Love Helps Life

Wishing For Wonder

"I wish my mother would play with me more."

Indigo was very busy. She worked from home most days, and didn't have time for her daughter, leaving her to the mercy of Jakoda.

Lou had heard this wish on his first day with Winter. And now, he was determined to make it come true.

When Winter went to school, he carefully snuck out of her room, and scrambled to the kitchen. A whiteboard hung on the wall, where the family wrote reminders, such as a performance of one of the r children, or things they needed at the grocery store. Lou grabbed a blue marker, and scribbled on the white board for a moment, before hearing some footsteps. He gasped, finished the sentence, and went limp, falling to the floor.

Indigo walked in, grabbed herself a cup of coffee, and started to walk away. She felt herself step on something, and glanced down. "Ugh, Winter." Another one of her daughter's toys. She picked Lou up, and brought him back to Winter's room.

She set him down on the bed, but when she went to leave, Lou quickly threw himself off, landing on the floor with a thump. The sound drew Indigo;'s attention, and she turned around. From her angle, she could see Winter's room clearly. She looked at Lou for a moment. Ever since that doll, she'd seen Winter happier than ever. It was as if Lou had somehow changed her life.

'It's just a doll.' she reminded herself. But still, if Lou was just a doll, how could Winter take so much comfort from him?

And wasn't that a mother's job?

She looked around the room, as she did many times before. Those times, she wished her daughter would grow up, and leave all these childish things behind. Now, it felt as if she were seeing it for the first time. Her daughter's walls were littered with pictures, and her toys were in a neat stack. Indigo had no idea she was so organized.

Winter's room used to send butterflies into her stomach, at the mere thought of her daughter. Now, she felt strange. It was like being in the room of a stranger. How much did she really know about her daughter, anyway?

She looked at Lou again. he was just a doll, and yet, to Winter, he was the best friend she'd ever have. Why wouldn't Winter lay with other kids her age?

Sighing, she picked Lou up, and looked into his yes, as if she'd find the answer. She wanted her daughter to grow. But, if she wasn't, didn't that mean Indigo, as a mother, was missing something?

She put him back on the bed, and walked away. She passed the white board on her way back to the office, and noticed the sentence there.

'Play with Winter.'

Had she written that? It was too straight to be her daughter's handwriting.

Did she really spend so much time in the office, that she never got to be close with Winter anymore?

She found Lou here. For a moment, she figured the doll was trying to tell her something.

When Winter came home from school that day, she and Indigo had a serious talk.

"I won't pretend to completely understand it, but, ever since you got Lou, I've noticed confidence in you, confidence in who you are. I don't know why you hang on to childish things, but...I won't get in your way. You probably get bullied enough at school." She noticed Winter was clutching Lou tightly. She gently took him, and held him close. "I know, I can't be around a lot to help you. But, all you have to do is give Lou a kiss, and whisper your wish into his ear."

To demonstrate, she placed a little kiss on Lou's cheek, and whispered into his ear: "Now, Lou. Here's what I wish; take good care of my daughter." Indigo now knew just how important Lou was to Winter. And if she couldn't be around for her daughter, it was only fitting Lou was there to do so.

"Now, Lou. Here's what I wish; let's make a whole new world, where no one has to worry about being bullied, because someone doesn't like what they do. A whole new world where you don't have to grow up." She had planted a kiss on Lou's forehead, and gave him a hug. Lou glanced at her, a smile on his face. That sounded like a great idea.

But, where to start?

Winter tucked Lou into her backpack that day. She might have a wish to make during school.

Lou was carefully tucked next to her pencil bag. He heard her getting on the bus, and then, she unzipped her backpack. She took out a pair of headphones, and listened to music, placing Lou in her lap. Lou glanced around, noticing that none of the girls who usually picked on Winter were on the bus, but the ids who were gave her looks Lou didn't particularly care for. But, Winter didn't seem to notice, much less mind, so he let it go.

The ride to school was particularly uneventful, but getting off the bus as life-hazardous. Kids shoved Winter from every side, as if deliberately trying to knock her onto the pavement. Winter managed to make it into school without an accident, and headed for the library.

Lou thought the library was a wonderful place. it was full of books about every subject imaginable, and, unlike the rest of the school, it was actually quiet.

Winter picked out some fiction books, and a nonfiction book, and sat down to read. But, she couldn't concentrate. Yesterday's wish loomed in her head.

The first thing she needed for her world was a name.

"Lou," she whispered in his ear. "Let's call our world Wishful-Land." Lou smiled. That sounded like a good name.

The first idea came after reading her library book. It was a book about an amusement park, and Winter figured that was a good place to start. She placed a kiss on Lou's forehead, and whispered: "Now, Lou. Here's what I wish; I wish Wish-Land had an amusement park like no other, that never stopped growing. We could call it...Sky-High Haven, and let's start with the biggest, most fun roller coaster ever. We'll call it the Sky-High Wonder."

Lou felt something spark in his head. He could do this, even if it was only in Winter's imagination.

Winter, during her Theater elective, finished her quiz early, and had the rest of the class as free time. She wandered over to the box her teacher kept to store things that were usually reserved for props and set-pieces. She and Lou shared a look, before getting straight to work.

Lou, making sure Winter didn't catch him, offered ideas. The Sky-High Wonder had a Ferris wheel in the middle, which would send passengers for a spin while carrying them to the track. It was a rainbow of colors, and had plenty of loops. Sometimes, you could even ride upside down.

it was Lou's idea to add the jump. Once altitude was built up, the car would leap off of the track, and jump across a lake. There was a bridge under it, where people could watch the water-creatures, and then, the car would land on the other track, and plummet downhill.

With the scraps in the prop box, they carefully constructed their roller coaster.

"I have an idea, Lou." Winter hissed excitedly. "Let's make the Sky-High Wonder the heart of the park. When you turn int on, the park comes to life."

Lou helped construct the coaster, taking care to do it under Winter's nose, so she didn't suspect a thing. But, even if she did, it wouldn't have mattered.

"A genuine figure-eight! Great idea, Lou!"

Soon, their project was finished. Lou's eyes widened upon seeing it.

It truly was a wonder.

Upon returning to Imperfection that night, he realized that he was no ordinary doll. Winter would whisper a wish into Lou's ear, and it would come true. Only a special doll could do that.

It gave him an idea.

He found a spot a little ways outside Imperfection. A clear, plain field...there was a ravine in front of it, but Lou easily jumped it. However, a bridge might be a good idea for safety.

He quickly found them: the parts of the factory's little experiments, with no place to go.

Exactly the parts he needed.

he wondered what a doll could do with all this imagination packed into him?