Isobel the Creator

Most stories start with a once upon a time, but this tale needs no such introduction that implies a lightness when the times were indeed dark. Let me introduce you: This story begins with a mother, father, and child as most stories do. They say that the birth of one life can bring about the rebirth of another.

When little Isobel was born, her mother and father pulled him from the musty cellar where Isobel's mother had stored her memorabilia. From the crib to the ripe age of nine, when a girl clings to her childhood the most, he had been with her. Whiskers missing, and fur matted with fluids unknown, but still lovingly clutched every night when prayers were said. Isobel had given him a new life and a new name—Leo. His days of darkness had been ended and he was more than appreciative; he loved her. Isobel loved him, just as she loved all her toys, and she loved to enhance them. He would watch as she would rummage through her mother's drawers in the bathroom pulling different colored items to play with. Her tiny human like dolls that she called "dollies" would get the red paint on their faces and the blue paint on their nails. Leo was almost relieved that he didn't have any nails to paint, and that he didn't get any paint on him. He had heard from Giraffe that the paint burned on the dollies faces and nails, and he didn't want that. Isobel was good to him, loved him, and he couldn't imagine her doing anything that would cause him harm. Isobel had other ideas.

She loved how good her dollies looked with the nail polish and lipstick she had given them, but felt bad for poor Leo. He was old and his fur wasn't ragged, but it didn't feel as soft anymore. She wasn't sure what to do for him, but she was determined to think of something.

 The days passed and Isobel went to school, for the summer had ended, and Leo was set on the shelf as Isobel made friends and brought them over. Her dollies rested in the closet and Leo thought that the days of make-overs were over, but he was wrong. Isobel and her friends would play cards and board games as their mothers talked in the sun room and munched on tiny crackers with cheese. Then they would sneak away from their mothers' sight to play in the courtyard where the little stone figurines sat observing and unmovable as the children would climb on them. Weekends would pass this way, and weekdays were filled with hurried rush of preparing for the day. Her mother would prepare a lunch for Isobel and one for her father, kiss them both as they walked out the door, and left—one to work in the city and one to walk the mile to school. 

Isobel's mother and father were not the happiest, but they created the illusion that they were for their precious daughter. Isobel had no idea that her mother and father slept separately, and that many things can happen behind closed doors.

The seasons changed and the summer became fall, fall turned to winter and with the cold came the cat. The cat was found outside one morning as Isobel was preparing for school. The tiny creature had been screaming near the parlor door and little Isobel decided to let it inside. Isobel's mother couldn't say no to the begging eyes and pleading tone her daughter used, and the tiny cat was named Fergus and could stay as long as her father did not see. Leo couldn't deny that the cat was very similar in color to his own matted fur, and was slightly jealous of how much love and affection Isobel gave him. Days passed and the seasons changed once again to spring.

The changing of the seasons had also brought a significant change in the household. The cat had grown significantly, and with it the tension in the house, causing little Isobel's daddy to sleep in the guest bedroom. 

Isobel was confused, but continued playing despite the obvious strain between her parents. The seasons changed once more, school ended and summer was upon them. The thick humidity seemed to amplify the hatred between mother and father, and Isobel's daddy left to live in a different house. Isobel was sad, but her father promised that she could come and visit. Her mother was devastated and turned to the bottle.