Murder Recall

Out of Body

Dolly is antique. She is made of sturdy canvas with beige wool hooked into the weave of her head resembling a thick mass of hair. Her face is delicately embroidered and she has a red heart embroidered with a spiral stitch on her chest where her heart would be. Her smile is bright pink and her eyes, dark brown. She wears a long-sleeved dress made of fabric with a black background covered in pink and mauve flowers. Her legs are light blue to resemble stockings and she has brown shoes that can be taken off and tied on with laces. She also has a long green cape with a hood that can be removed as well. The story is one night she mysteriously appeared in my crib. I only ever had one doll and that was Dolly. I had no other toys because I never considered Canary to be one, she seemed so lifelike with a will of her own. I dreamt last night that Winnie (who symbolizes me, under a different name and in a different time) became so infuriated with her bad doll that she ripped her apart and cut her into many tiny pieces which she burnt and then threw the ashes over a cliff. In this dream it was the day after destroying the bad doll that Winnie's mother died. Also in the dream Winnie had not been sad but was furious with anger because her mother had died young. Dolly was Winnie's good doll.

When the river's current at last pushed Dolly beyond the bridge, away from the water that surrounded Eden, Dolly got stuck between rocks. I had to step into the river and put my arm into the water to pull her out. Her dress was torn and I mended it. The rest of her was fine and I lay her on a flat rock in the sun to dry. She was a little faded but very clean. I shook her this way and that to fluff up and unmat her stuffing. The water downstream and upstream from the Merlin's Island was normal fresh water and safe to touch. It was the water around the island that acquired the mysterious quality that caused the island to be invisible.

Doug came and went from Eden. There were things he had to do on the mainland and sometimes he was away for a long time. He said not to ever worry about him, no matter what, he would always return.

One morning, I was walking around the island with Rita and Dolly when we came upon an amazing sight. It was Fall. Red and golden leaves covered the ground and hovered in the air carried by a light breeze. The sky was cloudless and a brilliant blue. There, on the mainland, beside the river lay a woman who appeared to be sleeping. I jumped over the river to get to her while Rita stayed on the island watching. I touched her shoulder, she turned her face towards me and woke up. I will never forget that face. It was my mum, who I sometimes call Hilda and sometimes Mum. I said 'Mum' and she looked at me as though she recognized me but couldn't recall from where or when. She opened her mouth and gestured that she could not speak. There was a scar across her neck. I told her to jump across the river without touching the water. I held her hand and we jumped over at the same time.

Rita spoke using my mum's voice, "You are right to recognize me. I was evicted from my own body when a chip was implanted under my scalp and since then my body has believed her name is Rayelle. This is how that came about: I collapsed in a rain of fire. My clothing and hair were on fire. I rolled in the thick ash on the ground and smothered the flames enveloping me. The rain of fire was abating and I was able to run away beyond the influence of the storm. At the edge where the burnt wasteland ended and the forest began, a man stepped out from the trees and grabbed me. I struggled but was unable to free myself. He took me to a doctor and the doctor inserted a chip under my scalp that changed my identity. My identity as Hilda knew that I was being chipped while it was happening, even though only a rare few others, if anyone at all, has ever known they were chipped; however, my body's new identity as Rayelle never knew she was chipped. While the operation was going on, my spirit was present, undetected, and watching the proceedings in the operating room. The man who kidnapped me was in a designated waiting room, intently wishing for the outcome he hoped for. Afterwards, my body was fine without any trace of burns. The man told the doctor that he was Roger Wilson and that I was his wife Rayelle. He showed a document to the doctor which constituted proof that the man's lies were truth and therefore the doctor could proceed with a free conscience. I protested but could not be heard because I was banished from my body, hovering in the limbo that pervades all things."