Mommy Kills a Ragdoll

Once upon a time, Mommy lived in a dark and beautiful forest. She had lived there for a hundred years but she was not alone because she had many daughters, Ragdolls that she had sewn together and brought to life. She loved her Ragdolls very much, and they were all very happy together. The Ragdolls kept her young, for they were so full of life. But the Ragdolls would grow up and Mommy would begin to feel old again.1

For a long time Mommy didn't know what to do, but she finally realized that she had to kill the Ragdolls as they grew up. Each time a Ragdoll stopped being a child, Mommy would take her down to the basement. Mommy would put three silver pins into the Ragdoll's head, and once she was dead Mommy would carve a number onto her forehead, keeping track of the order in which they grew up and died. Soon Mommy counted her age in dead Ragdolls and not in years, for they were all sitting in the basement, in order, with the three silver pins still in their heads.2

Soon the Ragdolls did not know that they were all sisters, because Mommy didn't want them to know when one went missing. Mommy built many little houses close together in the dark and beautiful woods where they lived, with a Ragdoll in each one. She was Mommy to all of them, but in each house she would wear a small disguise, a wig or a mask, so that none of the Ragdolls knew that their mommies were just one person. The Ragdolls would visit each other to play, because Mommy knew how children loved to play with other children, and it made her feel young to see them all together. But she could not let the Ragdolls know that they were sisters, or else they would learn her secret and run away.3

Angela was the youngest Ragdoll, and the most beautiful. Mommy had sewn for many days and nights to make Angela perfect before she brought her to life, and she was. Mommy loved Angela best of all the Ragdolls, and Angela loved Mommy with every beat of her cloth heart.4

Angela was the youngest Ragdoll, and the most beautiful. Mommy had sewn for many days and nights to make Angela perfect before she brought her to life, and she was. Mommy loved Angela best of all the Ragdolls, and Angela loved Mommy with every beat of her cloth heart. But Angela was not happy. She would not play with the other Ragdolls, she could not smile and laugh like they did. Seeing Angela unhappy made Mommy very sad. Mommy tried everything to make Angela happy. She made pretty dresses for her, she took her out for walks in the dark and beautiful woods, she told her wonderful bedtime stories about beautiful princesses and evil witches. But nothing could make Angela smile.5

Finally Mommy had an idea that just had to work. Mommy took out her scissors, her sewing needles and thread, and the most beautiful golden fabric in the world, to make something she had never made before. She sewed for many days and nights until she had made a perfect and beautiful puppy for Angela, a puppy made out of sunshine, to make her smile. When the perfect and beautiful puppy was finally finished, she brought him to Angela and waited to see if Angela would smile. And she did. Angela picked up her perfect and beautiful puppy and hugged him tightly, smiling even wider all the time. She named him Arthur and he was her best friend in the whole world.6

Arthur the perfect and beautiful puppy was not Angela's only friend. Every day Angela and Arthur would visit Anne and Alice. Anne and Alice were Ragdolls just like Angela, and they would all play together, Angela and Arthur and Anne and Alice. They would play Hide and Go Seek and Tag. Alice would tell Angela and Arthur and Anne scary stories in the dark and spooky attic, but they were never scared. They knew that their mommies would protect them if the evil witches from the stories became real. And so the four friends would play together every day, and they were very happy.7

One day Angela and Arthur and Anne couldn't find Alice anywhere. They looked everywhere in her house from the basement to the dark and spooky attic, they looked in all of Alice's favorite hiding places for Hide and Go Seek, they looked everywhere in the dark and beautiful woods for her. They asked all of the Ragdolls if they had seen Alice, but no one had. Angela and Anne had just about given up on ever finding Alice, but suddenly Arthur took off running through the woods. Angela and Anne ran after him as fast as they could. They followed him for many hours until they came to a part of the forest that they had never seen before. Arthur did not stop running until he reached a clearing. There was a large house in the middle of it, a house bigger than any Angela or Anne had ever seen. They were very afraid and wanted to go home very badly, but Arthur sat on the front porch of the strange house and would not budge. Finally Angela and Anne decided to see if there was anyone inside. Maybe whoever lived there had seen Alice.8

