Бесплатный фрагмент - Childhood fantasy

CHILDHOOD FANTASY

Pitch-black snow was falling slowly outside the window, like soot. A little girl was watching it, sitting on a cold metal bed without a mattress. She did not understand what was really happening. There was darkness in her head, and the view from the window seemed to zombify her, making the girl’s defenseless body immobile.

The room was cramped, with peeling paint on the walls. The air was filled with the smell of dampness and musty clothes. The ceiling was completely covered with drops of moisture, which slowly fell onto the broken tiled floor and onto the poor thing sitting motionless and soaked through. A rusty door bolted from the outside was behind her.

Muffled voices resembling cries for help, as well as scraping and knocking sounds, as if someone wanted to get into the room, could be heard from beyond it. Fear seized her just as the bubonic plague seized people in the Middle Ages. All of this resembled one continuous nightmare, after which one wanted to wake up as soon as possible and never, ever fall asleep again.

The first day of December turned out to be warm and, unexpectedly for many, unimaginably snowy. A lot of snow had fallen since morning — almost a month’s worth of precipitation.

An eight-year-old girl named Emily was building a snowman in the backyard of her house. She had to play alone, as she had no brothers or sisters. She was the only child not only in her family but also in the large house that resembled a castle, with numerous rooms and a host of servants.

Emily’s parents were very wealthy and respected people in these parts, as they provided jobs for half the population of the region by mining gold in deep shafts. The family business brought unimaginable profit, and the family did not have to limit themselves in anything. Emily could afford all the toys in the world, but she was not the kind of child who begged her wealthy parents for whatever her heart desired on any day of the week. The girl’s modesty and her cultured, hereditary upbringing showed in this, although at times she could be stubborn.

Emily loved playing with her only doll, Sally, from whom she never parted, even during dinner. Sometimes she would seat the doll at the dining table next to her, put a baby bib on it so as not to soil its lace dress, and pretend to feed it.

This time, the Sally doll was sitting on the porch nearby, watching Emily roll snowballs to build yet another snowman; several similar ones were already standing in the backyard.

— Look, Sally, what a big snowball I’ve made! — said Emily, looking at her doll while standing by the large snowball she had just shaped from wet snow.

A little while later, one of the maids came out of the house and politely asked the girl to finish her winter games in the backyard and come inside, as lunchtime was approaching. Emily did not answer; she merely wrinkled her nose and, without finishing the snowman, headed back to the house, picking up her doll along the way.

Barely having crossed the threshold, she saw the servants rushing back and forth with food from the dining room to the living room. After taking off her outerwear, Emily headed to her room to change the damp socks on her feet, which had absorbed the moisture of the melting snow from her boots.

Climbing the wide staircase, she met her mother on the way. She was wearing a magnificent blue dress that shimmered in the light, accentuating her slender figure. She paused at the sight of her daughter and asked:

— How was your walk, dear?

— I didn’t finish the snowman! — Emily replied in a displeased voice.

— It’s lunchtime now! You need to eat, and after that, you have a French tutor. So you’ll finish your snowman in the evening, — her mother said, stroking Emily’s head.

— Why do I need French? And honestly, I’m not hungry! — Emily said, then headed up the stairs.

Without answering, the mother went down the wide staircase, lightly holding onto the banister with her hand. Meanwhile, Emily had already flown into her room, placed the doll on the bed, and sat down beside her. Taking off her damp socks, she looked at Sally and asked her:

— Well, shall we go to lunch or stay here?

The doll did not answer, still sitting by the pillow with her head turned towards the door.

— I don’t feel like it either, but I have to! And that tutor as well! — Emily said, then climbed down from the bed and walked over to the dresser where her clothes were.

Opening the bottom drawer, which contained her socks, she took out a pair. She put them on immediately and walked back to the bed. Picking up the doll under her arm, Emily left the room towards the dining room for lunch.

The table was set. Her father and mother were already sitting at it, waiting only for Emily, who reluctantly took her seat, holding the doll in her arms with the help of a servant.

— She will dine with us, because she is part of our family! — Emily replied, placing the doll on her lap.

— Dear, it’s a doll, not a puppy or a kitten! — her mother said, taking her daughter’s side.

— Alright! The doll is also part of our family! Have it your way! — the father replied, trying to reconcile himself to the situation and continue his meal.