Chapter 5 - "The Only Way Is Up" - 31st August 2012.

Making some new dolly friends at last ... 

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You can check out the music slideshow to this chapter on Youtube here ... http://youtu.be/bnu-SiMsh8Y

Chapter 5 - "The Only Way Is Up".

After yesterday's encounter with my twin sister did not turn out to be the happy reunion that I had hoped for, I decided today that it may be better if i steered clear of the display dolls for a while. I found myself at a bit of a lost end as to what I should do whilst Holly was not here ?

I ended up wandering through the dining room when I started hearing a rather odd noise "tap tap, tap tap .. tap tap, tap tap". Not knowing what it was I got a little worried as the sound continued and I hid around the corner as it started to get closer.

My imagination started to run away with itself and in the end I decided that it would be much better to find out what it was, as it could not possibly be as bad as anything that I was imagining. So I gingerly peered around the entrance to the games room, and was quite startled but what was standing in front of me ...

"Howdy theyer liddle lady" was the greeting that I was met with when I was spotted by the almost glowing cowgirl doll who was riding her horse in front of me. She was dressed in a shiny white silky jumpsuit with sparkly silver timmings and matching hat and boots, for some reason it made me feel rather girly and over dressed.

Oh so that was what the "tap tap" noise was, it was the horse hoofs on the wooden floor, I thought to myself as I waved back.

She gestured me over and jumped off her horse straight away so that we could say a proper "hello".

"I'm Calamity, Calamity Jane. And thus heres Dallas, ... say hello Dallas" her plastic horse companion gave a friendly kind of neigh/snort sound and nodded her head in my direction.

"She wount bite, give er a good ole strokin" continued Calamity.

I found the way that she spoke rather strange, as her accent was quite strong and at some points I could not really work out what she was completely saying. But she was friendly, and so was Dallas who seemed to take great pleasure in the fuss I gave her.

As our conversation continued I found out that Calamity was a Western Barbie doll from the early 80's, and that she had been with Holly her entire life, seeing her grow up from a small child.

"We've a seen it awll havent we Dallas" she went on.

Somehow I could not imagine Holly as a small child? but I guess you had to be there ? hehe.

As Dallas had taken to me "Like a howrse to a hay bayle" as Calamity put it, she insisted that I have a ride on her.

Now, I had never ridden a horse before and was not really sure what to do? Especially as this one seemed to be missing her reigns, but Calamity insisted that I would be find and she would hold on to Dallas just to make sure.

It was a funny sensation, and somehow I did not feel very lady like in my big pink dress with my legs astride a horse. I did not really know what to do, and at some points felt like it was Dallas that was the one who was really in charge and not me.

As Clamity led Dallas and I around the games room, we suddenly started hearing voices coming from the sofa.

I looked up to see several other dolls looking down at us and waving. Well it would have been rude not to go over and say "hello", so no sooner than we had stopped by the sofa Calamity with one skilled motion lept up on Dallas's back and hopped straight onto the sofa.

As I was just about to start trying to climb up myself, I heard a funny clicking noise coming from behind me ...

"Woooooo ... I fixed it! ... it was just some dirt caught in the gear and I .... ooooh" shouted this Ken doll as he promptly drove up on a pink scooter.

Now, I had seen Ken dolls before in the Disney Store, as they had Toy Story Barbie and Ken sets in my Store during my time there, and I remember seeing a few clips from the 3rd film on the big screen in the shop. This ken looked a bit different though, his clothes more casual and his painted hair very dark and worn off in places.

For a moment he just looked at me with his eyes wide and his mouth open like he was catching flies or something.

He instantly hopped off the scooter, and casually but intentionally walked straight over to me and asked

"Do you need any help there Miss ?"

A little part of me was a bit insulted, wondering do I really look that helpless ?

Even though I insisted I was fine, he made sure that I made it up to the seat of the sofa ok, and then proceeded to hop up himself, and settle with the rest of the dolls behind me.

Calamity spent the whole time just grinning at me and him, I started to wonder what was the big deal ?

Now that I had finally made it up to them, Calamity introduced me to the other dolls

"Evyone, thus us Ella ... she's us Disney Cunderella dowll"

No sooner than Calamity had finished talking, one of the dolls came charging over to me and gave me the biggest hug ever !

