Natalie's doll

4

On the 21st of January in 2001,  when Natalie was 12,  she finally reached high school,  and she was seeing her friends less and less because of the changing classes,  unlike last year.  She tried harder in school and stayed out of trouble,  but still had low grades.  Because of this,  she felt stupid and stayed alone all lunch break to either cry or study in the library.  Her mother was unsatisfied with her grades and made her study more and more.  Natalie read everyday and was not allowed to leave her room after school.  She wasn't even able to see Selene on week days,  only on weekends when she didn't have to study.  Eventually,  Natalie's grades were finally going up,  and her mother would stop locking her in her room.  Her mood improved a little bit,  and she was finally smiling again.  One day,  Selene invited her to her room,  and she let her sleep in there so she wouldn't feel alone that night.  The next morning,  which was Saturday,  Natalie asked what Selene does all day when she doesn't visit,  to which she replied  "I write stories or create small paintings,  like this one here."  She said as she pointed to a watercolour painting of a bird that was hung onto the wall.  "Ohhh,  you painted that?  I had no idea.  It looks like it's professionally made."  Natalie said in amazement.  "Haha,  I wish I was a professional."  Selene laughed.  "No,  no,  you are!  You have great talent for paintings!"  Natalie replied.

In March,  on a Sunday morning,  Natalie decided to go to the local bookshop,  which she loved.  She picked out a few books on maths for her school work,  but then she noticed something..  a book section called  "fantasy".  Natalie decided to look through the first shelf and pick out a random book..  it was about a young boy going on a quest in a mythical world full of monsters..  this narrative fascinated Natalie,  since she had never read or watched anything to do with fantasy..  she looked through the entire shelf and it felt like she had discovered a new world.  She then found herself in the horror section,  which had ghost stories,  similar to the ones she would act out with Marie and Clara as children.  She picked out many horror stories and bought them.  That night,  she found herself reading the horror stories,  and then read them to Selene the next morning.  Selene was happy she had found something new to read,  and decided to let her stay in the room for the whole day.  While she was there,  reading her books,  Selene lightly tapped her knee.  "I just wanted to give you this as a gift.  It's because of how much you've persevered through school and stayed happy for me."  She said as she handed her a doll..  the same doll with long black hair and green eyes,  just like her own.  "Wow..  thanks Selene..  I remember her..  she's so pretty!  Thankyou for remembering.."  Natalie smiled.