***
I could have possibly slept through the whole day had it not been for the dream I had.
You see, morning in the Room She Lived In never came. When I woke up, the sky was the color of the highway, a winter sky, with large snowflakes falling down. They weren't the kind of snowflakes that stuck to the ground or were good for making snowballs, but the kind that you could see all the details of- the shape and the size, and the number of points, and even that weird miragelike color that snowflakes have. Like bubbles. Translucent white swirled with blue swirled with purple swirled with green.
It was all very peaceful. Quite a contrast to the dream I had.
I was dreaming of being in Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, where I was in a box on the shelf waiting to be found. I have this dream a lot, and not much results from it, only this time it was different, because this time it was pictured at night, and I was conscious. I think this is what you would call a lucid dream.
To my right, another Elsa doll that looked just like me, Amy, as she called herself, was struggling to stay awake, but her eyelids were becoming heavier and eventually she just gave up and fell asleep. To my left, the exact same Elsa doll, this time named Catherine, was already snoring. And all the dolls behind me, who had given up hope of being found a long time ago, didn't care about breaking The Code of Dolls for any reason were whispering gossip, secrets, and stories. I was left on my own, or at least I thought, because only a shelf away was my friend Molly, one of the singing Anna dolls.
"Psst. Elsa. Psst." I heard her say.
About five other Elsas turned her way before realizing that Molly wanted me.
"Hi, Molly." I mouthed back.
"Can you sleep?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"Me neither. I keep thinking about Hans. I don't want to be his next target." Molly looked worried.
Allow me to explain. When I was still in Wandering Oaken's, there had been this Hans doll that every other doll tried to avoid and some were even afraid of. This Hans doll had a habit of pushing the other dolls out of the way, even injuring them if he could, because in Wandering Oaken's, the Hans dolls were rare. And this Hans did not want anyone else to steal his spotlight and ruin a chance for him to be found. He mostly targeted the Anna dolls, of course, but everyone once and a while you'd see an Elsa or a Kristoff lying on the floor, unable to come back to life.
"It'll be okay," I said to Molly. "Stephen has the Hans dolls on the other side of the store, remember?" (Stephen was the manager at Wandering Oaken's.)
Molly let out a breath I hadn't known that she was holding. "Oh, you're right. There is no way he can make it over to our side in one night."
"Right." I replied, even though I wasn't sure. This Hans doll was dangerous, and he would stop at nothing to make himself come out on top. Even if it meant traveling across the entire store just to push a few other dolls off their shelves in the middle of the night. And once they were pushed, if they were hit in the head at just the right place (which they usually were) they lost consciousness and they were not able to come back to life again. A doll would fall from the shelf at least one time a week, but I was never really worried about this myself until later.
Molly looked relieved, but then suddenly her face turned pale as she froze into place.
"Molly, what's wrong?" I asked, starting to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right.
Then, without warning, a dead-eyed Molly tumbled off the shelf and dropped quicker than I expected.
"Molly!" I gasped, the scream catching in my throat. I tried to reach out to her, but I was trapped in my box, my hands bound together with a twisty-tie. Trapped, with no way to save my friend from her inevitable doom.
The top of the box where Molly's head was hit the floor with a loud bump. It didn't help that the 16'' singing dolls were on the topmost shelf. There was no way she would have survived that. Having just been robbed of my best friend, I turned back to her shelf, where most of the other Anna dolls had just realized what had happened. Some were pointing at their fallen friend, some were wailing, but others just mirrored my own expression: shocked. My brain was still processing what had happened.
I stared in shock at Molly on the floor, mouth slightly open. Never in a million years... why Molly? She was so good and kind... a bit annoying at times, but she was just curious. It's not like she deserved death. No one in the world deserves death. Well, maybe, if I had to pick one doll...
Molly couldn't have just fallen off the shelf like that. For an Anna doll, she was very sure-footed, not clumsy in the least. Someone or something would have had to have given her a little nudge for her to fall. One last look at the shelf full of Annas told me that my theory was true.
The Hans doll stood there, in all his glory. The confident stance. The yellow eyes. The guilty hands. The withering glare.
"You're next, Elsa," I heard him murmur. "First, everyone you love, and then, you."
With a sigh, I stood up and tried to think of where everyone was. My first guess as to where all the dolls were was downstairs. Sure enough, voices rang out, along with something else- the clashing of what seemed to be metal. Where they having a duel? Weird. And at ten in the morning? Even weirder. Nevertheless, having a duel meant someone was in danger or was about to be. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could, clutching the sides of my ice dress like a security blanket.
You see, morning in the Room She Lived In never came. When I woke up, the sky was the color of the highway, a winter sky, with large snowflakes falling down. They weren't the kind of snowflakes that stuck to the ground or were good for making snowballs, but the kind that you could see all the details of- the shape and the size, and the number of points, and even that weird miragelike color that snowflakes have. Like bubbles. Translucent white swirled with blue swirled with purple swirled with green.
It was all very peaceful. Quite a contrast to the dream I had.
I was dreaming of being in Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, where I was in a box on the shelf waiting to be found. I have this dream a lot, and not much results from it, only this time it was different, because this time it was pictured at night, and I was conscious. I think this is what you would call a lucid dream.
To my right, another Elsa doll that looked just like me, Amy, as she called herself, was struggling to stay awake, but her eyelids were becoming heavier and eventually she just gave up and fell asleep. To my left, the exact same Elsa doll, this time named Catherine, was already snoring. And all the dolls behind me, who had given up hope of being found a long time ago, didn't care about breaking The Code of Dolls for any reason were whispering gossip, secrets, and stories. I was left on my own, or at least I thought, because only a shelf away was my friend Molly, one of the singing Anna dolls.
"Psst. Elsa. Psst." I heard her say.
About five other Elsas turned her way before realizing that Molly wanted me.
"Hi, Molly." I mouthed back.
"Can you sleep?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"Me neither. I keep thinking about Hans. I don't want to be his next target." Molly looked worried.
Allow me to explain. When I was still in Wandering Oaken's, there had been this Hans doll that every other doll tried to avoid and some were even afraid of. This Hans doll had a habit of pushing the other dolls out of the way, even injuring them if he could, because in Wandering Oaken's, the Hans dolls were rare. And this Hans did not want anyone else to steal his spotlight and ruin a chance for him to be found. He mostly targeted the Anna dolls, of course, but everyone once and a while you'd see an Elsa or a Kristoff lying on the floor, unable to come back to life.
"It'll be okay," I said to Molly. "Stephen has the Hans dolls on the other side of the store, remember?" (Stephen was the manager at Wandering Oaken's.)
