The Girl Who Couldn't Feel

I carefully painted the leg of the miniature chair. Tomorrow was Christmas, though it was already 2 in the morning on Christmas day, but no one was awake yet, except for me. I only had this one chair left, and then I could give it to Candy tomorrow as her Christmas gift. As I worked silently in the shed in our backyard, I heard the shed door open, and my breathing stopped. Slowly, I turned around, but it was just Jaden. I turned back to the little dollhouse.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered in the dark.

“Finishing Candy’s gift.” I whispered, turning to face him, and I turned around to find our faces inches from each other. I hadn’t been expecting him to be so close. He looked straight at me in the dark, and there was just enough light for me to see his glowing eyes. I cleared my throat and turned back toward the painted dollhouse. I finished painting the last chair and set it down to dry.

“It’s beautiful.” Jaden whispered.

“Thanks…” I mumbled. I walked out of the shed and Jaden followed. We headed back inside the house. “We should go to bed quickly; Candy’s going to wake us up early.” I said, already seeing Candy giggling and screaming with excitement.

“Yeah.” Jaden responded, as we went back into our room. I got into bed and my eyes closed almost immediately.

I woke up to my bed shaking. I looked up and found Candy jumping on my bed. “Marie! Marie! It’s Christmas!” She giggled as she continued to repeat the same few words. It felt like I had only slept for a few minutes before she woke me up. Finally I sat up.

“I’m awake Bunny.” I said to her and then I glanced toward Jaden’s bed. “But, I think someone is still asleep. We can’t go open presents until everyone’s awake, right?”

“Ohh. You’re right!” She giggled as she went up to Jaden and dove onto his stomach. “Jaden, Jaden! It’s Christmas!” Jaden woke up immediately when Candy fell onto his stomach.

Jaden smiled at her and then stood up, holding her in the air as she giggled. “This is punishment for jumping on me.” He smiled, and then he put her down and held one of her little hands. Then, Candy looked at me, holding her hand out.

“Marie, let’s go and open the presents!” she smiled. I took her hand and we walked into the living room, where the tree stood with six presents below it. I stood away from it and leaned against the wall as Jaden, Candy, Mother, and Father sat down on the couch. Mother didn’t like it when I sat on the couch, and I didn’t want to cause a huge argument over something so small. However, after a few minutes, Jaden quietly came to stand with me next to the wall. Mother had put on Christmas music, and I listened to the “Jingle Bells” song. It was going to haunt me all day.

Each gift was opened one by one. Mother received a pearl necklace and Father received a shirt and a tie. Jaden was given a hundred dollars to spend as he pleased. Finally, Candy was left. Her gifts just happened to be in the back since they were very large.

She opened her first gift, and it was a little baby doll. Candy giggled as she ran around holding the gift, making sure everyone got to see her new toy and that everyone said ‘hello’ to Tiffany (which is what she immediately named the doll). After a few minutes, Mother told Candy to come open her next gift. She chose the larger of the two boxes and un-wrapped the gift as quickly as she could.

“Yay!” she screamed. “Candy has her own Kitchen!” She smiled, hugging her parents and then hugging me and Jaden. It was a small play kitchen for children, which Candy had always wanted. As she bounced around the room, I headed to the kitchen to go to the shed.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jaden whispered, since Candy was now quietly un-wrapping her final gift.

“To get Candy’s gift.” I whispered just as quietly. As I turned back around and headed toward the kitchen, I heard Candy scream once more.

“It’s a dollhouse!” she giggled, and I felt my feet stop moving. I turned back around and saw the beautiful dollhouse she had gotten. The furniture was decorated very intricately. The walls of all the rooms were also very nicely done and the colors changed for each room. It even had a balcony, and all the lights in the house actually turned on by switches, since they ran on battery. I slowly walked back next to Jaden and didn’t say anything.

“Wow. That’s an odd coincidence.” Jaden muttered. “But, you should still give her the one you made. She will definitely like it.” He said with a small smile.

“Yes, she’ll like it, but I know she would rather play with this one. Why make her feel guilty for not using the one I made?” I sighed. “I made it for her because she asked for a dollhouse. It’s great that she got such a beautiful one… It is beautiful.” Beautiful . What made something beautiful

I began to walk away to take a shower, when Jaden spoke. “Wait.” He said loudly. “Where’s Marie’s gift?”

I turned around as saw the shock and anger on Mother and Father’s face. “They gave me money as well, but I got it yesterday.” I said, lying through my teeth. Jaden looked confused but then just said ‘oh’.

I left and got dressed as they had breakfast. Once I was out of the shower, I went to my room and pulled out the gift that I had gotten Jaden. I was thinking that I should just leave it on his bed, so that he could open it later. As I walked over to his bed, he walked in through the door and saw the gift in my hand.

“Is that for me?” he smiled as he slowly walked up to me.

