Agnes Carrier peered into the darkness at the small slice of light coming from her grandmother’s room. She could hear the occasional giggle, a snap here, a clunk there. Grandmother was retrieving her dolls. Ordinarily, the room across the hall was quiet, but for the last few weeks, Agnes’s grandmother was getting involved in her bedtime routine. Her father would pluck her from in front of the television, carry her up the stairs, tuck her in bed, while grandmother brought in her dolls, the actors in her nightly bedtime story. Apparently, Agnes’s grandmother had made them herself, when she was a young child. At least that’s what she tells visitors when she shows them off on the mantle above the fireplace at Christmas. Agnes found it hard to …show more content…
Whatever had happened, she still had nightmares, inexplicable moments of lonely, isolated terror. There were never any monsters, no ghosts, just darkness and loneliness. She had lost her family tragically when she was a small child. She remembered being adopted by her uncle when she was only seven. He was a cabinet maker specializing in church altars and podiums. This was very specialized craftsmanship, that few could duplicate, so when he had work, he made a very decent living. Unfortunately, his wife had died giving birth to his only daughter- who herself not being healthy, passed less than an hour later. He uncle was happy to have Irma come to live with him and treated her like his own child. He taught her how to carve, using the high-quality scrap wood he brought home from his work. She taught herself how to sew and soon she was creating very elegant dolls.
Of course, these were no Raggedy Ann dolls, certainly no Golliwags! These were hand-carved from the finest cabinet remnants, hand-sewn from the finest old tablecloths and stockings. She had made five dolls in all, each had a name; Norma, Rayleen, Abigail, Mary and Mary Two. She as proud of them as anyone could be and displayed them in the parlor over the fireplace, so any visitor stopping by would have an opportunity to compliment her on her