Serendipity Becky We met on our wedding day*or what we refer to as our wedding day. We were sold separately, but already packaged in the appropriate apparel; and purchased by a middle-aged human lady for her eldest daughter*s reception. Fortunately for us, we did not have to pass through a formal ceremony within a church. We were going directly to the best part. My husband and I were placed on the very top of the extravagant cake, our respective gazes fixated straight ahead at the dance floor. Neither of us had been able to move our bodies, being that we were made of plastic, but I had seen him before the big event and in that initial moment, if I had a smile (also a heart), I would have instantly given him both. We both bore witness to quite a celebration and did an excellent job posing as decorations. We saw many occurrences take place: A minor tiff broke out amongst intoxicated kin. The bride squeezed the best man*s buttocks on her way to the bathroom (which I wished to notify the groom of immediately, but hadn*t the ability to speak). (I must admit, I liked my wedding dress a lot better than the human bride*s. That hussy.) I enjoyed my time with my husband. I did not know if and when I would see him after the reception. We would most likely be separated. I primed myself just in case. Would I again be as lonely as I was before this, inside my cardboard box? Then, at the end of the party, a little girl (cousin to the bride) asked her aunt if she could take us home with her, to keep. "Of course you can!" the woman said. She touched the little girl*s head affectionately and gingerly placed me and my husband in the child*s small hands. The girl squealed gaily and ran over to another adult woman, who was chatting with the bride. "Mom, look what Aunt Marcia gave me!" The woman she interrupted turned her head and looked down to her little daughter, who held us out for appraisal. We were like precious jewels to this young girl. "Oh wow!" the woman said enthusiastically. "That was really nice of her!" The ride home from the party was sort of a blur. The little girl fell asleep in the backseat, still clutching our little plastic bodies. I too blacked out as her hand lost its grip on me and I fell to the floor of the car. That must have been the first time I ever slept. When became conscious, the room was gray but it was no longer night. I found myself again standing on the summit of something. A hill? No*a dresser. Before me was a large vacant bed upon which lay pastel blankets and linens. I wondered where the little girl had gone. Beside me, my husband stood loyally. To my supreme amazement, he twirled his stagnant body to face mine, and his mouth opened to allow him to speak. "I call myself Brent. What about you?" I didn*t have a name prior to being chosen and purchased. I supposed that I would require one now to correspond with my fresh new life. I remembered semiconsciously hearing one I favored once long ago. "Bettie," I replied, suddenly realizing afterward that I now had a similar new ability. "I*m very pleased to meet you, Bettie, as well as honored to be your husband." I grinned, elated. I felt the same way. We spent the rest of the day conversing over a broad spectrum of subjects. It had been unfair of that woman to stick us together and take for granted that we would make an adequate couple*what if under contrary circumstances he had disliked me? But it had to be kismet. We began our relationship on the level that is most difficult to achieve. We fell silent when the mother-woman came into the room to tidy up or put away her daughter*s laundry. The little girl did not return home until I saw that the windowpanes were filled with the royal blue color of early evening. "Hi guys!" the little girl exclaimed when she bounded into the room. "Sorry I can*t play with you," she said plaintively. She got closer so that her face was huge (small, I know, in comparison to an adult human female*s). "I got lotsa homework." I can*t recall how I acquired all of the knowledge I had inside my mind. I felt human, or that I once was or should be. But I was also grateful I wasn*t. I did not want the seemingly difficult responsibilities each individual being troubled herself with. I would simply resemble such a creature. That is all. The following day, the girl brought me and my husband each a new set of clothes. "Aren*t you tired of wearing your dress up clothes everyday?" she asked compassionately. I had a dress once again, but this time it was more of a casual, floral wallpaper-type one. Brent was given a pair of khakis and a navy blue polo shirt. "I bought them with my allowance," she explained. "I get five dollars a week, if I am good." Each day*s discoveries surprised me as Brent and I grew ever closer. Come the little girl*s birthday a few months later, Brent and I were able to bend and flex our limbs and bodies of burdensome vinyl. Brent*s plastic orange-red hair had become as soft and resilient as my coffee-bean colored locks had been since I was created. Our keeper*the girl--received a magnificent dollhouse for her birthday and promptly moved us in. It was already fully furnished with mundane trappings, such as those to equip a bedroom, bathroom, parlor, kitchen, and dining room. The wooden exterior of the house had been painted the color of vanilla pudding. I wept with delight for this, and wept even more once I had recognized my newfound power to express such an emotion. We continued to evolve, Brent and I. I soon added eyelashes and kneecaps to my growing compendium of physical human traits. But it seemed to have its disappointing limits after Brent told me he loved me and my own heart began to beat. Authentic sexual intercourse could never occur, as neither of us exhibited