Molly let out a breath I hadn't known that she was holding. "Oh, you're right. There is no way he can make it over to our side in one night."
"Right." I replied, even though I wasn't sure. This Hans doll was dangerous, and he would stop at nothing to make himself come out on top. Even if it meant traveling across the entire store just to push a few other dolls off their shelves in the middle of the night. And once they were pushed, if they were hit in the head at just the right place (which they usually were) they lost consciousness and they were not able to come back to life again. A doll would fall from the shelf at least one time a week, but I was never really worried about this myself until later.
Molly looked relieved, but then suddenly her face turned pale as she froze into place.
"Molly, what's wrong?" I asked, starting to feel uneasy. Something wasn't right.
Then, without warning, a dead-eyed Molly tumbled off the shelf and dropped quicker than I expected.
"Molly!" I gasped, the scream catching in my throat. I tried to reach out to her, but I was trapped in my box, my hands bound together with a twisty-tie. Trapped, with no way to save my friend from her inevitable doom.
The top of the box where Molly's head was hit the floor with a loud bump. It didn't help that the 16'' singing dolls were on the topmost shelf. There was no way she would have survived that. Having just been robbed of my best friend, I turned back to her shelf, where most of the other Anna dolls had just realized what had happened. Some were pointing at their fallen friend, some were wailing, but others just mirrored my own expression: shocked. My brain was still processing what had happened.
I stared in shock at Molly on the floor, mouth slightly open. Never in a million years... why Molly? She was so good and kind... a bit annoying at times, but she was just curious. It's not like she deserved death. No one in the world deserves death. Well, maybe, if I had to pick one doll...
Molly couldn't have just fallen off the shelf like that. For an Anna doll, she was very sure-footed, not clumsy in the least. Someone or something would have had to have given her a little nudge for her to fall. One last look at the shelf full of Annas told me that my theory was true.
The Hans doll stood there, in all his glory. The confident stance. The yellow eyes. The guilty hands. The withering glare.
"You're next, Elsa," I heard him murmur. "First, everyone you love, and then, you."
***
I woke up from the dream in a panic. First, I felt to see if I was still alive. Yep, I was still breathing. I little faster, a little shakier, but still breathing. And that's more than dream Molly could say.
I fought back the urge to cry. It seemed all too real. Molly was dead.
"No, Elsa," the little reassuring voice in my head told me. "Molly is perfectly fine. She was found months before you, remember? Remember how happy she was that she was finally getting picked? Remember trying to wave her goodbye with the wire tied around your hands? Her finding date was August 24th. August 24th... August 24th..."
The voice faded away. Of course. Molly was safe and sound, in the probably in the arms of the adorable little Hispanic girl that had picked her out right now. I was being silly. Molly was fine, and I was fine. I was in a home, with a loving human, and so we she. August 24th. August 24th. August 24th. I kept saying Molly's finding date over and over in my head to ground myself.
When it finally worked, I stood up and stretched out my back. The room was empty. I wasn't surprised. She always seemed to be in someplace or another, and the other dolls probably just got bored waiting around for me to wake up. I didn't blame them, but I did want to find them and get a head count to make absolutely sure that everyone was okay and that dream Hans didn't find me at some point. Which is impossible, but the dream felt real.
But what I actually saw when I came to the kitchen wasn't a duel. The dolls were having breakfast. I don't think I need to repeat that. It was a strange sight. Even stranger than a duel would have been, which pretty much sums up our family. But it actually looked quite enjoyable.
Each doll had their own spot at the table. Among the crowd I found Benny, Napoleon, Loki, Olaf, and Dorothy and Bell, who I hadn't seen in a long while. They all sat around, talking amongst themselves or smelling their food or grabbing something from the center of the table, which held all sorts of goodies, mostly things I had never seen before.
Doll-sized bowls and plates. The porcelain tea set from Thanksgiving. A slice of white bread cut into little squares for little hands. A tiny bear-shaped bottle full of thick wildflower honey, an adorable jar of amber-colored maple syrup, and the strawberry jam jar we used to decorate our cookies from two posts ago. It looked... amazing. The perfect way to ease yourself back to reality after a rough night was a warm and an inviting breakfast. Not that we could actually eat any of it, but it was the thought that counts.
I approached the table and Olaf was the first to notice me. "Ooh! Morning, Elsa! Hey, look what we got! Our very own breakfast!"
"That's cool, Olaf," I replied. "Is everyone here?"
"Aye." said Magneto. He seemed to be in good spirits. I noticed that his flashlight was with him.
And then we all played a nice game of 20 Questions.
"How did you find all of this?" I asked.
"Olaf is a particularly good finder." Bell said, nodding in Olaf's direction, wafting the scent of maple syrup bread onto her face. She had made a maple syrup sandwich, two bits of bread with sticky maple spread in between.
"Where are the humans?"
"Off visiting family," Benny explained, slathering his bread chunk with a generous helping of the jam we used on our cookies. "They won't be back until much later."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yep, we're all okay," Loki confirmed. He was polishing off his helmet with the end of his sleeve. "Did you have a bad dream or something?"
"Yeah," I admitted. "But I'm fine now. A dream is just a dream, right?"
Silence. Except for the stirring of silverware (which I realized was the same sound of clashing metal I heard earlier) and the clinking of glasses. Glasses full of sweet ginger soda. Ginger soda for breakfast? Why not, right?
"Well?" Magneto asked.
"Well what?" I replied.
"Well are you going to come up on the table and join us for breakfast or are you going to keep asking questions?"
It was clear what I would pick. Olaf and Napoleon helped me up onto the table and I grabbed a plastic plate and a square of white bread, then put every condiment imaginable on it. Syrup, jam, honey, and a pat of butter I managed to get from the fridge. Top it off with a teacup of ginger soda and it was the perfect breakfast to get the imagine of Molly hitting her head out of my head. I wondered if this was what Christmas breakfasts for humans were like.
I talked to Dorothy and Bell most of the time, since we were the only females at the table. Dorothy and I had a meaningful discussion about my dream, and then she went on to tell me about a few of her recent dreams. Most of them having to deal with Oz, and how Dorothy herself wished that she could be whisked out of her dreary life by a cyclone and end up in an exciting and magical place like Oz. I'll admit, I was so charmed by her imagination that I had completely forgotten about my own dark dream from last night. Bell was too busy stuffing her face to talk much, but when she did, it was mostly a short, musical laugh at something frivolous Dorothy had said.
