A long time ago, there was a doll. For some time, it was Goldie’s only doll. It was dressed in night clothes. Her eyes were closed. Her arms were spread out ready for a hug. She was covered in pink from head to toe. She had a slight smile to her which made her eyes grow dimples.

One day, Goldie was rocking her doll. As she swayed her back and forth, she dropped her. Her ceramic head cracked. “She’s hurt!” Goldie cried.

“Oh Goldie, you have to be more careful!” I scolded. There was a line right at the side of her forehead going down toward her ear. Goldie instantly found the box of band aides. The crack was covered in to time with a little criss cross of band aides.

“It’s okay,” Goldie said stopping up her doll up rocked her again. Goldie’s arms floated high up into the air and the doll lay loosely on her palms of her hands.

“Why don’t you put the doll to sleep?” I suggested. “Maybe she should rest now.” I thought this was the best advice. She shouldn’t rock her anymore, and break another part of her face.

Goldie stopped rocking her. She gave me the doll and went to her closet.

I looked at the doll again. The band aide criss cross hid the crack and a small corner of one of her eyes. If only there were a doll hospital that could make her well again. I knew there was such a place. If I knew where, I would have called the doll doctor right then and there.

That doll was so cute when we first saw it. She was dressed in pink from head to toe. Pink was and still is Goldie’s favorite color. Her eyes had cute dimples. Her mouth showed the beginning of a smile.

“Here is your doll,” I said handing her back to Goldie. She had two doll sized blankets in her hands. I watched Goldie as she lay one on her bed and smooth out the wrinkles. She lay the doll right in the middle. The other blanket she draped over the top of her.

“Goodnight,sleep tight!” Goldie whispered and then kissed her again right where the bands aide were. She straightened the blankest so they were wrinkle free and said “Time to sleep.” she whispered.

Goldie tip toed out of her room. I did too.

Goldie began to twirl a long ribbon on a stick. She made big wide circles in the air. I began to sigh and wonder if Goldie would ever really play with dolls. There were other dollswithout band aides. They spent a lot of time, staring at the world. Some got a change of clothes once in awhile. All of them had plenty of sleep. But only one had a crack with two band aides. Yet, Goldie didn’t mind. To her, she was her doll.

Years later, I found the doll buried in a bunch of stuffed animals that are destined to be given away. She was pink, rosy, and sleeping soundly. The band aides were still in place. I rocked it, and rubbed my fingers over her forehead. “There , there, ” I said. “Time to get some sleep.” I snuggled her into the stuffed animals and tip toed out of the room.