Girl From the Tree House, стр. 27

I could’ve done so much more with the money. I know for a fact that Lizette would have loved to get a few new outfits. She loves fashion and if we had enough money, she’d fill our wardrobe with all the big names. Don’t ask me for their names because I don’t give a hoot about fashion. Give me a pair of cargo pants, a t-shirt, and sneakers, and I’m done. Lizette, though, is a different story. She’s dying a slow death having to wear all the rubbish Elise buys in second-hand stores. Pre-loved, Elise calls it. I can only laugh. Lizette calls it rubbish, barely suitable for wearing at home.

Being a multi is like getting a post-grad degree in communication and community building. We have to make sure we meet everyone’s needs and the Tribe gets ‘time outside’. We are getting better at that, thanks to Lizette. Besides being crazy about clothes, she loves learning. When we first went to see Miss Marple, Lizette took off researching the multiple thing and how to make it work for us.

It wasn’t always like that. Back in the dark ages—I call them dark ages because we all were sitting in the dark—we just about destroyed each other. Nobody knew what was going on. We expected the worst from each other. There was no communication, just suspicion and acting out. Everybody was hurting. I hate to think back to that painful time, so I don’t. Things are so much better now.

Like today. After coming back with the dog around midday, Elise showed the dog the house and the outside and ended up throwing sticks Prince brought back to her. It was so cute how she played with the dog. Like normal people leading a normal life. The Tribe was smitten with the new addition to our family and we had trouble keeping them from spilling out.

Elise made the mistake of not paying attention to the Tribe’s excited comments about the dog. She enjoyed the lazy afternoon. But with no more urgent business on her to-do list, she got sucked inside and Luke took over. He’d been waiting all morning to clear the garden and meet Prince. You have to stay on the ball and keep your energy up if you want to stay in the body. If you don’t, the door opens and someone else sneaks in. Before you even know it, you become a bench-player and have to wait for your turn to come around again.

I would have liked to explore the tree behind the house, but Luke’s energy was much stronger than mine. He whirled around the place, got stacks of firewood, and searched the lean-to shed for tools. Don’t ask me what he needs tools for. I’m sure he spotted something in need of hammering or nailing. There is a large pile of weeds, bushes, and heaven knows whatever else in the back now, proof he’s been clearing parts of the overgrown garden. Sometimes he has the strength of ten burly men.

Ama will have a fit because I saw he pulled out three raspberry bushes together with the funny fat-leafed weed bush that grew everywhere. Then something strange happened. Half buried under rotting leaves and dirt, he spotted a tiny hand sticking out of the ground… and BANG.

We don’t deal well with stuff like that. Everyone and I mean everyone, including Luke, went undercover. Usually, there is a lot of conversation and humming going on in our head. Most of the time, those who are stuck inside have a lot of commentaries about what’s happening on the outside.

But now? Total silence. Talk about putting the fox among the chickens.

I guess that’s my cue to restore order. It helps that I’m not easily spooked. I mean everyone can see that it’s a doll’s hand, for crying out loud. Sometimes I tire of the Tribe being so jumpy all the time. In this case, it means it’s my turn for body time.

I bend down and pull the doll out of the loose ground. It’s a surprise. On first glance, it’s just a bundle of dirty rags falling apart around a scratched and dented celluloid body. On closer inspection, though, the doll wears the same dress Maddie does and looks like her too. I can’t help feeling I’m transported into some sort of twilight zone.

Prince comes sniffing at the doll but soon loses interest. There are too many other interesting scents to explore. Insects, rats, possums, and other critters will have lived an undisturbed life in this wilderness for the last thirty years and must have left a delicious trail for him. Still, he follows me to the front where Luke had also discovered an old wrought-iron table and chair.

I never played with dolls. I’m almost eighteen and can’t remember ever being a different age than that. Sometimes I wish I’d grow older, but that doesn’t seem to happen. I put the doll on the table and take a seat. Madeline looks at me with her one remaining eye full of accusation—someone scratched out the other one—as if I’m responsible for the state of her being.

Did I say Madeline? Funny that. I swear that’s her name, but I have no clue how I know this. Only the swell of whispering and humming inside my head gets louder, like a train that approaches from afar. Until the words become clear and I recognize Sky’s soft voice.

“We stayed here years ago, Lilly. Madeline belongs to Elise.”

“I don’t understand. Why don’t I remember we’ve been here before?”

“It’s been a long time ago and Madeline has more to do with Elise than any of us.”

“How?”

“It’s Elise’s doll. She always wished for the doll to come alive. Somehow that’s how Maddie was born and why she looks like the doll. You can imagine Elise’s surprise when she ‘saw’ Maddie in the garden.”

Sky is silent, and I am confused. I never gave much thought to how we came to be. It’s complicated enough to live the life of a