"Ooooh she is sooo shiny and pink" said the rather over enthusiastic doll as she held onto me.

Her voice was kind of high and squeaky and her face had a smiley but vacant look about it. I was kind of taken by suprise by her reaction to me and just stood there feeling all awkward and stiff for a moment.

"That theyers Millie" said Calamity, I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh. "She's us Bawbie doll and us new liyke yous, she's ownly been a with us them few months now, but awlready part of us family".

When Millie finally let me go I was able to meet some of the other dolls. Calamity introduced me to Jem & Rio who were also dolls from Holly's childhood, and were very much a happy couple themselves. They seemed very sparkly and brightly coloured and I felt a little distracted by the very bright purple colour of Rio's hair!

I was glad that their greeting was a much more calm and collected hand shake though.

Next Calmity introduced me to Jackson, again one of Holly's old toys from her youth, he was a Michael Jackson doll that had unfortunatly lost his proper outfit over the years, so had to make do with an old Ken suit that did not really fit him very well.

He was very shy, quiet and reserved, and spoke in a soft voice and just nodded when we were introduced. I didn't want to make him feel any more uncomfortable than he already looked so kept the greeting as brief as possible.

When I turned around I was then faced with the Ken doll who had insisted on helping up onto the sofa

"And, weyll, yous awlready meyt Rocky" said Calamity in a gigglie voice.

"Rocky? ... I thought you were a Ken doll" I said, as he approached me to shake my hand.

"Well, Holly has a few Ken dolls, so we couldn't all be called Ken now could we?" he replied with a little smirk on his face, I could not quite tell if he was just humouring me ?

"It was the 80's, Rocky's a classic" he continued. I must have looked a little confused by the relevance of his statement and I think he could tell as he went on.

"Come on, you've never seen Rocky ? How can that be?" I still looked blank from this comment.

"Its a film, a boxing film ..." he started to go on when Jem interupted him.

"I think she's a bit too new to have seen that quite yet !" she said with a grin on her face. It was then that I was suddenly aware that all eyes were on us.

"Well, anyway, I'm a Crystal Ken and as crystals are Rocks and Rocky was from the 80's .... anyway you get the idea". He seemed to start to feel a bit awkward and went a bit fidgetty not knowing where to look.

"Well .. Rocky ... I'm very pleased to meet you" I replied, hoping to lift the awkward silence that had fallen on the group.

He seemed to be grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, as the rest of the group also stood there grinning at us. I felt a little like a shiny new toy that they just could not stop smiling at, but there must be something else causing their reaction? I just couldn't really tell what it was ? or what they were expecting next though ?

 

Chapter 4 - "Ain't That A Kick In The Head !" - 30th August 2012.

  The exciting discovery that I have FAMILY members here in my new home.  But will they turn out to be QUITE what I'm expecting though ? ...

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    You can check out the music slideshow to this chapter on Youtube here ... http://youtu.be/H3ZEFjaKSCc

Chapter 4 - " Ain't That A Kick In The Head !".

Having stayed up late last night to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games. I remember feeling extremely tired when it finished and I must have fallen asleep pretty quickly as when I woke up the next morning on this lovely comfy doll sized sofa, I really did not remember how I got there.

As I started to come to I had a little stretch and looked up to see Holly smiling down at me, I instantly felt a bit self concious and sat up. What must she have been thinking ? I must have looked like a lazy layabout, luckily she didn't mention anything so I just smiled back and said "Good Morning".

 

 The next thing I knew I was being given back my original Princess dress, it had finally finished drying from its de-glittering wash and was ready for me to wear again.

As I looked down at it, I could not believe it was the same dress, it looked so much more simple and elegant, and none or that horrid scratchy glitter. You know, I think if I never wear another glitter infested dress in my entire life I wouldn't be at all bothered. Hmmm, do you think my previous experience may have slightly affected my opinion here hehe ?

 

 I could not wait to try the dress on, at first I was worried that it would feel as irritated as before but I was pleasantly suprised to find that it was now comfortable and much softer to the touch, well lets be honest you couldn't really touch the dress before without coming away looking like a home made Christmas decoration.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I realised that I could not remember at all what the dress really looked like before? When I mentioned this to Holly she replied with

"Well there's always your twin sister, Cin, who has the original dress on still" I must have looked suprised, shocked and amazed all at once as she continued

"She's downstairs on display with some of the other Disney dolls if you want to have a look" with that revelation Holly left the room to get on with a few jobs and left me too it. 

