Chapter 10
That night was another nightmare. This time he dreamt that he was stuck in the dollhouse, as strange little wooden doll. He was locked inside the secret room behind the bookcase. He was waiting, waiting indefinitely for someone to notice the little book that was sticking out and pull it. So he could escape, so could take care of Beth and take care of Coralina. And maybe, maybe just maybe take care of Kelly too.
But he was still angry with Kelly for losing her job, for putting more financial stress on the family. He didn’t like it, he wanted to have good things happen to them. And here, he would spend his life trying and she… She would just sit there and do nothing! Is that what they come to? The dark little room around him was closing in, and the panic about money started to swallow him.
He waited in the dark and hoped that someone would pull that little book so he could get out of this little dark tiny room. He could feel the panic rising in his throat, the need to scream. And he started to reach out his hands in all directions tapping things, maybe he could find the latch from the inside? Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier! But his hard wooden stick hands wouldn’t behave themselves.
A long sharp, needle dug into his eye. He almost screamed, but he realized it didn’t hurt. He was made of wood. But it was sticking out from his eyes so far it bumped the wall across the little room. No wonder why he couldn’t see in the dark with the giant metal needle stabbing through his vision. He tried to pull on it with both of his wooden hands but he had no grip, it didn’t budge. Carefully he used his thick wooden hands to tap around the room in every direction. He had to keep swinging his head toward the center of the room to prevent the needle from bumping a wall. It was like a coffin, four sides short ceiling. He knew he was standing up, but he couldn’t didn’t even have the room to sit. His wooden legs didn’t bend anyways, so what could he do?
Finally he resorted to screaming for Kelly. To no avail. then screaming for Coralina, and then finally screaming for little Beth. “Please please let me out! I’ll be a good boy. I promise.” He said, the words on foreign lips. But the words – they felt familiar. As if they were words he had said and screamed a thousand times. How long had he been stuck in here?
And then the door cracked open just slightly, and then it swung open in a big whoosh. In the outside was cold, like the air from a refrigerator. And it was right out, his eyes could not get accustomed to it. In fact his eye was hurting badly. He reached up to touch it and he felt the giant needle once more. He tried to pull and pull and then suddenly pop it came out.
He blinked twice and opened his eyes.
He was standing in front of his truck. The light from the truck were on and shining in his face. In the truck was very slowly rolling towards him. It scared him so badly. His eyes burning from the bright lights. He pushed on the truck with his hands and try to slow it down, and then turned and ran around the side hopping in the truck and popping it into park. The keys were in the ignition, but the engine wasn’t turned on. How had he come outside, gotten in the truck put the key, and popped it into neutral and turn on the lights- how had he done this in his sleep?
And then stood in front of it, so that it would have run him over.
What kind of sick and twisted brain did he have? With a shudder, he went back to bed. It was only two in the morning.
He almost woke up Kelly and ask for her to hold him. Because the fear was brewing inside his belly, and marinating in his mind. But he was still so angry with her for not even trying to get a job, that instead he rolled his back to her and fell asleep.
