Page 38 of Little Doll

Astrid stood by the trickling fountain tossing coins in and gazing up at the moon. I wondered what a little girl of nearly a thousand years would wish for. I draped lazily on a stone bench with my hair and skirt flowing off the side and dusting the ground. I held up a worn paper booklet from the Mysteries of London penny dreadful series, but all the words inside ran together. I sighed and let my arm fall and the book fluttered to the ground.

“Astrid? What would happen if we went into the sun?”

Astrid stopped and turned to me, giving me her odd stoic look. “We burn to death and die.”

I sat up on the stone bench. “If even for just a second? If the sunlight graces my skin for just one second, I’m cursed to burn to death and die?”

“Not for just one second, I suppose,” she admitted. “But it would cause you pain like you could never even imagine. Your flesh would bubble and fry, you would scream for thirty days straight at least, and you would have an ugly disfigurement for all eternity.” She shrugged. “Hardly seems worth it to me.” She peered back up at the moon once again. “I love the night.”

I sighed and my shoulders drooped as I laid back down on the bench. “I miss the sun,” I murmured.

Astrid walked to where I lay and gazed down at me. She reached down and caressed my cheek, but the touch of her tiny hand was stilted and unsure, as though she were merely mimicking showing affection without actually feeling it. “Could you take me somewhere to play again soon, Nova? It was so fun at the circus. I feel hungry again.” Despite the childlike nature of her words, her voice was filled with a somber tone, devoid of any warmth or emotion.

“Hello? Oh, pardon me!” came a voice before I had a chance to put Astrid off.

I lurched up from my seat and Astrid took my hand, squeezing it painfully.

A woman had walked up to the garden gate.

She wore a sophisticated wool hunter green suit with a waistcoat and high-necked blouse. Her shimmering red hair was piled high atop her head and gathered beneath a stylish hat of green that matched her dress. A spattering of freckles sprinkled her nose and rosy cheeks. Her eyes crinkled with her wide, vibrant smile.

“Er, hello?” I replied, returning her friendly smile with a perplexed one. “Can we help you?”

She stood right outside the gate, and we had crept toward it, but paused about three feet back. I slid my arm around Astrid’s shoulders. The beautiful woman continued to smile warmly. “My name is Ren Ripley,” she said, extending her hand through the black iron bars of the garden gate. I stared down at her gloved hand. “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that I seem to have lost my way.”

In that fleeting moment, I hesitated, torn between her captivating eyes and the gesture of her outstretched hand. Ultimately, I resolved to cast aside my rudeness and shook it. I opened the gate and let her in.

“What are you doing out here so late?” Astrid asked suspiciously.

Ren giggled and pat Astrid on the head. I flinched, more than a little terrified that my small sister would rip her throat out. “It’s a bit embarrassing, really. I’m an amateur botanist and historian. I was exploring the local flora and some old sites, and I got so absorbed in my work that I didn’t realize how late it had become.”

“Botanist? What kind of plants are you studying?” I asked, my interest piqued by this unusual woman with her green dress and her red hair out here under the moon.

“Mostly nocturnal species. They have such fascinating properties. And the history of this area is rich, too. I saw the lights from your house andhoped someone might help me find my way back to the main road.”

“Hi. Do you have any interesting plants with you?” Astrid asked.

Ren Ripley reached into the pocket of her jacket and produced a few leaves and twigs. She presented a branch to Astrid covered in small blackish red leaves. “This is called Summer Wine Black Ninebark. This plant can help heal burns and illnesses of the lungs. And,” she said conspiratorially, “if it’s made into tea, it can help ladies have babies!”

Astrid cracked the tiniest of smiles and I giggled.

“And this one,” she said, displaying a leaf that looked like the tentacle of an octopus, “is a Mangave Black Widow. Its leaves store the energy of the sun and carry it to you in the night.”

I gasped, and Ren’s eyes darted to mine. “May I?” I asked, delicately reaching for the Mangave leaf.

Her hand drifted across the divide between us and offered me the leaf. “Of course!”

I took the tendril and held it to my face, hoping to feel the warmth of the sun from it. Of course I did not, but when I opened my eyes, I felt the warmth of Ren’s eyes on me. “Please,” she said. “Keep it. A gift to remember me by.”

Her sweet innocent smile brought me back to memories of afternoons with friends. Horseback riding, reading in the sun beneath a tree, swimming, going to the theater in the city. Looking into Ren’s lovely eyes made me realize those days were over. My friends were gone from my life like ghosts. My plans and my wishes evaporated.

I was so lonely.

“Let us help you find your way, and then… Would it be strange if I invited you to join our family here at Blackmoth House for dinner on the morrow?” I asked her earnestly.

Ren gasped and gave a little clap of her hands. “That would be simply marvelous,” she glowed. “As a traveler, I daresay it’s been ages since I’ve had a decent meal, how lovely of you to invite me!”

We ambled up the long curving driveway of Blackmoth House and I showed her out onto the road. I had already offered to summon a carriage to take her where she needed to go, in fear of her getting lost again. She insisted that wasn’t necessary; that her lodging was nearby. Then I offered to walk her the rest of the way, but again she declined.

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