 I sat back down on the comfy sofa and felt like a bombshell had hit me, I have a twin sister? ... a sister who is exactly like me? ... So I have family? Someone who has had the same kind of experiences as me, someone who will know me and will see the world like I do.

The more I thought the more I became excited at the prospect, whilst I was in the Disney Store in my box I had encountered many of my (also boxed) sister dolls but I had never expected to end up in a home with one of them.

I could not contain my excitement any longer, I rushed down the stairs, which is no easy feat I might add considering each step is almost as big as I am, as fast as my little plasic legs would carry me. I somehow instinctively knew which display cabinet to head for, and just as I had crossed the lounge and entered the kitchen area I saw her, my twin sister. I ran over and started waving and gesturing

"Hellllooo, Cin" I waited a moment for a response, but ther was nothing.

"Cin, its me, I'm Ella .. your sister" still nothing. I started to wonder if she could hear me through all that glass, and then I noticed a glance in my direction.

"Ooooh so you can hear me, thats great, like I was saying I am your twin sister, we are the same doll, we even came from the same Disney store" I rambled on and on about how we may have seen each other before and it was so nice to have a sister in her new home, and then after a while I realised there was still nothing. Cin's face was cold, she raised one eyebrow and gave me a look of total disdain, like I was something that had just been scraped off her shoe. And then as if I wasn't even worth the effort to repond to she turned away and that was it.

 I was so hurt, I could feel the tears welling in my eyes, I turned to walk away as I did not want her to see how much she had upset me. I just could not understand it, I mean, we are supposed to be the same doll? made of the same plastic? how could she be so different to me ?

 

I wandered aimlessly into the dining room, not really sure where I was going or what to do next when I heard a voice.

"You-whooo ... Ella".

I looked around but could not quite figure out where it was coming from? Was I going mad ? Am I hearing voices now ?

"Ella .... Up here".

The voice said again, I looked up and for I moment I thought I had seen an angel, there she was standing on top of the dining room table, another Cinderella doll. She looked like me, but not like me, her dress was much more intricately detailed and she was wearing a lovely gold crown that almost looked like a halo when the light hit it.

When I climbed up to the table I was given a warm and happy greeting, she had a lovely soft re-assuring voice that made me instantly feel at ease.

"I have been meaning to give these to you Ella" she said as she held up two beautifil gowns.

"I am sure you will make much better use of them than I can, seeing as I will be going on display soon" she continued. It was at this moment that I realised that this must be the same doll who gave me my other dress so that I had something to wear while my dress was all wet after my de-glittering bath.

As she handed me the dresses I felt a little warm glow inside and was glad to know that not all the dolls here were as frosty as Cin had been.

"Now you make sure you come and visit me often when I'm on display" started Cinderella, she had a cheerful playful look in her eyes as she continued "I will want to see you in all those dresses to make sure you are looking after them ok"

"Oh I will, of course I will" I replied rather over eagerly. I was kind of sad that the one friend that I had made was soon to be shut away on display.

I then had the overwhelming urge to hug Cinderella, she was the first doll that I had met in my new home that had shown me any kindness so far.

"I will miss you" I blubbed "you are like, the only friend I have made here".

"We're not friends Ella, we're family" she replied with a sympathetic smile. "As your older sister I have to keep an eye out for you"

"Older sister?" I blurted a little confused by what she said.

Cinderella went on to explain how she was an older generation of Disney Store Cinderella doll, a few years older than me and so that makes us sisters and family.

Unfortunatly it was then time for her to be packed away on display, I gave her one last hug as we parted, happy in the knowlege that if nothing else at least I had a big sister to watch over me.


  

Chapter 3 - "Favourite Things" - 29th August 2012.

My first meal ... What a MESS, whoops !! ...

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 You can check out the music slideshow to this chapter on Youtube here ... http://youtu.be/B2541kAYLLU

Chapter 3 - " Favourite Things".

Food is a curious subject for dolls, now unlike Humans we do not need food to survive but we can eat it just the same. Having lived in a box for most of my life I had never had the opprotunity to actually eat before and I have to say that when Holly suggested that it was time for dinner I was all at once excited and slightly worried.