After we had smelled our fill of delicious foods, we cleaned up and grouped together to try to figure out what we were going to do next. Of course we all had differing ideas. Dorothy and Bell wanted to steal some hair supplies from the bathroom upstairs and give each-other makeovers. The boys weren't so thrilled. Napoleon and Benny suggested that we go to the library and read, and that got more votes, but not all of us could read very well. Then Loki came up with a plan to make paper snowflakes out of a small origami book Olaf had found earlier while looking for breakfast.
That wasn't actually a bad idea. All of us were interested in creating something, and it didn't involve hairstyling or reading, so we were up for it. Loki assigned us all to a task, and we had to go off and get whatever we needed to make the snowflakes. My job was one I shared with Olaf. We had to find glitter and sequins and crayons; things we could use to personalize our snowflakes once we were finished. Dorothy and Bell set off on a quest for plain white paper squares, and Napoleon, Magneto and Benny were all sent upstairs to find a few pairs of scissors for us to use. (Real origami looks hard! We were going to cheat and use scissors. That's what She did with the ceiling o' snowflakes on her ceiling, so why not us?)
Everything was going well. Olaf, who actually was a particularity good finder, got us some tubes of glitter and colored sticks of wax. Bell loudly announced from upstairs that they had found a giant supply of plan white squares of paper called "sticky notes." Loki was patrolling the area and told everyone to keep up the good work, or told us to not make a mess.
At least, everything was going well. But then there was a heart-stopping crack of wood upon wood, and my frantic eyes searched saw Napoleon, a dazed expression on his face, lying stiff as a board at the bottom of the staircase. His nutcracker jaw lay open, and the tassel on his hat had broken. His fist was still clenched, but his American flag had long since left it grasp and laid beside him, like America itself had fallen with him. It looked like he had hit his head, and even his tall black uniform hat couldn't have saved it.
Just like Molly from my dream. I thought, but I didn't want to think of that.
Since Olaf and I were the closest to the accident, we ran over to help as soon as we had heard the noise. I was over there first, with Olaf at my heels.
"Napoleon! Napoleon! Are you okay?" he yelled, toddling over in the fallen nutcracker's direction. My mouth was too dry to speak. I had heard once that dreams could come true but maybe that didn't exclude the bad ones. I just prayed that he was okay.
Olaf ran over to a stiff Napoleon and started to try shaking him awake. He wasn't responding yet, and that awful feeling of dread started to settle into my gut.
"Napoleon? Come on, you gotta get up, buddy." Olaf choked down a sob. I guess he knew that some dolls couldn't be revived if they fell.
By now everyone had heard the crack and had come to investigate. Loki and Magneto ran in from the living room, and Dorothy and Bell came in from upstairs with the sticky notes flying out of Bell's hands, and Benny let out a heart-wrenching gasp when he saw the sight of his fallen brother.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Loki asked in a panic. Magneto's face had taken on a very grave and fearful expression, one I had never seen him wear before.
"Napoleon fell down the stairs," I explained, finally finding the words to speak. "And he's not getting up."
Dorothy's lower lip quivered. "Oh, how absolutely horrible." she said near above a whisper. Bell patted her back sadly.
The rest of us stayed quiet as Benny approached the scene, slowly and surely. He hadn't yet taken on an emotion like the rest of us had, or maybe he was still trying to process what had happened. His brother was gone from existence forever. Never had the word death been mentioned in the house of She, and it was this fateful day that it had to be used.
"Oh, Benny, I'm so sorry..." I stammered. "But Napoleon is..."
But before I could say the word "dead," Benny finished my sentence for me.
"A stupid idiot."
"What?!" I was quite shocked that Benny would ever say those words, but especially now!
Benny knocked his brother's face, and, miracles upon miracles, his eyes blinked rapidly. I wasn't the only one in the room that had gasped.
We heard Napoleon breathe a few times, then slowly, joints cracking, was helped back to his feet by Benny's hand. They both smiled, Napoleon looking proud and Benny looking relieved. The rest of us clapped and cheered. Benny gave his brother a little friendly handshake.
"Good to see you made it, Napoleon."
"Ah, it's good to see me, too." he replied.
Then the craziest thing happened. Napoleon started laughing. We thought he had lost his marbles... after a fall like that, who would be laughing?
Benny was frowning, concern in his eyes. "Napoleon? What seems to be the matter?"
The nutcracker's shoulders shook with laughter, and then said, "I apologize, but... what kind of name is Napoleon?"
Surprisingly, it was Olaf that answered. "Actually, no. There are many different types of amnesia. There's short-term, long-term, amnesia caused by a physical injury or a mental disorder, all sorts of stuff."
"Olaf, how do you know this?" I asked. All of our heads were turned towards him.
"Well, there was one time back in the Disney store where one of my brothers, Olaf number three, had a case of amnesia, and so Tom decided that we all had to go and ask around to see if anyone knew a cure for him. Turns out it was all just a dream, though." Olaf shrugged.
"Well, how did you cure him?"
"Bananas," Olaf replied, and when all of us groaned, he said, "I told you it was just a dream!"
"Well, bananas aren't going to help us," said Loki. "So we'll have to think of something else. Elsa- you're the idealist. Have you thought of anything?"
I was kind of taken aback. I didn't want all of this responsibility lying on my shoulders. I thought back to my dream from last night. If there was some minimal chance that Molly hadn't died, but only knocked unconscious without her memory, I would try all the things I knew possible to bring her back. Show her around the store. Tell her to be aware of the evil Hans doll. Re-introduce her to all of her friends. Maybe have a private get-together, just the two of us, so I could catch her up on all the things we used to do together. She'd tell me about the cute Kristoff doll, Yuruk, that she had met months ago. She'd laugh about my funny stories involving one of the Olaf plushies. We'd do anything we could just to get Molly's memory back. At least, as much as we could do while still being in our boxes, with twisty ties around our wrists. Now Molly and I were separated, who knows how far away, but we were both free. No boxes, no twisty ties, no evil Hans doll to avoid. The possibilities were endless. The solution to bringing Napoleon's memory back was right there, we just had to find it first.
"Well..." I began, not sure where my train of thought was going. "Why don't we reintroduce Napoleon to all the things he used to love or used to know, and treat him like the new doll, and then maybe we can find the exact right thing, the one thing he does remember, and that will bring him back?" I was only guessing.
"That's what we're trying to do right now. It's kind of obvious." Magneto grumbled.
"I was only trying to help." I whispered.
"No, no, she's got something." said Loki.
"What?" Magneto screeched. The poor guy just couldn't win.
"That was actually one of my first ideas when I had found out Napoleon had amnesia. The only way to properly jog his memory is to act like nothing out of the ordinary happened. Answer all of his questions, bring up old topics, take him on a tour around the house."