“uhh…umm...yeah.” I managed to say. I was feeling nervous? I wasn’t sure why. I was only giving him a gift, not proclaiming my love or anything like that. Once he was standing only a few feet from me, I handed him the wrapped gift.

“Thank you.” He said, and he gently opened the present. I had gotten him a full set of paintbrushes and acrylic paint. “Thanks, Marie.” He said, hugging me tightly. I just stood there, clueless to what I should do or say, and then he let go of me. “Sorry.” He said sheepishly. “I am really happy.”

I nodded and began to leave the room when he grabbed my wrist. “Wait. I haven’t given you your gift. Let’s go out for a while.” He smiled, and he pulled me out the door. As we were about to leave the house, Mother called me.

“Marie! Why didn’t you take Tammy and her parents’ gifts!” she yelled. “Take them with you.” I went to the kitchen and grabbed the gifts and headed outside where Jaden was waiting for me.

We walked to Tammy’s house quietly, and neither of us said anything until Mrs. Pierce answered the door. “Marie, my Darling! Merry Christmas! How are you?” She smiled at me. She was wearing a one-piece reindeer costume with the reindeer antler headband. She even had a small red clown nose. She looked much younger in the outfit.

“I’m fine Mrs. Pierce.” I said. “She refused to wear it.”

“Yeah. I’m still trying to convince her, though. It’s even cuter than the Christmas tree costume she wore last year!” she pouted. “But, I told her to wear the Mrs. Clause outfit instead.”

Jaden looked confused so I explained. “They have a Christmas dress-up party every year, but Tammy hates wearing Christmas costumes. Especially after last year’s Christmas tree outfit that she was forced to wear.” I said, and Jaden nodded, trying not to laugh.

Then, Mr. Pierce came to the door. He was dressed in a Santa Clause costume, which is why his face was almost completely covered. “Marie! So nice to see you again. What can we do for you dear?” Mr. Pierce was similar to Mrs. Pierce in that he also looked very young, when he wasn’t wearing a Santa Clause outfit. This is the main reason Tammy hated when they came to her school for any event. Let’s just say that both of them attract a lot of attention.

“I came to deliver gifts.” I said. “Is Tammy here?”

“No, sorry, dear. She went out to get supplies for tonight’s dinner.” Mr. Pierce smiled.

“Ok, it’s fine. Please give her this gift.” I said, handing Tammy’s gift to them, and then handing their gifts to them as well.

“Thank you so much, Darling.” Mrs. Pierce said as she gave me a tight hug. “I’ll tell Tammy to come over and give you your gift when she gets back.” She said softly. Jaden and I said our goodbyes and then we walked back home.

We waited on the driveway for a few minutes, and before I could ask Jaden what was going on, a familiar looking car pulled up onto the driveway. I saw Lexi and the guy who’s name I had never learned sitting in the front. We went into the car, and the trip was never once awkward since Lexi filled the silence with constant blabbering.

“Oh my god, Marie! Hasn’t it been so long since we’ve seen each other! I know we’ve only met once before, but I feel that we are going to get along so well!” She smiled excitedly, turning in her seat so that she could see me.

“Lexi, is everyone ready?” Jaden asked her.

“Sure are! Chris and Rin are waiting over there. Well, Rin wanted to wait there, and suddenly Chris did too…” she rolled her eyes at the last part. “Oh, Marie! You’ve never met Rin right? You are going to love her! She is so sweet! Her full name is Karin, but we just call her Rin. I don’t think she likes being called Karin, but I –“

“Lex, we’re here.” The guy, who was driving, said.

“Oh, alright then. Let’s go!” Lexi smiled, jumping out of the car. “By the way, I don’t think Nate introduced himself,” she said, popping her head back into the car and pointing at the driver, “He’s Nate.”

I nodded my head and then got out. We were at some salon, and the place was filled with quite a few people. I followed Jaden as he walked through the crowd and said hello to some people on the way. Finally, I saw someone who looked familiar. It was Chris. He was standing next to a girl, who was a few inches shorter than me. She had very long dark brown hair. Her straight hair fell a bit below her hips and I could tell that it was really soft and smooth. I had never seen someone with such long hair. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she stared into the crowd with an annoyed expression on her face.

“Rin, Chris!” Jaden smiled, and they stood in a circle, talking about random things. Finally, Jaden looked at me.

“This is Marie. She’s the one.” He said, though I didn’t understand what he meant. Chris smiled and Rin nodded.

“Well then, let’s get started.” Chris said, pushing me a chair. “I will be giving you a haircut.” He said, bringing his face close to mine.

“Thank God he’s gone.” I heard Rin mutter from behind, and I could hear everyone laugh.

“I will just be trimming your hair, so don’t worry, alright?” I nodded and closed my eyes. I could hear Jaden’s voice in the background, and I heard him as Chris a few times if I was alright and if he was almost done.