This might sound a little silly but as I had never tasted food before I really did not know what to expect? I was dying to try it as I was craving new experiences, but at the same time what if I didn't like it ? What it I did something wrong and made a fool of myself ?

Whilst these thoughts were going back and forth in my mind like a ping pong ball I had not noticed that dinner was being served already, and before I knew what was going on I had a plate sitting on my lap with my very own slice of Pizza !

I felt a little self concious to start with, but when I finally calmed down a bit and realised that no-one was watching or even minded what I was up to, I admitted to myself that I was just being silly and so picked up the slice and took a big bite.

I didn't realise how hungry I was, but the pizza tasted like heaven. OK, so granted I do not really know what heaven tastes like, and as this was my first food experience and I had nothing else to compare it to, there may actually be much better tasting food out there awaiting me, but this pizza was just yummy.

As you can see I got a little carried away, and wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing, so ended up managing to get pizza all over my face! This was rather embarassing when I realised, but in the end I did see the funny side of it, and we all had a good laugh about it. After all how tidy an eater were you when you had your very first meal ?

After I had cleaned off my face I looked down at my nearly empty plate and felt rather satisfied. The food had given me a nice warm fullfilling feeling inside and I could still taste the cheese and tomato in my mouth, I kept licking my lips in the hopes of discovering more of the taste again.

I sat there quietly pondering if all eating experiences were this satisfying ? And also, what it must be like as a human who HAS to eat ? is the experience of food all the more fun when I dont have to have it to survive ? Obviously something I will never discover myself, but I was still wondering anyway ...   

 

Chapter 2 - "Can You Feel It" - 28th August 2012.

Time for my FIRST bath, and a change of clothes ...

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You can check out the music slideshow to this chapter on Youtube here ... http://youtu.be/B2541kAYLLU

Chapter 2 - "Can You Feel It".

Now, I am sure that most of you humans probably dont remember your first bath ? Well, not being human myself, I do. Infact it was not long after I was released from the restraints of my plastic prison that discovered why a bath would be so important.

During my early life whilst fixed in my box it was not long after I became concious that I noticed this uncomfortable feeling on my body, it was itchy, scratchy and to be honest very irritating. Unfortunatley the way I was fixed in place there was no way that I could move about to try and investigate what was causing this problem, but it was something that I overheard most of the dolls in the store complaining about.

Over time I sort of got used to it, i still noticed it, like an annoying itch that you just cant scratch but I was able to almost tune it out. With the excitement of being released from my box however at first I was so overwhelmed with emotions and excitement that I forgot for a while but then the sensation returned, if I had skin it would have been crawling, but as it was the rubbery plastic of my legs that felt so uncomfortable I started to get rather concerned ?

I asked Holly about this straight away, but she just smiled at me and said "I think I know what the problem is, come with me its easily sorted". I felt reassured that I was in safe hand as she scooped me up and took me straight over to the kitchen sink. At first I was confused about what we were going to do but then after my dress was removed I saw that most of my body was absolutely covered in glitter from my dress!!! ... it was everywhere, and somehow seeing it made the itching even worse.

Now, you may be thinking that I had a nice long relaxing soak in a warm bath, well you would be wrong. The glitter was so well attached to me that it took quite a while of scrubbing, soaking and more soap before it finally all came off. Whilst I sat on the edge of the sink wrapped in a nice dry face cloth, feeling the most calm and comfortable that I had in my life, I did not relish the though of putting the dress back on!?!

It was as if Holly had read my mind, or perhaps she just noticed the look on my face but, before I could even mention anything the dress had been picked up and was also being washed and scrubbed. Now if you thought that getting glitter off a doll was hard, it was a picnic compared to how much effort it took to get it off the dress. I sat and watched in wonder as more and more sparkles gradually went floating down the plug hole ... I did start to wonder if there was any dress left under all that glitter ?

With my first bath and wash all over with, I was feeling a bit more cheerful. I was trying to make do with this sort of toga facecloth dress I had tried to wrap around me, whilst my dress was drying. Then Holly appeared again and handed me this.

"Its a dress that came with one of the other Cinderella dolls" she explained with excitement "She really doesn't need it, and when I told her about your situation she said that you can have it !".