Bell sighed and fluttered her wings. "That's going to take a painfully long time."
"But it'll will be worth it," said Loki. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. "And once Napoleon is back, we won't have to worry about it anymore."
"When do we start?" Dorothy wanted to know.
"By the time Benny and Napoleon are done in the library."
No sooner had Loki said that, when the two nutcrackers barged into the room, Napoleon running after an exasperated Benny.
"He's hopeless," the smaller nutcracker panted. "None of the books we used to read together are doing anything."
"They were quite fascinating, though," said Napoleon, and I was happy to see that the old history geek light was back into his painted blue eyes. "I especially enjoyed the ones on President Lincoln. He and I have a quite similar taste in hats. Did you know that he owned a cat named Bob?"
"Um... no," said Olaf. "But you do like the books, right?"
"Yes. Apparently I enjoy learning about American history."
"Quick, what's your name?" Bell blurted out.
"Napoleon. Though not a very American name. That's a little disappointing, but I'll manage."
"Good," said Loki. "Got the name down. Next step, a tour of the house."
Everything was going well. Olaf, who actually was a particularity good finder, got us some tubes of glitter and colored sticks of wax. Bell loudly announced from upstairs that they had found a giant supply of plan white squares of paper called "sticky notes." Loki was patrolling the area and told everyone to keep up the good work, or told us to not make a mess.
At least, everything was going well. But then there was a heart-stopping crack of wood upon wood, and my frantic eyes searched saw Napoleon, a dazed expression on his face, lying stiff as a board at the bottom of the staircase. His nutcracker jaw lay open, and the tassel on his hat had broken. His fist was still clenched, but his American flag had long since left it grasp and laid beside him, like America itself had fallen with him. It looked like he had hit his head, and even his tall black uniform hat couldn't have saved it.
Just like Molly from my dream. I thought, but I didn't want to think of that.
Since Olaf and I were the closest to the accident, we ran over to help as soon as we had heard the noise. I was over there first, with Olaf at my heels.
"Napoleon! Napoleon! Are you okay?" he yelled, toddling over in the fallen nutcracker's direction. My mouth was too dry to speak. I had heard once that dreams could come true but maybe that didn't exclude the bad ones. I just prayed that he was okay.
Olaf ran over to a stiff Napoleon and started to try shaking him awake. He wasn't responding yet, and that awful feeling of dread started to settle into my gut.
"Napoleon? Come on, you gotta get up, buddy." Olaf choked down a sob. I guess he knew that some dolls couldn't be revived if they fell.
By now everyone had heard the crack and had come to investigate. Loki and Magneto ran in from the living room, and Dorothy and Bell came in from upstairs with the sticky notes flying out of Bell's hands, and Benny let out a heart-wrenching gasp when he saw the sight of his fallen brother.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Loki asked in a panic. Magneto's face had taken on a very grave and fearful expression, one I had never seen him wear before.
"Napoleon fell down the stairs," I explained, finally finding the words to speak. "And he's not getting up."
Dorothy's lower lip quivered. "Oh, how absolutely horrible." she said near above a whisper. Bell patted her back sadly.
The rest of us stayed quiet as Benny approached the scene, slowly and surely. He hadn't yet taken on an emotion like the rest of us had, or maybe he was still trying to process what had happened. His brother was gone from existence forever. Never had the word death been mentioned in the house of She, and it was this fateful day that it had to be used.
"Oh, Benny, I'm so sorry..." I stammered. "But Napoleon is..."
But before I could say the word "dead," Benny finished my sentence for me.
"A stupid idiot."
"What?!" I was quite shocked that Benny would ever say those words, but especially now!
Benny knocked his brother's face, and, miracles upon miracles, his eyes blinked rapidly. I wasn't the only one in the room that had gasped.
We heard Napoleon breathe a few times, then slowly, joints cracking, was helped back to his feet by Benny's hand. They both smiled, Napoleon looking proud and Benny looking relieved. The rest of us clapped and cheered. Benny gave his brother a little friendly handshake.
"Good to see you made it, Napoleon."
"Ah, it's good to see me, too." he replied.
Then the craziest thing happened. Napoleon started laughing. We thought he had lost his marbles... after a fall like that, who would be laughing?
Benny was frowning, concern in his eyes. "Napoleon? What seems to be the matter?"
The nutcracker's shoulders shook with laughter, and then said, "I apologize, but... what kind of name is Napoleon?"
***
"Uh-oh." Was all any of us could say, and of course it came from Olaf.
Magneto sighed. "Amnesia."
"Am-knee-what?" Bell asked.
Benny's face took on a look of defeat. "Amnesia. It means that Napoleon has lost his memory."
I started to wring my glowing blue hands together. "Well, we don't know that for sure. Not yet."
"Elsa, he doesn't even know his own name. It's definitely amnesia." said Loki.
We all looked over at Napoleon, who was staring back at us. He was smiling but his eyes were confused.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" he asked, then looked around a little more rapidly. "Was it something I did?"
"Or didn't do," Magneto finished. "Didn't remember."
Napoleon looked offended. "Pardon me, good... smallish, sir, but I have a very good memory!"
"Alright then. Who am I?" Magneto asked.
Napoleon scrunched up his face. "Umm... a sad, strange little man?"
Magneto threw his hands in the air. "I give up!"
"Well, I'm not," said Benny, grabbing onto Napoleon's arm. "My brother survived the fall, and I'm not going to lose him either way. I won't stop until we find some way to get his memory back."
"Oh, am I your brother now?" Napoleon asked.
"You always have been." replied Benny.
"Um, yes. Of course," he said. "Remind me of your name, please."
"Just call me Benny. Everyone else does." he sighed.
"What are we going to do?" Dorothy muttered somberly.
"I have a plan," said Loki. Of course he did. "We'll postpone the paper snowflake craft until we get Napoleon his memory back. Until then, we're on a mission. For starters, Benny, you could take him up to the library. Find some history books. He likes- liked reading those. Maybe that will jog his memory. In the meantime, the rest of us can gather in She's room and brainstorm some ideas to get Napoleon back."
"But I'm right here," said Napoleon, his brow furrowed. "My name is Napoleon, correct?"
"Yes," Loki replied. "One step closer to recovery."
"Well," I piped up. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do it."
So that is what happened. Benny took Napoleon's arm and dragged him upstairs to the library room to read some history books while Olaf, Loki, Magneto, Bell, Dorothy, and I went upstairs to She's room, and shut the door behind us for privacy. It was a very serious gathering. It felt like someone's entire existence was at stake, and it kind of was. I was really sorry for Benny. If I had a brother and he almost died and didn't recognize me all within a span of a few minutes, I would be absolutely heartbroken. The gloomy feeling tugged at my heartstrings throughout the entire meeting.
