Alverona Dolls

Chapter 1

The enormous wooden door cracked open right before my eyes. As I got closer to the entrance I noticed a little man standing behind the door, he petted his grayish moustache before walking towards me with a bright charming smile.

-Lawrence... look at you! All dirty and old! How's your mother?

-not as old as you, uncle. She's fine, it's not like any one is going to bother her anymore...

-Why so blue and mysterious, what's wrong?

-Don't you remember? I told you three times!

-Don't get mad, you know I have bad memory.

My uncle lifted my luggage and started walking inside the house, I sighted and fallowed him. The inside if the house was awkwardly well illuminated and fancy, compared to the gloomy and old outside. I looked in awe at the ceiling admiring the floral decoration that kinda matched the red carpets that covered the floor and went up the stairs. In every corner beautiful dolls rested watching everything with their empty eyes and passive smile. They all had beautiful handmade dresses and shiny hair. While admiring them my eyes rested on a living doll. The beautiful woman with flawless pale skin went down the stairs with such grace and beauty that any one would had thought she wasn't human. She grated me with a big human smile that to be true really disappointed me, slowly she lifted her hand in order to me to kiss it.

-Good afternoon cousin, was the travel nice and quiet?

Still distracted by the silky touch of her skin, I stayed there on one knee admiring the beauty of her finger and how cold they were compared to warmth of her smile.

-Lawrence?

-oh... eh... yes

-yes?- she tilted her head while releasing her hand from mine

-The travel was indeed calm and quiet, thank you Miss Alverona.

With a angelical giggle and an unexpected blush she added.

-Call me Laura, we're cousins after all.

-Sure, Laura is a beautiful name.

I stared at her gray dolls eyes, perfectly drawn in her delicate face, really bright and cheerful but at the same time as empty as all doll eyes. She bowed gracefully and walked towards the dark wooden door at our left. Turning in her heels she glanced at me.

-C'mon cousin, let's sit next to the fire and chat till the dinner is ready.

-it sounds wonderful but I still need to...

I turned around to find my luggage but it was missing, like my uncle.

-Huun? Did your father take my luggage?

-oh... yeah , I think so.

-well then, I thank him later.

With a smile I fallowed the doll into a golden living room. The walls had a greenish colour and were decorated with remarkable mustang paintings. My grandfather was a horse lover as much as a doll lover so almost every painting in the house had a least one horse or a reference to this majestic animal, some people say that it was because he looked like a horse himself so he mistaken horse paintings with his portraits, unfortunately I can't deny it.

We sat on one of the golden couches facing the swanky fire place which matched the golden curtains and tea table. Behind us a white piano rested silently while in the other corner there was big greenish cupboard filled with teacups.

The girl look at me waiting for me to say something interesting or charming, probably both. Instead I just looked back at her, thinking of anything that wouldn't sound stupid.