Broken Dolls (20 page)

“Huh?” I frown when I register my own voice. It’s different. It doesn’t have the melodic tone of a singer. Instead it’s croaky, nasally, and…
old
. “What just happened?”

Lisa inhales shakily and caresses my face. I pull away, unsettled by her sweet disposition.

“Do you have any of your human memories?” Her hair is slowly drying and curling at the tips, and she’s taken off her wet duds and replaced them with one of the professor’s spare coats.

I move my hand into a more comfortable position and flinch when a piece of glass sticks into my palm. I slowly remove it, startled by the crimson liquid trickling along my skin. I’m bleeding…

“I don’t remember anything…” I say, smearing the blood across my hand.

“Okay, I was afraid of that,” Lisa mutters, heading towards one of the computers. She types something into the computer and looks at me. “Ella?”

I don’t respond. I’m too busy feeling the joints in my fingers move and getting used to my chest rising when I breathe. I feel everything–my heart, my teeth, my throat–everything, except my legs. Everything else moves when I want it to, but not them.

“Why can’t I walk?” Ugh! That horrible croaking that passes for my voice… And my legs. I hit them, but they’re numb. “Something’s wrong with them.”

Lisa inhales loudly again. “This should jog your memories. I’m just warning you–you’re not going to like it.”

“Why not?” I ask, but I don’t hear a response. Within moments, I am once again smothered by darkness.

omehow, Daniel was handsomer once we were married.

As soon as he said ‘I do’, his face grew brighter. His eyes shone, his cheeks flushed, and his lips glistened.

He was absolutely perfect.

I’ve never met anyone who smiled as much as Daniel. He was always happy–quiet, but gloriously happy.

But how could he not be? He had just started working from home, far away from the politics that were the bane of his office. We threw in our savings and built a laboratory in the attic so he could create a cure for every disease.

Life was perfect. I had the sweetest two-year old who was exceptionally bright and I got the feeling he’d take after his father when he grew up. He was currently staying with my mother while Daniel and I honeymooned. Jason was born out of wedlock and with our busy schedules, Daniel and I had only now just decided to get married and take a well-deserved vacation. It would be agony to leave my baby boy behind, but I was assured we had both earned a delayed wedding and a week away to ourselves.

My mother said I was a fool for supporting Daniel. Her words always echoed in my head, “so long as there are cures, there will be disease, no matter what. Nature gives and nature takes.”

Don’t get me wrong–my mother loved Daniel; she just didn’t
believe
in him. No one believed in Daniel. Just me.

“Sweetheart, we’re going to lose our reservations.” I pushed on the laboratory door. As expected, he was rushing from beaker to beaker, tweaking water levels and testing the electric charges.

He was still dressed in his wedding suit, albeit the tie was loosened and the shirt untucked.

“One moment, dear,” he said, pausing briefly to blow me a kiss. “An idea occurred to me during the reception. What if our bodies can’t heal whilst we’re conscious? As humans, we are indoctrinated into speaking negatively and believing the worst in others. Our bodies can’t heal if our mind won’t allow it! What if I removed the consciousness so that the body could heal? It’s revolutionary!”

“It’s madness!” I laugh, joining him so that I can link my arm through his. I stand on tiptoes to gently kiss him on the cheek. “But all the best ideas are mad. Can you do it?”

“Not yet,” he mumbles, wrapping his arms around my waist. “But I will! It will require a lot of testing before I make it public. My problem is working out where to
send
the consciousness while the body heals. I don’t want to put people into a coma, exactly. They should still be able to live happily and healthily. I’m also working on an injection to help fight diseases in the body! If I combined that with a consciousness transfer, it would ensure fast and effective results!”

“Daniel, do you mean to tell me you were thinking of
that
during our wedding reception?”

“Yes!” He squeezed me all the tighter. “I’ve always said you’re my inspiration!”

I couldn’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl when he picked me up and twirled me in the air, just like the boys used to do in dance class.

“I try.” I adjusted the straps on my mermaid-green dress. There was no need for me to wear white, after all. “But seriously, you can have a look at this later. We’re an hour behind already!”

“My petulant doll.” Daniel nuzzled my forehead. “Meet me in the car while I finish this up.”

“I bet I could choreograph and learn a whole new dance number for opening night by the time you’re done!”

“You’re on. What’s the date of your debut, again?”

