfortable as the day before, he heard something. The house began to shake. Ian thought it was an earthquake, but soon found out differently. The roof of his house began to tear away from the foundation. Unlike a tear, where the roof was being pulled off was smooth, as if were on a hinge. 23

The roof of the house lay open, and a girl’s face appeared through the extra large skylight. Although she was twenty times larger than Ian, she seemed twenty years younger. She reached her hand thought the hole and pulled Ian from his bed. The blonde curls from her hair smacked Ian in the face and her bright red dress with a ribbon attached made his jaw drop; or seem to anyways.24

“Susie,” the young girl’s mom yelled, “time for breakfast.”25

“Ok, mother,” she replied. “ I’ll be there in a minute.” The same smirk appeared on her face that had appeared just the day before. “You know, Ian,” she whispered, holding his upside down body towards the floor, revealing his wife’s severed head and her limbless body laying motionless on the floor, “ you always were my favorite.” 26