Page 16 of Mama Si's Paradise

“I-I-I…” I couldn’t find words to tell her that bed was way too big for me—it could probably fit four grown people comfortably.

Mama Si laughed a bit, and the sound of it was warm and cold at the same time. She put her hands on my shoulders, and it was impossible to look away from her colorful eyes that sparkled like precious jewels right now.

“Glad you like it. This is your room, and your room only. Nobody can enter those doors without your permission. I only provide the best for my dolls because that’s the only thing I am willing to accept from them in return.” She winked at me. “So, take your time. Relax. Rest a bit. Enjoy your new beginning, Fall Doll. Let Mama make all your dreams come true.” Slowly, she leaned closer and closer until her lips pressed to my forehead.

Every inch of my body rose in goose bumps. My eyes squeezed shut tightly and I felt her lips all the way to my core. She moved back, but that kiss remained with me, as if it had infiltrated my body. As if it was becoming one with me.

I must have been so much more exhausted and overwhelmed than I realized to be feeling these strange things. But Mama Si and Assa left the room while I was still trying to take in all my surroundings, as well as everything else that was going on inside me. The door clicked closed and I was suddenly all alone, without a single clue what to do with myself.

But I’d done it. I’d actually come to Mama Si’s Paradise and I’d accepted her offer toentertain,and she’d promised to make all my dreams come true, and now I was here.

I was here.

My legs took me forward, and before I knew it, I was by the windows, looking out at the ocean. I could see the blue sky and the water perfectly, as well as three levels of pools that were part of the mansion. They were far below the windows and right now all three were empty, and there were big trees to the sides, so I didn’t see much else from here, but I saw the ocean.

Right now, there was no line that separated it from the sky. They were one and the same, the perfect blend of a million shades of blue.

And in those moments, I was willing to bet anything that they were both made of magic.

Five

Someone knockedon the door not five minutes later.

I’d opened the window, had rested my elbows on the sill and I was watching the sky and the ocean, breathing in the air that smelled like roses and sounded like music, so even though I heard the knocking, I still couldn’t move. Even though the door opened, I still couldn’t tear my eyes away from the blue, until…

“Excuse me, Miss Hayes. May I come in?”

Finally, the spell broke and my body remembered what it was like to move. I turned around slowly, not exactly sure what to expect, but a young woman was by the door, her feet outside still as she watched me, cheeks pink and blue eyes wide.

She was waiting for my permission.

“Of course,” I said when I found my voice—dry, hoarse, but a voice, nonetheless.

The woman stepped inside and closed the door behind her, her smile wide. Her smile genuine.

“Thank you,” she said. “My name is Marissa. I’ll be yourprimary help around the mansion. It’s good to meet you, Miss Hayes.”

Being calledmisshad always triggered me, probably because of my grandmother’s name—Missy.

“Please, call me Fall.” I stepped to the middle of the room and she came closer, too. She wore that same dress—baby blue with golden buttons, perfectly clean and pressed. Her light brown hair was done in a thick braid behind her head. She didn’t look more than a few years older than me, maybe even less.

“Of course,” the woman said with a deep nod. “Welcome to the Paradise. You’re going to love it here.”

“I will?” Because I didn’t know what to feel just yet.

“I think so. It’s a dream come true,” she said, and slowly, she leaned in and put her hand around my arm. “Come, Fall. Let’s get you cleaned up and in a new pair of clothes. I have a dress being pressed for you—exactly your size. Just until you have the chance to buy new clothes. I think you’re going to love that, too. Come.”

“Where are we?—”

There were two doors to the right of the bed, the design the same as the walls, almost identical. I hadn’t even noticed them. The first led to a bathroom, apparently. My own personalprivatebathroom, with a shower and a tub and two sinks in it. With white and pink and yellow tiles and a big window right over the round tub, from where I could see the ocean, too.

Marissa went to the tub, turned on the faucet, then pulled out some towels from one of the two wide drawers. Meanwhile my feet froze in the middle of the room, and that was the first time since yesterday that the need to cry built up inside me. It rose within me like an ocean wave, and I had to bite my tongue and hold my breath until it passed.

It was getting too much. Everything was getting too much.

“Can you hear me, Fall?”

I blinked and found Marissa with two towels in her hands, looking at me expectantly.

---