"We have to set up an actual diagnosis." said Loki thoughtfully, starting us off. He was standing on a small white jewelry box to act as a stage, and Magneto stood next to him, all because he wanted to appear taller, therefore more significant than us. It really wasn't working.
"Isn't there only one kind of amnesia?" Magneto asked, folding his arms.Magneto sighed. "Amnesia."
"Am-knee-what?" Bell asked.
Benny's face took on a look of defeat. "Amnesia. It means that Napoleon has lost his memory."
I started to wring my glowing blue hands together. "Well, we don't know that for sure. Not yet."
"Elsa, he doesn't even know his own name. It's definitely amnesia." said Loki.
We all looked over at Napoleon, who was staring back at us. He was smiling but his eyes were confused.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" he asked, then looked around a little more rapidly. "Was it something I did?"
"Or didn't do," Magneto finished. "Didn't remember."
Napoleon looked offended. "Pardon me, good... smallish, sir, but I have a very good memory!"
"Alright then. Who am I?" Magneto asked.
Napoleon scrunched up his face. "Umm... a sad, strange little man?"
Magneto threw his hands in the air. "I give up!"
"Well, I'm not," said Benny, grabbing onto Napoleon's arm. "My brother survived the fall, and I'm not going to lose him either way. I won't stop until we find some way to get his memory back."
"Oh, am I your brother now?" Napoleon asked.
"You always have been." replied Benny.
"Um, yes. Of course," he said. "Remind me of your name, please."
"Just call me Benny. Everyone else does." he sighed.
"What are we going to do?" Dorothy muttered somberly.
"I have a plan," said Loki. Of course he did. "We'll postpone the paper snowflake craft until we get Napoleon his memory back. Until then, we're on a mission. For starters, Benny, you could take him up to the library. Find some history books. He likes- liked reading those. Maybe that will jog his memory. In the meantime, the rest of us can gather in She's room and brainstorm some ideas to get Napoleon back."
"But I'm right here," said Napoleon, his brow furrowed. "My name is Napoleon, correct?"
"Yes," Loki replied. "One step closer to recovery."
"Well," I piped up. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's do it."
So that is what happened. Benny took Napoleon's arm and dragged him upstairs to the library room to read some history books while Olaf, Loki, Magneto, Bell, Dorothy, and I went upstairs to She's room, and shut the door behind us for privacy. It was a very serious gathering. It felt like someone's entire existence was at stake, and it kind of was. I was really sorry for Benny. If I had a brother and he almost died and didn't recognize me all within a span of a few minutes, I would be absolutely heartbroken. The gloomy feeling tugged at my heartstrings throughout the entire meeting.
"We have to set up an actual diagnosis." said Loki thoughtfully, starting us off. He was standing on a small white jewelry box to act as a stage, and Magneto stood next to him, all because he wanted to appear taller, therefore more significant than us. It really wasn't working.
Surprisingly, it was Olaf that answered. "Actually, no. There are many different types of amnesia. There's short-term, long-term, amnesia caused by a physical injury or a mental disorder, all sorts of stuff."
"Olaf, how do you know this?" I asked. All of our heads were turned towards him.
"Well, there was one time back in the Disney store where one of my brothers, Olaf number three, had a case of amnesia, and so Tom decided that we all had to go and ask around to see if anyone knew a cure for him. Turns out it was all just a dream, though." Olaf shrugged.
"Well, how did you cure him?"
"Bananas," Olaf replied, and when all of us groaned, he said, "I told you it was just a dream!"
"Well, bananas aren't going to help us," said Loki. "So we'll have to think of something else. Elsa- you're the idealist. Have you thought of anything?"
I was kind of taken aback. I didn't want all of this responsibility lying on my shoulders. I thought back to my dream from last night. If there was some minimal chance that Molly hadn't died, but only knocked unconscious without her memory, I would try all the things I knew possible to bring her back. Show her around the store. Tell her to be aware of the evil Hans doll. Re-introduce her to all of her friends. Maybe have a private get-together, just the two of us, so I could catch her up on all the things we used to do together. She'd tell me about the cute Kristoff doll, Yuruk, that she had met months ago. She'd laugh about my funny stories involving one of the Olaf plushies. We'd do anything we could just to get Molly's memory back. At least, as much as we could do while still being in our boxes, with twisty ties around our wrists. Now Molly and I were separated, who knows how far away, but we were both free. No boxes, no twisty ties, no evil Hans doll to avoid. The possibilities were endless. The solution to bringing Napoleon's memory back was right there, we just had to find it first.
"Well..." I began, not sure where my train of thought was going. "Why don't we reintroduce Napoleon to all the things he used to love or used to know, and treat him like the new doll, and then maybe we can find the exact right thing, the one thing he does remember, and that will bring him back?" I was only guessing.
"That's what we're trying to do right now. It's kind of obvious." Magneto grumbled.
"I was only trying to help." I whispered.
"No, no, she's got something." said Loki.
"What?" Magneto screeched. The poor guy just couldn't win.
"That was actually one of my first ideas when I had found out Napoleon had amnesia. The only way to properly jog his memory is to act like nothing out of the ordinary happened. Answer all of his questions, bring up old topics, take him on a tour around the house."
Bell sighed and fluttered her wings. "That's going to take a painfully long time."
"But it'll will be worth it," said Loki. He sounded like he knew what he was doing. "And once Napoleon is back, we won't have to worry about it anymore."
"When do we start?" Dorothy wanted to know.
"By the time Benny and Napoleon are done in the library."
No sooner had Loki said that, when the two nutcrackers barged into the room, Napoleon running after an exasperated Benny.
"He's hopeless," the smaller nutcracker panted. "None of the books we used to read together are doing anything."
"They were quite fascinating, though," said Napoleon, and I was happy to see that the old history geek light was back into his painted blue eyes. "I especially enjoyed the ones on President Lincoln. He and I have a quite similar taste in hats. Did you know that he owned a cat named Bob?"
"Um... no," said Olaf. "But you do like the books, right?"
"Yes. Apparently I enjoy learning about American history."
"Quick, what's your name?" Bell blurted out.
"Napoleon. Though not a very American name. That's a little disappointing, but I'll manage."
"Good," said Loki. "Got the name down. Next step, a tour of the house."
***
We guided Napoleon through the upstairs, from the bedrooms to the bathroom to the Guest Room, which we had only used a few days ago from our Secret Santa Gift Exchange. I wondered if Napoleon knew we had done such a thing. It had to be a recent memory. Maybe the present that was given to him, Magneto's rock, would help things along.