“Just chill, Jaden. You can’t rush a masterpiece! There, she’s done. I’ll style her hair once she’s ready.” He said as I opened my eyes, but immediately, there was a hand on top of them.

“Not just yet.” Jaden whispered in my ear. He led me to Lexi and Rin.

“Wow, Marie. You already look so fantastic!” Lexi giggled. “Anyways, Rin is going to take you to the room in the back and have you try on a few outfits.” She smiled at me. I felt so confused, and I wasn’t sure if I should be retaliating or just nodding. I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic as well, with all the people in the room. I was getting a bit dizzy.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wait outside the door.” Jaden said, guiding me to the room. Rin was already standing in the doorway waiting for me.

“We don’t have all day here.” She muttered, glaring at Jaden. I went inside, but I glanced back once before Rin completely shut the door and I saw Jaden smile.

“Okay, try this one on first, and then this one. After that, we’ll see what would be best.” She said, handing me two dresses.

“Umm…Where did you get these?” I asked, looking at the many dresses in the room.

“I picked them out for you after seeing a picture of you. I brought a few different styles that I thought would look best.” She sighed, leaning against the wall. “You can change in that room.”

I changed into the white dress first, and then walked out to let Rin see. She had me try on a few more dresses, until she found one that she liked.

“Ok, this one’s perfect.” She said to me as she examined the light pink dress that I was wearing. “Sit in this chair, and I’ll call Lexi.”

As I sat down in the chair, Rin opened the door of the room slightly. “No peaking. Someone keep Jaden away till we’re done.” She said.

“Anything for you.” I heard Chris say from outside. “Let’s go, Jaden. Lexi is on her way.”

A few minutes later, Lexi entered the room with a large make-up kit. “Don’t worry, Marie. This will only take a minute.” She smiled. “By the way, your outfit looks very cute.”

I sat quietly as she did my make-up and as Chris returned to style my hair. Once they were finished, I thanked them, and we headed back outside.

Everyone began staring at me as I returned to the main room of the salon. All the talking came to a halt, and all I could here was people whispering. That was when I caught a glimpse of a girl in the mirror. She looked beautiful in a light pink dress with her hair flowing around her. Her bangs were neatly cut and fell softly on her face. It took a while for me to admit that the girl was me. “Don’t worry. You look absolutely b-e-a-utiful.” Lexi giggled as she put her arm around my shoulder and guided me forward. “Oh! There’s Jaden.”

Jaden turned around upon hearing his name, and looked at me. I felt so strange wearing a dress. I felt so far away from my usual self. As I stood there, pretending to be something I wasn’t. Jaden came up to me and held my hands.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered in my ear. And suddenly, I truly felt beautiful, and I wished very deeply that I wasn’t pretending. I wished that I could always be like this, that I didn’t have to change back.

“Just like Cinderella.” I whispered. That’s who I was like. I would only be beautiful for today, and then I would be back to my plain self. No matter how hard I wished, this couldn’t be the real me. My real fear was that when they realized that I was being the real me, when they realized I couldn’t change, they would be hurt. Moments like these, when they saw a different me, hurt me because I knew I was feeding their hopes. It would only hurt that much more in the end.

“Huh?” Jaden said, confused as to what I had said.

“Nothing.” I whispered.

“See! Didn’t I tell you? I told” Lexi giggled to change the awkward atmosphere. Her magical laughter made everyone feel at ease, and the room was filled with chatter once more.

“Let’s go. There’s still another surprise.” He smiled at me and held my hand as we headed out of the salon. But right before we left, I felt someone grab my other hand. I looked back and saw the girl that I had seen before. The girl with the two braids.

“Monkey. You promised that only I would wear dresses.” The little girl said with a smile. It was sweet, but I knew that this wasn’t going to end well. Her smile began to fade. “Do you want me to die? I WILL DIE.” She screamed. Her grip on my hand tightened until it became painful, so I pulled my hand away. What was she talking about? What did she mean? She smiled at me again, and as she was about to speak, Jaden spoke.

“Marie.” Jaden said, and I turned to look at him. We were standing at the door of the salon. “Are you okay?”

I looked back behind me, but the girl was gone. I took a deep breath. I had to calm down. “I-I’m fine.” I muttered. We walked up to one of the cars parked in the parking lot.

“I borrowed Chris’ car.” He smiled at me. “It’s faster than Nate’s.” I nodded and we sat inside. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Jaden asked for the hundredth time. He was really worried, but I was fine now.

“I’m fine. I promise.”

“Okay, then close your eyes.” He said, as he put his hand over my eyes. When he took his hand away, I kept my eyes closed.

“Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly very curious.

“You’ll see soon.” He laughed, and he started the car. As we sat in silence, a song played in my head.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way…