ACHE
A Short Story
By Ann Marsiliano
It was early evening and snow fell heavily while Anna held her children’s hands tightly trying hard to get through the crowded streets quickly without losing one of them. Katcha was 4 and Ian 5 their grips loosening as their attentions were distracted by shop windows decorated for Christmas. “C’mon children we are late already! Keep focused or we won’t get there in time. I wish you both could understand how important this is for us!” Anna said with a tone of worry and desperation. Anna’s patience worn thin by the struggle of life coupled with the stress of the long walk her small children who could not understand how important making it on time was for all of them. Social services had set an appointment at the worst time imaginable for her to attend. But they were unforgiving and if she didn’t make it they would cut off her housing subsidy. They would all be thrown into the cold hard New York streets in the dead of winter.
She ran up the steps to the government offices so quickly that her children were almost lifted off the ground. “I’m sorry Mam but the offices are closed now. You will need to come back tomorrow.” a large fat security guard dressed in grey said as he held her shoulder while she tried to press her way in despite his notice. “You don’t understand I can’t come back tomorrow! Its only 4:50 and I am only 10 minutes late!” Anna pleaded. “Sorry but the offices closed 5 minutes ago. You will have to come back as I said.” Anna began to cry but the security guard hardened over decades of manning the door to the government building was used to this and it had no effect.
Anna walked slowly now, down the snowy steps with her head down as the children dangled at the end of each of her arms unaware of her desperation or their impending doom. When she reached the bottom of the stairs at the street Katcha pulled away suddenly and ran off. “Katcha! Come back here!” Anna screamed but Katcha ignored her running towards a street vendor with dolls strung all around. When Anna reached her she already had a doll in her hands, a doll Anna knew she could not afford no matter how cheap the price. ‘Momma please please please can I have this doll?” Katcha’s little voice so full of hope made it harder for Anna to refuse but she had no choice. The vendor was a very old woman her face almost completely covered behind her black shawl that disappeared into her thick wool dress. “I’m sorry Mam, the dolls are wonderful but I simply cannot afford to buy one.” Anna said embarrassed at the admission but not wanting to offend the poor old woman. “Is that so?” the old woman’s voice creaked in response. “Yes, yes we are having a bit of bad luck lately.” Anna stuttered back. “But when I am back on my feet we will come back and buy one of your wonderful dolls.” she added. “It’s hard times for everyone these days it seems. But your children are special so I will gift you with a doll for each of them as my Christmas present.” the old woman’s voice though making a statement of clear generosity made Anna shudder for a moment. She shrugged off the feeling blaming the freezing temperatures as the real culprit. “We can’t possibly accept such a generous gift.” Anna said wishing instead she could just accept it and give her children something for Christmas. “I insist and I will be offended young lady if you turn me down. So go ahead and let your boy pick a doll.” Katcha’s face beamed as she held her doll tightly knowing she would not have to let it go now as Ian happily selected a boy doll in a soldier suit. “Thank you so very much for your generosity. I really can’t thank you enough.” Anna said looking down at the faces of her happy children. “Don’t worry now just go and be happy. You will see things will get better for you shortly.” the old woman said in parting. Anna once again took each of her children’s hands as they held their dolls in their other hand. As they walked away Anna looked back for a moment and the street vendor was suddenly gone. She looked up and down the crowded street and did not see her. Anna shuddered again but looking down at her happy children she once again blamed it on the wintery night.
When they reached their apartment, the steps for the first time up to the very top floor of the run down old building they lived in, didn’t seem as hard as they usually did. The children distracted by their dolls, each talking to their dolls as if a real conversation was occurring, didn’t complain either. The elevator had been broken for over a year but Anna understood that in buildings like this one, the people that owned them really didn’t care. The apartment they had she had surmised was once the place where the servants to the rich lived. It was not as large as the other apartments in the building and was clear on the very top floor. The small windows gave no view of the city only the blank bricks of the building next door. But the entire building, whatever fine past it had, was long over. Tattered and run down it was the place where those who lived on the edge congregated to scrape by. Some still had hope of leaving others had resigned themselves to this as their only life, waiting for death to save them from it.
As soon as they reached the front door and Anna was shuffling in her purse to find her key, the children started sounding off. “Momma my doll is hungry and it wants to eat.” Katcha said with a serious tone, her lightness gone from when she first clutched the doll knowing it was hers. Ian chimed in “Yes momma my doll is hungry too!” Anna chuckled not being able to recall the last time she laughed. She knew that it was actually her children who were hungry, but she couldn’t help but laugh at the imaginations and decided to play along with them. “Ok children let’s get us all something to eat. “ she said as she opened the cupboard to get a can of soup. “My doll doesn’t want soup momma.” Ian said as Anna brought the can down. “My doll doesn’t want soup either momma.” Katcha chimed in after Ian. “Well children soup is all we have for tonight, so tell your dolls they will just have to eat soup today. Maybe tomorrow we can get something better.” Anna responded with a smile enjoying playing along. Despite her bad luck the children could always warm her heart.
“No momma my doll says if it doesn’t get something better it’s going to hurt us.” Katcha said and when Anna turned around she could see fear in her young daughter’s face. “Ok Katcha and Ian that’s enough playing for now. Put the dolls down so we can eat our dinner. “ Anna responded. ”No momma we can’t they will hurt us! We need to get them something better to eat right now!” Ian said strongly his face also filled with fear. “Ok now children again playtime is over and you know dolls can’t hurt us, they are not alive. So put down those dolls right this minute!” Anna felt immediately tired again her long day of bad luck came back to her as she struggled now with the children. She knew that they had eaten soup for weeks now for dinner and that the children were sick of it just as much as she was, but it was the best she could do. Her guilt began to overwhelm her as she was forced to get stern with her children so they would eat the soup yet another night, despite their attempt to protest firmly through their new dolls.
“We aren’t lying momma! We would eat the soup but the dolls are telling us they want something better and if we don’t give it to them they will hurt us bad” Ian said his voice pleading in a tone of desperation. Katcha began to cry continuing to hug her doll saying, “ Ian is right momma you have to believe us!” Anna wiped her hand over her brow feeling defeated and thinking now that it was a mistake to accept the generosity of the old woman, as the happy moment of before now turned to defiant frustration. She approached Ian to take the doll away and end the problem. As she put her hand on the little soldier doll she felt a pain on her hand. “Ouch!” she exclaimed as she quickly looked down at her hand and saw that it was bleeding and had a small bite mark at the site where she felt pain. “I told you momma these dolls are alive!” Ian said his voice shaking as he watched the blood drip down his mother’s arm. Katcha screamed and continued to cry and when Anna looked over at her she saw the dolls eyes glowing yellow staring at her, it
s previous frozen lips now grimacing.
“Ok children come over here, we are going to get rid of this problem right now.” Anna said trying not to show her children the panic and fear she felt as she guided the children towards the window. As they walked she noticed the dolls clinging tightly to each of her children having now revealed that they were alive. Katcha was still crying and Ian was frozen with fear staring down at the little doll whose hands clutched at him. Suddenly she heard another voice speak “Listen to us Anna, we can do great things for you and your children. This can be wonderful for all of you! All you have to do is a few things and your life and the life of your children will be better than you ever imagined.” It was Katcha’s doll speaking its little head turning towards Anna as it clutched at her daughters clothes tightly.
“We don’t want anything from you evil things. We can make it on our own.”