"Napoleon," I began, walking alongside the nutcracker, with my hands folded formally in my lap. "Do you recall a Secret Santa Gift Exchange?"
Napoleon scratched his chin. "Secret Santa... what an odd name for a sort of activity like that... no, I don't believe I remember such a thing."
"That was only a few days ago," said Benny, looking grim. He hadn't let go of his brother's arm for the longest time. "How could he not remember that?"
"What about a rock? Do you remember a rock?" I asked.
Napoleon only laughed. "What is so special about a rock that I have to remember it?"
I only looked behind me for a split second, but during that short amount of time, I saw Magneto's face fall. As much as he was all "bah humbug" on the idea of Christmas, he had apparently put a lot of thought into a meaningless gift such as a rock. It was actually kind of sad to see.
In fact, this whole thing was sad. Here was Napoleon, blind to all of the things he once knew, unintentionally hurting the rest of his friends (whom he also can't remember) by denying that he never knew them, or anything they did, or even the place he'd been living in for so long. This wasn't how I expected this day to turn out at all. And it all started with trying to make paper snowflakes and ending in a quest to get our friend back.
We took him downstairs, who Napoleon said that the place looked vaguely familiar (it made sense, since he was posted in the living room most of the time the humans were home) and that got us very excited. After that, we had to reintroduce ourselves, forgetting that it was probably the most important step.
Benny took up the task of explaining our names and our position in the house, and Napoleon would shake our hand and look at us like we were just now meeting for the first time. It was very strange.
There was Bell, the Tinkerbell fashion doll, Dorothy, who played music if you twisted the crank in her back, Olaf, the snowman that likes warm hugs, Magneto, the key-chain, and Loki, the prince of possibly two countries out in space.
Then the two of them strode over to me. I was the last one in line. There was nothing special about that, but nevertheless, I still felt like something different was about to happen. I picked up my chin and straightened out my spine, ready for anything.
"And finally, last but not least, this is Elsa." Benny explained, nodding in my direction.
Napoleon looked at me, and then, he looked at me. His face was searching for something... memories veiled by his fall down the stairs. My heart started to pick up pace. Maybe this was the breaking point!
"El-sA..." he whispered, saying my name like he usually did, giving the "A" at the end too much of a pronunciation. "Yes... I remember something about you."
Benny nearly leaped a foot in the air. "Really? What is it?"
"I can't put my finger on it... but there's something about you, El-sA, I know it. Can you... tell me a little about yourself?"
"Um, okay," I breathed. This was getting a little weird. "I came from Wandering Oaken's Trading Post in Hollywood Studios, Disneyworld. The movie my character comes from is called Frozen. My finding date is November 24th. Anything yet?" I found it kind of funny all of a sudden that Molly and I were both found on the 24th of a month. Maybe that was the magic number?
"Nothing's ringing a bell."
"I have a blog." I suggested.
"Getting closer."
"Um... I can go this!" I flipped on my switch, gathered some moisture out of the air and gathered into a ball of snow, then threw it into the air. It exploded over our heads like a firework. Dorothy and Bell, who had really never seen me work my magic, squealed with glee and began dancing around with Olaf. I quickly turned off my switch again. We didn't want any accidents today.
"That's it!" Napoleon cried. "That's one thing I remember about you, El-sA."
I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. "Well, one thing is better than nothing at all." I agreed.
But unfortunately, the fact that I had ice magic was the only other thing that Napoleon could really remember. We took him to the other rooms, brought him pack to his old post where we usually stood by the fireplace, we even made Magneto bring up old conversations in hopes of striking another note. We told him about his amnesia, and how we had fallen down the stairs while trying to get craft supplies to make paper snowflakes. We even brought some leftover food from breakfast this morning, since some smells can bring back old memories. But it was no use. Napoleon had to relearn everything, and even though he was very enthusiastic about it all, the rest of us were exhausted.
An hour later, Loki stopped the group in its tracks. "You know what," he said. "I'm done for the day. Sorry, Napoleon, we tried."
He didn't seem too upset. "It's alright, Loki. I'm getting tried as well."
"So what do you say we all wind down by finally getting to making those paper snowflakes?" Loki finished.
It sounded good to the rest of us, and since we already had everything we needed to make the snowflakes, we regathered in the living room and got to work. Loki opened the tiny instruction booklet and began trying a few of the different snowflake variations out.
"Elsa? Are you going to need the instructions?" Olaf asked, struggling to use the scissors.
"No thanks, Olaf. I want mine to be unique. Every single snowflake ever made is different, you know. Even if they don't see like it at first, you just have to look closer. Like each individual person."
"Is your next blog post going to be about individuality now?" Loki said with a smile. He was already on his fourth snowflake, even though Magneto was asking for Loki's help every second, and then insisting he could do it fine my himself. Dorothy and Bell were working on the same one, adding their own special details to it, mostly glitter, and Olaf's snowflake... well, his was looking... creative. I wanted to make mine really complex, with small snips and shapes here and there. Benny and Napoleon were both quiet, but for different reasons.
(above is a picture I took of Olaf and his snowflake when he wasn't looking)
Benny was concentrating on making his snowflake just right... but Napoleon's eyes studying. Not the snowflake, but the tree in the living room. The one Bell sat on whenever the humans returned home. The one Napoleon himself was facing every time he returned to his post. The biggest, brightest, tree in the house.
Magneto nudged his foot, but it didn't snap Napoleon out of his daze.
"Napoleon? What are you doing?"
"Christmas." Napoleon said quietly, still in a trance. It was just one word, but to us, it said it all.
"You remember Christmas?" Loki asked, stopping suddenly.
Napoleon let out a halfhearted chuckle. "How could I forget Christmas?"
"Funny how you remember a holiday, but not your friends." said Magneto darkly.
"You think this is all an act, don't you?" said Napoleon. I could tell he was trying extremely hard to remember. In fact, he had been all day. He didn't know who he was, or where he was, or who is friends were. He had almost died and lost his memory all in the same day. Probably almost as horrible as Benny was over loosing his brother.
"No, no, we know you didn't make this up," said Olaf in a soothing tone, patting Napoleon's back. Now they were both facing the Christmas tree. "You wouldn't do something like that."
"Thank you, Olaf," said Napoleon gratefully. "Even though I don't remember you, I can tell you're a great person. Um, snowman."
Olaf only chuckled. "Yeah. So... what do you remember about Christmas?"
