Easter Message

Heather poses for an Easter photo

Happy Easter to all who are celebrating. Stay safe, stay well.

 

Signed, Treesa

Kira's Story: Post 3 (Wet n' Wild Kira)

We've traveled through my past and have reached the present, but there is still one more story to be told. You know now what happened to my daughter Courtney, and how painful the loss was. What I didn't realize at the time was just how attached Treesa was to Courtney. Several months ago I was going about my daily life when by chance I came across a familiar face. Years came flooding back to me when I saw the brunette hair and the green eyes I remembered so well. Even the outfit was the same. "Courtney?" I asked, not believing what I was seeing.

"It's Cricket now," the doll said. "Treesa changed it when she got me home from the thrift store. I'm not sure why." This doll, Cricket, shifted the baby girl doll in her arms that I hadn't even realized she was holding and asked, "How did you know I was a Courtney doll?" I barely heard her question. I was staring at the baby she held, a baby who looked so much like my baby girl that they could have been twins. "The baby..." I said, my words trailing off. "She's not mine," Cricket said. "I mean, she's not MINE mine, but she's sort of mine. "I'm a Babysitter Courtney doll, and she came in the box with me, so she's my responsibility."

"I see," I said quietly after a moment or two. For just one second I'd thought that somehow, by some miracle, this doll was the daughter I had lost. "Excuse me," I said, "I need to find Treesa." I hurried off, sorrow and anger battling inside of me. When I found Treesa she was sitting at her computer. She had learned that dolls are alive some time ago, so I didn't hesitate to speak to her. "How could you?" I asked. "How could you bring another Babysitter Courtney doll into this house? No one will ever replace my daughter, no one!"

Treesa seemed startled when she heard my voice. She turned around in her chair, looking to see where the voice was coming from. When she saw me she said, "Kira, you scared me!" I wasn't in the mood to be pleasant. "You haven't answered my question," I said. Treesa made a calming gesture with her hands and said, "Kira, calm down! Let me explain!" I doubted that I would agree with whatever reasons Treesa had for buying a replacement Courtney doll. But I waited in frosty silence for her to go on.

"I didn't buy Cricket so she could be your new daughter," Treesa said. "I bought her for ME. I loved Courtney too! I loved playing with her when I was a kid! I was heartbroken when she broke! You know I didn't have many friends growing up. My dolls were my friends, even before I knew you guys were alive!" Treesa stopped for a moment, remembering the past. Then she said, "When I saw Cricket at the store, it was like getting part of my childhood back. I guess I thought if I had Cricket, it would be a little like having Courtney back. I didn't realize 'til after I bought her how much it would hurt you. That's why I didn't tell you Cricket was here. I was hoping you wouldn't find out 'til I thought of a way to tell you that wouldn't upset you."

At the time I couldn't understand why Treesa didn't realize how much having Cricket in the house would affect my family. I still don't know if I will ever really understand how Treesa thinks and feels. But then Treesa is human, and I'm a doll. I'm sure there are things about us that Treesa doesn't understand either. Some other dolls would argue that Treesa's meddling is proof enough of that.

I made sure the rest of my family knew Cricket was here. I didn't want any of them to go through the same confusion and disappointment that I had. We adult dolls felt that Cricket would be happier if no one told her about Courtney. We worried how Cricket would feel, if she learned she was a replacement doll. But our little girl Heather didn't understand, and one day the secret slipped out. We've all tried to reassure Cricket that we don't see her as a replacement. We see her as a new friend, someone unique and special. From time to time, when Cricket needed the rest, I've even helped look after Katydid, or Katie for short, the baby girl doll who came here with Cricket.

Cricket and Katie

I wrote in the beginning that my life has been full, and I think from the combined length of these three posts that you would agree. If you've accompanied me this far, I thank you for both your time and your patience.

Until We Meet Again, Kira







Kira's Story: Post 2 (Wet n' Wild Kira)

Before Michael and I were even officially married, Treesa was making our daughter Heather part of the story. Treesa never did have a play wedding with me and Michael. Since that first playtime, she'd imagined us as being married already. When Michael and I decided to marry it was a dolls only event, and our daughter Heather stood with us for the ceremony. So did our other daughters, Courtney and Baby. I'll share more about them with you later.