Angela and Anne knocked on the door of the strange house in the dark and beautiful woods. No one answered. They knocked again, a little bit louder. No one answered. They knocked a third time, even louder. But no one answered. Angela opened the door and they all went into the strange and empty house, Angela and Arthur and Anne.9

It was very dark and quiet in the strange house, Angela had never been so afraid before. The house was so very big that Angela and Anne did not know where to begin looking, but Arthur went straight to a small door. Angela and Anne followed Arthur through the door and down a long flight of stairs, they thought the stairs would never end. But finally they found themselves in a basement, a basement so dark that they could see nothing at all, not even each other. Angela found a light and turned it on.10

The basement was filled with dead Ragdolls, each one with three silver pins in her head and a number carved onto her forehead. Angela and Arthur and Anne could not believe that such a horrible thing had happened, it was just like one of Alice's scary stories. There were dozens and dozens of Ragdolls in the basement, some Angela had known and others she had never met. And Alice was there too, with three silver pins in her head and a number on her forehead. 48. Angela and Anne sat down and cried. They cried for Alice and all of the other dead Ragdolls. They cried at the sad and frightened looks on each Ragdoll's face. They cried because their mommies had not protected them. They cried because someone could do something so terrible. They cried until Arthur growled at something, something moving in the strange house of dead Ragdolls. Something started to come down the stairs, slowly and quiet then quickly and loud.11

Mommy knew something terrible had happened as soon as she saw the light at the bottom of the basement stairs, but when she saw Angela and Arthur and Anne she didn't know what to do. Oh no, not Angela. Any of her Ragdolls but little Angela. Mommy loved Angela best of all of the Ragdolls, please let it not be Angela that had grown up and learned her secret. It must have been Anne's idea to come here. Yes, Anne. But not Angela, never Angela. Angela was made perfect, she would never grow up like the others did. She would never break Mommy's heart. Mommy would never have to hurt Angela. It was Anne who had grown up and become curious. It was Anne's fault. It must have been Anne's fault. But Angela and Arthur and Anne had run far away from the strange house in the dark and beautiful woods long before Mommy had decided that Anne was to blame.12

Angela and Arthur and Anne ran from Mommy until they reached the place where all of the other Ragdolls lived. They tried to tell the others about the evil witch who had taken the missing Ragdolls away, but they would not listen. They thought it was just another scary story. Angela and Arthur and Anne did not know that Mommy was the evil witch. Their mommies made pretty dresses for them, took them for walks in the dark and beautiful woods, and told them wonderful bedtime stories about beautiful princesses and evil witches. Most of all, their mommies protected them. They did not even know that their mommies were the same person. They didn't know what to do except go to their homes and tell their mommies what had happened, so Angela and Anne promised to meet the next day to decide what to do about the evil witch.13

When Angela and Arthur went to meet Anne the next morning, she wasn't there. They looked everywhere in her house from the basement to the dark and spooky attic, they looked in all of Anne's favorite hiding places for Hide and Go Seek, they looked everywhere in the dark and beautiful woods for her. They asked all of the Ragdolls if they had seen Anne, but no one had. Angela had just about given up on ever finding Anne when she realized where she must be. This time it was Angela who suddenly took off running through the woods, and Arthur ran after her as fast as he could. They ran for many hours to the clearing in the dark and beautiful woods where the strange house sat. The door was wide open. Arthur wouldn't go near the strange house again, he ran away into the dark and beautiful woods all alone, back to where all the other Ragdolls lived. Angela had never been so afraid but she didn't run away, she didn't even knock on the door. She walked right into the strange house and straight through the small door, not stopping until she stood on the bottom step of the basement stairs. But she couldn't go any further.14