“The third. You know, this could really make my career. A star role in an off-Broadway musical! Do you think you’ll leave your experiments at home when we walk the red carpet?”

“Depends on how rich and famous you are…” Daniel poked his tongue out and winked.

I rolled my eyes and puttered down the stairs, careful not to trip on my gown. When I reached the bottom step, I allowed myself a moment to admire the cream carpet, the peach walls, and the violet curtains. I loved my home. It wasn’t glamorous or overly big, but it was mine. I could never imagine leaving it. Not for long.

A shortcut through the living room took me into the garage, where I threw myself in the car and cranked up the radio so I could sing along while I waited for Daniel.

I’d never felt so happy. Sure, I was sitting in a dim garage singing to myself, but I honestly didn’t care. Not much bothered me, which is why Daniel and I worked
.

I’d only sang two and half songs when Daniel joined me in the car–and the singing. He didn’t know the words, mind you, but that didn’t stop him from belting it out.

We hadn’t booked an expensive honeymoon–we just decided to leave the suburbs and spend the week in the countryside an hour from home. Daniel reserved a sweet cottage for us called the Honey-Milk Barn. The photos looked exquisite. Roses lined the path leading to the glass door and daisies sat by the windowsills. The bedroom was a deliberately rustic loft that overlooked the living area with its old-style TV and a cozy couch made for cuddling.

“My throat is getting sore,” Daniel said, slowing around a sharp bend in the road.

“Oh no! Are you getting sick?” I felt his forehead with the back of my hand.

“Nah.” Daniel chuckled. “It’s from singing too much.”

“That’s because you don’t do it from your diaphragm!” I ran my fingers along his sternum. He squealed when I tickled him, trapping my hand between his chin and chest. “Let go!”

“Then stop tickling me!” He playfully batted my hand away, and I conceded defeat. We were probably only forty-five minutes away, but the flurry of packing and the heartbreak of leaving our little guy for the very first time were taking their toll.

The road was deserted and dark. It wasn’t usually this dim by eight-thirty, but the trees blocked out what was left of the sunlight. We wound along one of the back roads–the ones that truck drivers usually took so they wouldn’t be penalized for driving over their hours. Daniel ensured me it was a quicker route, but I’d felt a tad uneasy. I always liked people around me and knowing my place on the map–but it wasn’t until now that I realized that Daniel was all I needed.

“I’m going to rest my eyes for a minute.” I yawned, my blinks getting heavy.

Daniel chortled. “Turning into an old married lady, sweetheart?”

I poked him on the arm. “Just tired of putting up with you!”

“I’m sure.” He smirked, turning down the volume. “Go on, Ella. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

I reached for his free hand and squeezed it. “I love you.”

“I love you, more. You’re my world,” Daniel said, briefly diverting his gaze from the road. When it swung back, a profanity escaped his lips.

Daniel frantically pulled on the wheel and swerved violently to the left to avoid a large deer standing in the middle of the road. The deer escaped unharmed, but the car rolled once, screeched, groaned, and
smashed
into the side of the tree.

And my seatbelt… It didn’t keep me in my seat like it was supposed to. In one blurry moment, I was thrown off, the glass pierced my skin, and the road slammed into me for all I was worth.

The ringing in my ear didn’t last long, and then, I was deafened by silence. The car lay totaled against the tree, smoke or steam or something floating from the engine and up towards the heavens. I couldn’t see Daniel in the car.

My heart fluttered, like it skipped a couple of beats. I tried to run towards the car, and collapsed when I attempted to stand. Nothing hurt, but nothing worked. It didn’t make sense. Instinctively, I crawled towards the car, then stopped, distracted by the wetness. Had I been out that long? Did it start raining? I glanced down at the gravel, and my head spun when I realized it wasn’t rain that was soaking my body–it was a long trail of blood that smeared the road.
My
blood.

“Daniel?” My voice shook when I reached the car. Dents dotted the doors, and all the windows were shattered. I tugged on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. “Daniel? Sweetie?”

No response. Weakly, I released the handle and slumped to the ground, breathing so quickly, no air actually made it into my system before I choked on a putrid smell… Smoke? Yeah. That was smoke. The car would go up in flames any second.

There was no noise… only the weeping cries that leaked from my mouth.

There was no one around… no one, except the deer that stared at me from the other side of the road. When I acknowledged its gaze, it turned its back on me and bolted into the woods.