Morning light streamed through the oculus. Jane ducked a spiderweb. Dust lay thick upon the dollhouse, masking the beauty of the mansard roof and turned wood on the porch. Inside, Lucy played the stencilled piano. Penelope drank tea. On the papered wall hung Grandmother’s portrait. Jane dropped a hand to her swollen belly.
Afterword
The mission was to write a story of exactly 53 words about a ‘connection’.
If I have had just four more words, I would’ve added (as shown in bold): Penelope drank tea, her saucer a button. Perhaps Jane, or her mother or grandmother, had used everyday items to add to the dollhouse, like saucers from buttons and shelves from matchsticks.
When you were reading this, what room or building was Jane in? I’d pictured her in an attic but maybe you had a shed or basement in mind, for example. The feeling of the room was important, but not the room itself.
I can’t say where the inspiration for this story came from, but my grandmother handmade porcelain dolls (that were passed down to her children), and so this story reminds me of her.
Photo attribution: thanks to Choi sungwoo on Unsplash.
Reminded me of our grandparents playroom while reading, and then read your Afterword.