The Wish

On the day that she left the hospital she decided it was time to look at herself. Her entire stay at the hospital she had avoided looking at herself, fearing that age and time spent behind fiberglass had ruined her face. Already she had suffered through seeing her limbs atrophied and breasts sagging. True, her appearance had improved through her hard work. Her face, on the other hand, was not the same thing.

She stood in the bathroom of her hospital room for several minutes. The light was out. She was building the courage to look at herself. That she would no longer be so beautiful as she once was she knew. But she was frightened of the unknown. Finally, she flipped the switch bring light to the room. Adjusting her eyes to the light she stared into the mirror in front of her.

In front of her, gazing into her face was the same beautiful girl that she had once been. That she was astonished at what she saw could not be told. There was nary a trace of that she had aged, even a day, since she had been entombed. She left the hospital cheerful and energetic.

Three days after she had returned to her home she had the place completely refurnished. It was now devoid of anything to remind her of her time with Roger. In fact, the entire place had been gutted of anything that could ever remind her of her imprisonment. Soon she would have nothing but memories of her ordeal. And those, she knew, would fade as time passed.

Still, despite her removal of anything associated with Roger, memories of her ordeal lingered. Many nights she found herself awakened by nightmares that would leave her screaming and crying out to be free. And so, her health suffering, she determined to sell her house and move to Los Angeles. Within the matter of a few months she had sold the hated house and moved into a spatial home in the Hollywood hills.

Epilogue:

Finishing up her workout routine she headed into her bathroom to wash up. The hot water felt good on her tired and sore muscles. It had taken several months of hard work before her muscles had returned to their former strength. She was happy and healthy. Most importantly she was free with little to remind her of ever being imprisoned as a doll save her bare scalp and her missing finger and toenails.

Stepping out of the shower she grabbed a towel and began drying off. It had been a long day for her. The interviews with the media combined with those with scriptwriters had taken their toll on her mentally and physically. She was drained and looked forward to her life slowing down.

She reached over to the mirror and wiped a small circle on the fogged glass and stared at the face in front of her. For the last few months she had avoided looking at herself, though she was not certain why. It came to her then, as she tried to smile.

Staring into the mirror, she saw her face. Her eyebrows were perfectly formed and her lips curled up slightly in a slight smile. Attempting to purse her lips she found that she could only manage a slight "O". For several minutes she fought, trying to form expressions other than her slight smile. She tried to raise her eyebrows and then to wrinkle her forehead and nose.

For a long moment she stood, staring at herself, wishing she could wipe the smile from her face. She spoke to herself, watching how her mouth barely moved with her words. It was a wonder, she thought, that she could even speak coherently.

For several more minutes she stared into the mirror, looking at herself. Suddenly it dawned on her that, for all intents and purposes, she was still the doll that she had been made into; Her face was exactly the same, her hair was a wig; her nails were surgical implants. Even without her doll's casing, she was a doll – a living, breathing doll.

As the memory of how she had once wished to be more like her favorite doll, Tina, tears began rolling down her cheek, cascading over the slight smile that would forever grace her beautiful face.