Heather was given to Treesa for Christmas the year before she got Michael and me. Heather is a Heart Family Baby Cousins doll with dark hair, and it was most likely the dark hair that gave Treesa the idea to make her mine and Michael's daughter. My own hair is black, and Michael's is a two tone brown color. A year later, Treesa was given a Babysitter Courtney doll for Christmas. Courtney was boxed with a little baby girl doll, dressed in a pink outfit. For years Treesa stubbornly insisted on thinking of the baby as a boy. Treesa didn't have any little boy dolls at the time, so my guess would be she just wanted more variety. She used to think of her baby mertwin dolls as boys as well, in spite of their purple tails and shiny bonnets.

Treesa could never decide on a name for the baby, so she just became Baby. Like Heather, Courtney had dark hair. Baby's hair is a much lighter color, but it still looked brown to Treesa. So Treesa decided to make Courtney and Baby part of our family. Being the parents of three girls was overwhelming at times, but our family wasn't done growing yet. Two or three years later, my sister Kiki joined us.

Kiki

Kiki is a Glitter Beach Kira doll. From what Kiki told us, Treesa saw her on the shelf at a discount toy store and begged her parents to buy her. Treesa's parents bought Kiki on the condition that she would be put aside and Treesa would not get her until Christmas. It took some time for the rest of us to adjust to having Kiki in the family. She has one personality trait in particular that took some getting used to. To put it bluntly, Kiki is a bit of a flirt. She never means any harm by it. I know now my sister would never deliberately break up a happy couple. But at the time I did feel a little threatened by her. Here was a new doll, with all her fresh out of the box beauty, complementing my husband in a way that seemed more than friendly. This in spite of the fact that she knew Michael and I were a married couple. And I was supposed to welcome this doll into my family? I knew that Michael would never abandon me, but I still dreaded having Kiki so close by. I didn't know what she was capable of. I worried what she might do to try and separate my husband and me.

Even Treesa noticed the flirty way that Kiki would sometimes look at Michael, and this was before we started speaking to Treesa! It did take some time for Treesa to notice the signs, but once she noticed she took action. Because Treesa didn't realize Kiki's flirting was harmless, she tried to solve things by throwing another doll into the story. Her idea was to hand pick a doll to be Kiki's boyfriend. The doll she chose was an Ocean Friends Ken that she named Jacques, after Jacques Cousteau.

Jacques

This could very easily have been a disaster. But Kiki and Jacques were both very good humored about Treesa's misguided meddling, and they ended up becoming close friends. I don't think their relationship was ever romantic. Jacques is a little like Kiki herself, in that they both enjoy the company of other dolls but neither one of them is in a hurry to settle down. Jacques, like Kiki, is also a complementer. I've received some of his complements over the years, and I will say that he knows how to flatter a doll. But I would never throw away the life I have with Michael, especially not for someone like Jacques, who flatters every female doll who comes his way.

Now the time has come to discuss something that is still very painful for me. After Treesa got Kiki but before Jacques joined our group, Michael and I lost our daughter Courtney. She was thrown away after her neck was broken. It was a hard blow for our family, but what made it all the more difficult to bear was the fact that at the time Treesa had sort of lost interest in dolls. She kept several collector dolls on the shelf above her bed, but her playline dolls were scattered around the playroom in her family's basement. We were still played with by Treesa's younger sisters. But in spite of that it was a time of uncertainty for all of us. Not only was our future unsure, it was also hard for us to get used to the idea that Treesa was growing up. She'd been such a steady presence in our lives.

Then the day came when Treesa decided to 'rescue' her playline dolls from the basement and put us aside for her future children. She even bought a clear plastic storage box to keep us in. One by one we were brought up from the basement and cleaned. But Treesa made the mistake of sealing us in the box before we were completely dry. Moisture in the closed space led to mold growth, and we had to be treated with bleach. But at least we survived. Maxie and Jazzie were left behind in the basement playroom, after Treesa told her sisters she didn't want them any more. A few weeks later Treesa found Maxie on the playroom floor with her neck severely broken. Treesa was horrified. She yelled at her sisters, telling them that just because she'd said she didn't want the dolls anymore didn't mean that her sisters could break them. Then Treesa brought Jazzie upstairs to join us.

I'm not sure how or why Treesa's interest in dolls returned. Treesa thinks it happened when the baby sister Kelly dolls reached the stores. She may be right, in part. But looking back now, with hindsight, I think it was just a matter of time. I've known Treesa long enough now to know that she has never completely lost interest in anything. Things sometimes get pushed aside by new interests, but she always comes back to them in time.

(to be continued...)