any genitalia. Also, I had breasts, but no nipples. One night, while the girl slept, we tried to make romance. Desire and arousal were present, full force, and as we had begun to become more "real", we accepted this and trusted our instincts. We kissed, touched, explored one another as best we could. But no penetration took place. I cried out of hopelessness, and Brent comforted me while hiding his own sorrow. We both wanted children. I wondered aloud if that dream would ever come true. One Saturday afternoon, the girl invited a friend over. I did not like this friend, whom I heard was called Mildred. She was bossy and mean spirited. Mildred brought over her own set of dolls our size, and made our keeper play "House" with her. Mildred created an elaborate demonstration in which her female doll cheated on her male doll with Brent. I "found out" and was helped (by Mildred*s hand) to slap Brent and the other female doll. Mildred snapped at our keeper if she didn*t accurately follow her formula for the best depraved soap opera. After a while they both tired of manipulating us and headed outdoors, leaving all four of us miniature people inside. I decided to take the opportunity to make new friends and introduced myself to Mildred*s couple, whom Mildred had placed in a sitting position on the living room sofa in our house. They stared back at us vacantly. Brent also communicated in vain. "Guess we*re the only ones of our kind," he said with a sigh. I nodded in agreement. "I*m sorry I had to slap you." Brent chuckled. "In that case, I*m sorry my face was pressed to that other woman*s face. Oh, and the guy too." We laughed in unison. Brent kissed me tenderly on the cheek. It was not long after that when our keeper arrived home from a typical day of school with another gift for us. We did not expect her to go out into the human world each day and return with a souvenir for us, but we were ever grateful for her generosity. We suspected that she knew our secrets and liked to make certain that we were taken care of. She had given us such beautiful possessions that she had purchased or found for mere pennies. I had a closet brimming with gorgeous outfits that I could not wear until our keeper put them on me herself. This day, however, was different. She did not place a fancy chair or a table before us, or hang a luxurious gown in the closet. She held out her hand to us, which had been folded up into a tight fist. Slowly, it blossomed to reveal a tiny plastic baby. "Do you like her? I got her out of the fifty cents machine at the convenience store on the way home." She gave the baby a squeeze and it emitted a mechanical cry. Wahhh! Wahhh! Then she lifted my arms and rested the baby on them. This was the best way I could hold her in the presence of the little girl. Brent and I accepted the baby as our own child. We nurtured her and gave her our love. We named her Bella. As time passed by, Bella began to grow as a normal human child does, and to all of us, the house seemed to progressively shrink. We could not hide this from our keeper. But she seemed to lose interest in us by this time, and it was overlooked. One day, she brought home a puppy. Brent and I were wary of this creature*s destructive (but well-meaning) tendencies, and were horrified when he got hold of Bella. We stood clutching one another, and watched helplessly as he maimed our adopted daughter with fierce teeth and a predator*s savagery. I could not tear my gaze away from the murder that took place, but Brent pulled me by the arm towards the closet, and we hid inside it. We knew we were safe once our keeper had come home. She shrieked at the sight*-miniature body parts askew, tiny splotches of blood. (Coincidentally, a package of red ink pens had been partially devoured as well, and lay beside the slaughter of our only child.) From then on, we were to live in our keeper*s closet to safeguard us against the family dog. The darkness of it seemed to symbolize my somber gloominess, as well as Brent*s, for within this place it was always the coldest and darkest of nights. We caught glimpses of our keeper now and then when the door was opened, until not long after that she became too mature to even hide us in her closet, and we were relocated to her family*s attic. We didn*t see her after that, which deepened my heartache. I never got to thank her for her hospitality. But the love that Brent and I shared never waned, and for that I was infinitely contented. Physically, Brent and I became too large to inhabit the house in which we lived such a long time, and eventually were proportionate in stature to real people. The clothes we had once been given no longer fit us. Fortunately we found some packed away in cardboard boxes, although mine were too big and Brent*s were too small. As we prepared to dress, we discovered we finally had proper genitalia. We delighted in this and took advantage of it. Every tingle of erotic pleasure was exotic pulchritude to us, and afterward, as we lay together on the floor, I felt a sharp wave of pain pass through my abdomen. Then it softly roared. A lion in my belly longed to be fed. "I*m...hungry," I declared incredulously. Brent expressed that he was as well. Neither of us had ever tasted food before. We had both fully developed into humans*-I an adult woman, and Brent a man. We dressed. My hand in his, we descended the two staircases that would bring us to the first floor. On our way to the door to welcome the night, we came face to face with a somewhat older version of our keeper. She gaped at us, unable to utter a word. "Thank you," I said as Brent opened the door. He led me out into the chilling air of a cobalt blue night, which felt like a little girl*s closet. © 2005 Rebecca Lynn Bergman