"A lot actually," said Napoleon, then all of us stopped what we were doing as Napoleon launched into full story mode. "It was two years ago. She- that's another thing I remember, I remember She- had put me in my usual spot by the fireplace. For a while I had been stuck on the top shelf of her closet. She got me when She was five, and that was much too young to really enjoy a nutcracker. At age five you get bored easily, and you're too weak to press down on a nutcracker's jaw to crush walnuts. So I wasn't really used for a long time. She's closet was dusty and I spent most of my days sleeping. Years later, She brought me down, and I saw things I had never seen before. Color, light, other living beings. It was all quite an epiphany. Looking at the calendar in She's room, I saw that it was the month of December. That meant Christmas, because my finding date was Christmas Day, or around that time, many years ago. But She had noticed that my spear- yes, I had a spear for a while- had broken. At first I was worried that She would put me back in her closet. No one wants a broken doll. But instead, she threw away my broken spear and replaced it with a small flag that had red and white stripes, and white stars on a blue square. Immediately I was fascinated by the flag. This flag saved my life. I wanted to know everything about it. That's how I found my love with American history. "Anyways, after giving me the American flag, She brought me downstairs and put me by the fireplace. The humans never used it, so I would be safe. I was in perfect view of the tree, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. All the twinkling white and blue lights all around the tree, and the bright red and gold bulbs everywhere, and the angel at the top bough. I was smitten by it's beauty. But days passed, and I grew lonely. I had no one to share the tree's beauty with. I had no one to talk to, to tell them all that I had read about the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation, or that James Monroe was born on the fourth of July.
"But then, one day, I heard the humans rummaging around upstairs in the attic. Something big was going to happen. They brought down a small brown box and started shifting through it. They were more ornaments for the tree. I'll admit I was a little disappointed. The ornaments weren't very exciting. But when the humans discovered that a string of lights in the box wasn't working, and they left to go buy more lights, my curious side took over. I had to see what was in the box. And what I found changed my life. It was another nutcracker, just like me. A little smaller than me, admittedly. Okay, a lot smaller. But he was alive.
"I helped the nutcracker out of the box and asked him his name. He said, 'Sir Benedict Edgar Norbert Newton Yankovitch' and I laughed out loud. I asked if he had given himself that name, and the nutcracker replied that this was true, because She hadn't cared enough to give him an actual name. I politely asked if I could call him Benny, and the nutcracker said that I could. I told Benny that my name was Napoleon, and we became instant friends. Well, friends is too light of a word. We became brothers. Of course, we had to be! After spending years in a closet and in an attic, we had finally met someone else like us. We spent days, weeks, the entire first half of December together by the fireplace. Two nutcrackers kept in dust and darkness and finally finding each-other, and forming a strong bond. It was like a story or a dream. I shared the beauty of the tree with Benny, and Benny was just as affected by the beauty of the tree as I had been. He wanted a tree of his own, and I offered him mine, but Benny declined. He didn't want to take anything from me.
"A week before December 25th, Benny was taken away from me. I didn't see him for days and I became very lonely. Finally, I couldn't handle it any longer. When the humans were gone again, I searched the entire house for my brother. I found him in the upstairs, under a tree of his own. It was perfect for him. It was just as glorious as the tree downstairs, but smaller to suit his size. We greeted each other with great enthusiasm. We hadn't seen each-other in so long and we both had a lot of catching up to do. But it didn't last long. The humans came home and we were separated once again, this time for far longer than the both of us wanted. Since I couldn't be around my brother, I surrounded myself with people from history. Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, Jimmy Carter, all those historic figures became my new friends. And Benny didn't have anyone to talk to, either, so he grew an emotional attachment to his Christmas tree upstairs, fiercely guarding it just like he had protected me.
"After that Christmas, we didn't see each other for a long time. It was back to the attic and to the closet. Nutcrackers are only for Christmas decorations, so we didn't serve a purpose during the warmer months. After a very long and lonely year of waiting, we were reunited as brothers once again. But the both of us had changed. Benny became cold and distant after a long time of nothing but guarding a lifeless tree. I myself became too obsessed with history. Though the people in the books were real, I couldn't feel any emotions with them like I could a person in the present. So we went our separate ways. The Christmas we met, we became brothers. The Christmas after, we became strangers. This Christmas? Well, I don't really know what the future holds. But I'm... so afraid that it's going to be just like last year," I heard Napoleon gulp. "Those who cannot remember their past are doomed to repeat it." I recognized the quote from one of his history books.
And, like a tremor of an earthquake, starting small and then building up, Napoleon began to cry. Jerking, tearless sobs that shook his shoulders and reduced him to nothing but a quivering pile on the floor. We could all feel his sadness like an aura, but none of us knew what to do except Olaf, who carefully patted his shoulder and saying, "there, there" every once and a while.
Then, quite sparaticly, Benny got up and threw his unfinished snowflake down, ran over to his fallen brother, and threw himself on top of him, crying a little as well, then helped him up, just as he had done when Napoleon had fallen the first time, and when Napoleon had first done for Benny when they had first met.
The both of them stood up. The height difference was quite significant, but at the moment, it didn't matter. In fact, the two of them were extremely different as a whole. Napoleon was always happy. He was a history geek and loved to learn. Benny was harder to understand but fiercely protective of the things that he loved. But they were brothers.
"So, you remember Christmas?" Benny asked softly.
"Clear as day," Napoleon replied. "It's the one thing I can't forget. Christmas was such an important landmark in my life. No amount of stair-falling is going to change that."
"You know, last Christmas was hard for me too. I didn't want to abandon you like that, but I thought I was the only one that felt the same way. So I pretended that it didn't bother me, and as a result, I grew distant. But today, you've changed all of that," Benny laughed. "Just by being your annoying, clumsy, geeky self. I promise I won't let that happen again. No more Christmases spent alone. For the both of us." The brothers hugged, and I had to suppress a theatrical "Awww!"
"So then there really is no way to get Napoleon's memory back completely?" Bell asked.
"Maybe not," said Benny. "In fact, probably not. We could hit him on the head again, but I'd rather not risk it."
Napoleon sighed. "Well, I've got three years of catching up to do, but let's not start again. At least not today. Why don't we get back to finishing our snowflakes?"
Dorothy nodded and held up her paper creation. "Sorry, Bell, but I kind of took over. Why don't you do your own snowflake now since I ruined this one?"
"You didn't ruin it," said Bell. "It's lovely. But I wouldn't mind starting another one."
So we had to accept thee fact that Napoleon's amnesia wouldn't go away. But maybe it was a good thing that it didn't. Because of Napoleon's fall, the nutcracker brothers were reunited. They stopped bickering, they stopped trying to change each-other's ways. At least for a day. Even siblings can't go for a break for that long.