Anne. Anne with three silver pins in her head and the number 49 on her forehead. Anne had the same sad and frightened look on her face as all the others, but the tears on her face hadn't even had time to dry. Anne was dead, just like Alice and the other Ragdolls in the basement. Everything was still in the basement where the dead Ragdolls were hidden. Until something moved in a dark corner. Angela had never heard of hate, much less felt it before. Now she was filled with it, all of her hate for the evil witch who had killed the Ragdolls. The evil witch came forward into the light.15

Angela didn't see an evil witch anymore. She saw Mommy, her mommy who made pretty dresses for her, took her for walks in the dark and beautiful woods, and told her wonderful bedtime stories about beautiful princesses and evil witches. Mommy had made a perfect and beautiful puppy named Arthur to make her smile. Angela had never had a nightmare but if she had it couldn't have been half as awful as this. All she could do was cry.16

It was breaking Mommy's heart to pieces to watch Angela cry. Mommy reached out to Angela, to hug her and tell her it would be all right. To comfort Angela as she would have if all of this death had been no more than a scraped knee. But Angela was afraid of Mommy and ran up the stairs, out of the strange house and through the dark and beautiful woods. Angela did not go back to where all the other Ragdolls lived, she ran far away from any place she had ever seen before. She ran to the very edge of the dark and beautiful woods, out into the sunlight where Mommy would never find her.17

Angela had grown up.18

Angela was almost blinded by the light outside of the woods, it seemed to come from everywhere. There were no trees, the earth was flat as far as she could see and she could see no one at all. All she saw was an old and empty road that seemed to go on forever. She followed the old and empty road for many days, not seeing anyone. Soon she began to be afraid, she worried that there was no one but her outside of the dark and beautiful woods. She longed to go home to be with the other Ragdolls, but she was so very afraid of Mommy and the sharp silver pins. She knew that she could never go home. Angela kept following the old and empty road, believing it would never end, until finally she saw something in the distance.19

It took many more days of walking before Angela could finally see what the something in the distance really was. The something in the distance was a house, a large house with a tall pointed roof. Angela walked faster and faster toward the large house with the tall pointed roof, afraid it would disappear if she didn't hurry. She walked towards it as fast as she could, and finally she stood in front of the open door of the large house with the tall pointed roof. She was a little bit afraid, but she just had to go in. She had to know what was inside. She took a deep breath.20

Angela shut her eyes and stepped into the large house with the tall pointed roof. When she opened her eyes again she was amazed by what she saw. There was no sunlight here to hurt her eyes. It was dark inside, dark like it had been in the dark and beautiful woods. And there were people. The people seemed to be playing a game, maybe Hide and Go Seek. They were all sitting with their hands folded and their heads bowed, and some of them whispered a little as if they were counting to fifty before they could seek the hiders. Angela decided to join in and hide, it had been so long since she had seen anyone or played a game. She saw a few small doors set in the wall next to her, and opened one of them. It was a small room with a small bench, even darker than the rest of the large house with the tall pointed roof. Angela decided to hide in this room, so she closed the door behind her and sat on the bench. She waited for the game to start.21

Angela had waited for a long time and had nearly fallen asleep when the noise started. It was a small scraping noise, coming from the wall right next to the bench she was sitting on. Angela was very afraid until the scraping noise stopped. A tiny window had appeared in the wall and she saw an old man sitting in the small room next to her own. But the old man did not seem to realize that she had just lost the game of Hide and Go Seek, he did not seem to care that he had found her. He spoke to Angela. The old man asked what she had come to confess, and she confessed that she did not understand. The old man asked if she had sinned, and she confessed that she did not understand. The old man asked if she had sinned against her parents, and Angela confessed that she did not understand. The old man asked if she had done something that made her mommy sad, and Angela had to admit that it was true. She had run away from her Mommy forever and could never go back. The old man sighed and told her that she must go home. He promised Angela that if she did, she would see the mysterious beauty of a mother's love and forgiveness