~ Baltimore Beauty ~

by

Sue Thornton

 An old, familiar feeling crept over her and she tried to force it back. This time she wouldn’t win; the feeling was too strong, too powerful. Kiri couldn’t explain how she knew. She just did. It was like all the other times, only this ‘one’ wouldn’t be pushed away. She shivered again.

~*~ 

Kiri woke with a start, the doll clutched tightly to her chest. Each inhalation of air was agonizing and her body ached with fear. With each shallow breath she took, the terror plaguing her released the tight grip on her muscles and limbs. Wiping her hand across her cheek she found the damp remains of tears. The dream was so real. I felt the fear. And the pain. So much pain.

Laying the doll on the bed, Kiri rose on shaking legs. Her nightgown soaked with sweat. As she moved toward the bathroom she discovered the bottoms of her feet were raw and sore from walking barefoot through the woods.

Her inner voice whispered words of logic...You didn’t walk barefoot through the woods, Kiri. The little girl did; the one carrying the doll...

Kiri retrieved the doll and stared into the knowledgeable, embroidered eyes. Her fingers touched each strand of red yarn hair.

Fragments of the dream trickled through her as she focused all her attention on the fabric toy. Tiny currents of electricity coursed through her fingers and into her body.

“Raggedy Anne, who do you belong to? Where did you come from?” she whispered into the silence.

~*~ 

The worn fabric face faded and disappeared. China blue eyes set in a cherub face surrounded by dirty blonde hair stared back at her. Tears rolled down the bruised, swollen face leaving tracks among the dirt, cuts and scrapes. The puckered, heart shaped mouth was poised to open and the child’s low terrified cry filled the air.

~*~ 

Kiri dropped the doll and backed away from the bed. Her chest heaved with each gasp for breath while her gaze remained on the still object, afraid it would move. Afraid of what the doll knew.

A slight movement caught her eye and glancing up, Kiri found a little girl of seven or eight standing in the corner. The child wore the same torn and tattered sleeveless tee shirt and cotton underpants Kiri had seen in her dream. 

“Who are you?” Kiri whispered. She gripped the bodice of her nightgown under her breasts and remained frozen as time stood still. Fascinated, she stared as the child shimmered in the early morning light.

“My name’s Rachel,” the girl sobbed. “I can’t find Sally.”

“Who’s Sally?” Kiri knotted her nightgown in her cold, clammy hands. A wave of relief overcame her when she glanced around the room and didn’t see anyone else. How did she get in? 

“My sister.” The child’s face twisted in pain. “Help me find her.”

“Why me?” Kiri asked. “Where’s your mommy?” A sick sensation formed in her stomach because she already knew the answer. Closing her eyes, Kiri wished the child gone. Please leave me alone. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten before opening them. The girl was still there.

“Because you will talk to me. Nobody else listens to me. Please help me.” Rachel limped closer, her face contorting in pain with each step.

Red welts covered Rachel’s arms and legs. A small rivulet of blood ran down the inside of her thigh. Horrified, she knew she needed to help this little girl. But how?

With another agonizing step, Rachel moved towards Kiri. “You found Annie. She belongs to Sally. It’s her favorite baby doll. Sally needs her baby,” Rachel begged.

Kiri glanced over at Raggedy Anne. The face had returned to cotton cloth and yarn. “I found her between the doors. Someone placed here there yesterday while I was gone. Was it you? Did you put her there?” Kiri looked back toward the window. “Where are your parents? Where do you live?”

The child held her hand out toward Kiri. Her body shimmered, wavered and then disappeared.

How was that child supposed to put the doll in the doorway? She isn’t even real. She squinted and thought back. Bran could be playing one of his sick jokes. He was the only one that could possibly have placed the doll there. He was outside...but he also said Aunt Ethel saw the child in the gardens. I saw something; someone. Could it have been her? Kiri shook her head in denial. Impossible, one minute she was there, the next minute she was gone. Okay, so who left the doll behind?

~*~ 

Kiri fled to the bathroom. She prolonged the hot shower in a weak attempt to stop the shaking that encompassed her to the very core of her being. Sitting in the corner of the bathtub, she let the water beat down on her until the spray became ice cold. Resigned, she stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around her, tucking the ends snuggly between her breasts.

With unusual timidity she opened the door and glanced around the room before stepping out of the safe refuge. The doll remained in a forgotten heap on the bed. 

An inner voice taunted her. Coward. What are you so afraid of? You’re letting your imagination run rampant again. There isn’t anyone here; there never was anyone here. You were daydreaming.

On silent feet, she padded across the room. Her gaze remained on the doll while she dressed in a bulky blue sweater, white leggings, and tennis shoes. Running her fingers through her wet hair Kiri glanced toward the corner where she imagined Rachel had appeared. Kiri slowly ventured toward the bed, and emitting a loud groan at seeing her hands shake, reached for the doll.

Taking a deep breath, she picked the baby doll up. The embroidery stitches were slightly frayed and a tear in her dress had been mended with care. Annie was well loved by someone. Somewhere, some little girl would be missing her baby. Searching her memory, she could only think of two houses where little girls lived in the prominently elderly neighborhood.

Kiri turned the doll over and began removing the worn clothing. Finding script in faded ink on the doll’s back she rubbed her fingers over the fabric pulling the material taut in an effort to see better. 

S---y Clark –62 was all she could decipher.

Was this the ‘other’ in my dream? The face on the doll? Rachel was definitely the little girl I observed walking through the woods. She was dragging the doll. Why did she have the doll and not Sally? Especially if Annie was Sally’s favorite baby. Closing her eyes she tried to pull the dream closer into her conscience, while muttering a quick prayer. 

Am I taking this dream a little too seriously? The girl in my room was a figment of my imagination, carried over from my dream.

“But, am I sure?” Kiri murmured out loud. There was only one way to find out the answer, either the hard way or the easy way. She sighed. She wondered why she even bothered, it was always the same. I’ll do it the hard way. She would forego her sewing today and go to the Hall of Records to see what she could find out. She was determined to prove it was only a dream and nothing more than her imagination. She decided she really needed to get involved in school again to keep her mind occupied.

Kiri grabbed the phone and dialed. “Hey, Sierra, are you really busy this morning? Would it be okay if I came down and looked through the birth records?”

“What are you looking for?” Sierra asked.

Kiri stared into the room. “I’m not sure.”

“I don’t see a problem. I can set you up in one of the side rooms. About what time frame are you looking for? I’ll pull the microfiche and have it ready for you.”

Kiri bit her bottom lip. This is a wild goose chase. I don’t know when they were born, let alone where. And it was just a dream. What am I doing? “Say 1950 to 1970.” Proving to myself it was just a dream. A normal dream that any normal person had.