As we were all making our own snowflakes, I began to think a little to myself. Today we had learned a lot of things. So many life lessons to chose from to put into my blog as another Christmas message. We learned about individuality from the snowflakes, acceptance from the fact that Napoleon couldn't be cured, and the sheer happiness of two brothers making amends after a long time of loneliness. But I had to think that this most important message to get out of today was remembrance. Sure, Napoleon didn't remember much, but it was Christmas.
Christmas was a special time for everyone. It only comes around once a year. It's a day that stands out amongst all the other days on the calendar, one that seems more magical than the rest. No matter what happens, whether you fall down the stairs and get amnesia, or simply just have a bad memory, you're going to remember Christmas. With all it's traditions and friends and beauty, how could you not? And as all eight dolls laid out their paper snowflakes in a row and I ran upstairs to get a picture, I could tell that my first Christmas in She's house would be a memory that I would keep with me forever. We had already had eight days of fun, and now I couldn't wait to see what the future held.
"So, you remember Christmas?" Benny asked softly.
"Clear as day," Napoleon replied. "It's the one thing I can't forget. Christmas was such an important landmark in my life. No amount of stair-falling is going to change that."
"You know, last Christmas was hard for me too. I didn't want to abandon you like that, but I thought I was the only one that felt the same way. So I pretended that it didn't bother me, and as a result, I grew distant. But today, you've changed all of that," Benny laughed. "Just by being your annoying, clumsy, geeky self. I promise I won't let that happen again. No more Christmases spent alone. For the both of us." The brothers hugged, and I had to suppress a theatrical "Awww!"
"So then there really is no way to get Napoleon's memory back completely?" Bell asked.
"Maybe not," said Benny. "In fact, probably not. We could hit him on the head again, but I'd rather not risk it."
Napoleon sighed. "Well, I've got three years of catching up to do, but let's not start again. At least not today. Why don't we get back to finishing our snowflakes?"
Dorothy nodded and held up her paper creation. "Sorry, Bell, but I kind of took over. Why don't you do your own snowflake now since I ruined this one?"
"You didn't ruin it," said Bell. "It's lovely. But I wouldn't mind starting another one."
So we had to accept thee fact that Napoleon's amnesia wouldn't go away. But maybe it was a good thing that it didn't. Because of Napoleon's fall, the nutcracker brothers were reunited. They stopped bickering, they stopped trying to change each-other's ways. At least for a day. Even siblings can't go for a break for that long.
As we were all making our own snowflakes, I began to think a little to myself. Today we had learned a lot of things. So many life lessons to chose from to put into my blog as another Christmas message. We learned about individuality from the snowflakes, acceptance from the fact that Napoleon couldn't be cured, and the sheer happiness of two brothers making amends after a long time of loneliness. But I had to think that this most important message to get out of today was remembrance. Sure, Napoleon didn't remember much, but it was Christmas.
Christmas was a special time for everyone. It only comes around once a year. It's a day that stands out amongst all the other days on the calendar, one that seems more magical than the rest. No matter what happens, whether you fall down the stairs and get amnesia, or simply just have a bad memory, you're going to remember Christmas. With all it's traditions and friends and beauty, how could you not? And as all eight dolls laid out their paper snowflakes in a row and I ran upstairs to get a picture, I could tell that my first Christmas in She's house would be a memory that I would keep with me forever. We had already had eight days of fun, and now I couldn't wait to see what the future held.
(Loki made us some nametags to label each of our snowflake creations. Since he made six, he chose the best out of those for me to take a picture and put it on my blog.)
The humans came home an hour after we finished our craft. We returned to our posts. Napoleon at the fireplace, Benny at the upstairs tree, Magneto in his ceramic town, Bell on the Christmas tree and Dorothy on the coffee table. Olaf, Loki, and I ran upstairs and sat down on the dresser, any of us not wanting to say much. Which is surprising, because Olaf is, well, Olaf.
The three of us were exhausted. After all that running around and socializing, it was good to just lay back and relax for a few minutes until She came home. I started up this blog post, but struggled a little on what to call it. The message was memory. How could I make a title out of that. But Olaf gave me some ideas and I wrote down the simple but sweet title. Eight Paper Snowflakes. I can't believe I didn't see it before.
That night, I had the same dream. I was back in Wandering Oaken's, only Molly had already fallen. Knowing that I could change by fate, my dream self jumped down from the top shelf, and luckily, I landed on my feet. Even though the both of us were in boxes, I was able to get Molly to her feet. She hadn't actually died, and I was extremely relieved, even though it was all just a dream.
Later I began to think of a meaning to all that had happened to us and realized probably the clearest moral to finish my eighth Christmas blog post.
Christmas is a time to remember.
The three of us were exhausted. After all that running around and socializing, it was good to just lay back and relax for a few minutes until She came home. I started up this blog post, but struggled a little on what to call it. The message was memory. How could I make a title out of that. But Olaf gave me some ideas and I wrote down the simple but sweet title. Eight Paper Snowflakes. I can't believe I didn't see it before.
That night, I had the same dream. I was back in Wandering Oaken's, only Molly had already fallen. Knowing that I could change by fate, my dream self jumped down from the top shelf, and luckily, I landed on my feet. Even though the both of us were in boxes, I was able to get Molly to her feet. She hadn't actually died, and I was extremely relieved, even though it was all just a dream.
Later I began to think of a meaning to all that had happened to us and realized probably the clearest moral to finish my eighth Christmas blog post.
Christmas is a time to remember.
Remembering Christmas,
Queen Elsa
***
She's Snowflakes
These instructions and pictures show you how to make your own paper snowflakes like we did. Thanks to She's pictures I found on her camera from when She was making her ceiling o' snowflakes. These instructions go step by step and are easy to follow.
For the materials, you will need:
-a pair of scissors
-a plain white sticky note or a perfectly square white paper
-a pencil is optional if you want to draw on your designs before cutting
-anything else you want to use to decorate your snowflake. We used glitter and colored wax sticks called Crayons.
Instructions:
1. First, get your sticky note and place it in front of you.
2. Then fold it like a triangle that two of the ends of the square meet.
3. This one's a bit tricky. Take one of the ends of the triangle and fold it across the middle, creating another triangle.
4. Repeat step three with the other side, only this time your triangle should cross over the other.
5. Using your pencil, lightly draw out the design you want on the one side of your newly formed shape.
6. Get out your scissors and cut out the designs that you marked.
7. Carefully open up your snowflake.
Ta-da! You're finished. I told you it was easy.
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