I was so overcome by how nice everyone seemed here in my new home, everything was so wonderful and welcoming. I really could not have dreamed of a better place to live.

I graciously and thankfully accepted the lovely gift, and could not wait to try it on. Luckily an open hardback book made a nice little makeshift changing screen, so that I did not have to feel naked infront of all the other display dolls in the room.

When I came out, I asked Holly how I looked?

"See for yourself" she replied, lifting me up to the shelf with a mirror on the wall.

I could not believe it, was that really me ? I know this sounds silly, as I have seen what I look like many time before by seeing all my sister Cinderella dolls in store. But this was the first time that I had actually seen my own reflection for myself.

The dress looked so simple and elegant on me, and at once made me feel relaxed and comfortable, not a spec of glitter in sight. I caught myself starting to wonder what other interesting and exciting experiences I would be in store for in my new life ...?  

 

Chapter 1 - "Bring Me To Life !" - 27th August 2012.

The tale of the day I was born from my box, and how I subsequently discovered what it's like to be FREE as a living doll in a world dominated by humans ...

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You can also check out the music slideshow to this chapter on Youtube here ... http://youtu.be/B2541kAYLLU

Chapter 1 - "Bring Me To Life !".

This is me when I was still in my Disney Store box. Now I cant really say that I have had a tough life so far, as to be honest, I have not really had many experiences or particular hardships. However, the life of a doll can be rather strange and confusing, especially in the early days ...

One of my earliest memories is a bright light, as my box was taken out of the big brown shipping box that I arrived at my store in. There were magical colours everywhere, cheerful music, and many, many of my sister dolls put out on display together.

This sight was unfortunatly short lived, as my box ended up at the back of a shelf behind many other dolls. Which sort of limited my view of the world to the back of the doll box in front, and the 2 dolls that I could see either side of me if I tried very hard to look left and right out of the corners of my eyes (as you know this is not easy for a doll who's head is attached to the backing of her box).

Now, although I felt a little boxed in (sorry for the pun), I was quite cheerful and optimistic, and the joyful music that often played in the store gave me hope. Particularly a song called "Part of your World", as I so desperately wanted to be free from my box, and part of the world.

After several months of sitting on the shelf however, watching many of my sister dolls find new and loving homes, I started to think that my time must be coming soon ? .... This however was shortly followed by the arrival of new dolls!!

My box had finally made it to the front of the shelf, however this was in some ways worse, when I discovered the arrival of the new fully articulated Princess dolls ! The rumours circulated fast amongst us older dolls, as we all heard about the jointed knees and ankles, new face moulds, hairs styles, and even new look dresses! Our hearts sank, as we suddenly realised that we were the obsolete models, and not only did we have to compete with each other, but these new flashy dolls to try and get a new home.

Another month past and I was about to give up hope, all the other Cinderella dolls of my type had gone and found new loving homes, and I was the last one left. Once again at the back of a shelf behind a line of the new Cinderella dolls. This was not looking promising .... and then as if someone out there had heard my prayers, a hand reached through to the back and pulled out my box and took me straight to the tills. Before I knew what was happening, I was in a bag and finally on my way to my new home. :o).

As I peered out of the bag upon arriving home, I was pleasantly suprised to discover that my new owner was not only a Disney fan, but a major lover of dolls. Holly seemed very careful with me, and was considerate enough to leave my box peeking out when she put me down and went to sort unpacking the rest of the shopping. This left me with a nice little glimpse of the new world that I was to inhabit, and I started to wonder what my new life might be like ?

I had a nice view of a really tall glass display cabinet, that seemed full of wonderful things, including many many Disney dolls. The best part was that all the dolls that I could see were free from their boxes, I so hoped that I would get this chance to actually move ...

It did not take long before I found out the anwer to this question ... It was a very strange feeling when I sat up and realised that my arms and hands could actually move. I was free, I could twist and turn and look anywhere I liked, without any plastic or cardboard obscuring my vision. This was the best moment of my life so far, the thing that I had waited and longed for all those months ago had finally happened, maybe wishes can really come true ?!!

As I was still trying to get used to my new found freedom of movement, I turned to the doll cabinet, where I had only just a while before been looking over too longingly, and waved to them. This was the best day ever!