It was 6 pm. The TV was blaring. There was a sound of chopping in the kitchen, followed by a few laughs now and then. This was a normal Tuesday night in my family; relaxed, peaceful and unwinding. But for me, the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. Today was no ordinary day.
On one side of a long white hall was a large door leading to my room, also known as Dreamland. It had windows that went all the way up to the ceiling, a beautiful four-poster bed and my beloved dollhouse. There was a golden-domed ceiling and holographic walls that changed colour from blue to pink to purple. A large white dressing table was placed at the far end of the room, and the mirror helped me pick my outfits.
Speaking of outfits, my closet was no joke either. It had all sorts of magnificent ball gowns, crowns and rare jewellery. Enchanted glass steps took me to my comfy loft, where I would read and play with my dolls.
Of course, only I could see all of this. To a regular person, all they would see was an odd-looking room with a huge rectangular opening near the ceiling and the occasional doodle on the wall.
That morning, it had been decided by the dolls that Luna was to be given a makeover.
“She simply must be given a makeover. Look at her hair!” said Gigi, an L.O.L. doll.
“Don’t say that so loudly!” I looked over at Luna cautiously. The dolls were quick to take offence and the last thing I wanted was for a fight to erupt.
Gigi was right, though. Luna was very pretty, but her faded blonde hair needed a change. Her clothes could be better, too. I immediately sent a troop of stuffed animals to find some cloth, while I got started on her hair.
The process was long, but I told stories and everyone joined in. Once the cloth arrived, Gigi designed a dress and I got to work on making it. Everyone was having a great time and had assembled to watch the dress being made.
But everything did not go right. In fact, it went very, very wrong. I was so caught up in talking to the rest of the dolls that I forgot about the one I was supposed to be focusing on. Luna!
I began to look closely at the work I had done. Luna had a strange haircut that didn’t suit her at all. Her dress, which I was supposed to be diligently sewing, was terrible. It didn’t fit her right at all!
I felt horrible. It was my responsibility to make Luna look beautiful and I had failed. I couldn’t see the golden dome clearly anymore and my dolls’ voices were fading out. Feeling terribly ashamed, I stood up to leave when I heard a voice.
“Don’t give up!” it said. “Take me to your cousin!”
My cousin! Luna was speaking to me! I knew what to do!
Rushing down the hall, I skidded to a halt at the kitchen door. My mum understood the situation immediately and called for my cousin, who arrived in no time. My cousin had more experience with dolls and knew exactly what to do. She worked real magic on Luna.
She gave her waist-length pink hair, which took a while but was done so meticulously that all the dolls stopped what they were doing to stare. Her dress, however, was the star of the show. Made out of soft, green velvet and sewn to create three puffy layers, Luna looked stunning; no one could look away!
We celebrated her makeover by having biscuits, which were shared by the dolls and stuffed animals. Luna was very popular now and could not be seen alone for a minute.
“Luna,” I whispered to her as she came to get another biscuit. “I’m sorry for… making you look weird before.”
“It’s alright. You did such a smart thing, calling your cousin in the end!”
“I was only doing what you told me to!”
“Huh?” Luna shook her head. “My dearest friend, I didn’t say anything like that. It was all you.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I said silently. I looked at my dolls, who were passing around biscuits, talking and laughing. The stuffed animals snuggled up by my side. My cousin, not seeing most of it, rested on the carpet. The holographic walls had turned a misty blue colour.
I looked up at the domed ceiling, which was sparkling, and smiled. Perhaps it was magic that had spoken.
Published in Dawn, Young World, September 5th, 2026
