Dottie’s Day - A Jaci and Dottie Story

Dottie sat in a room of the hospital, and then started giggling.

Her “sister” Jaci had whispered something to her, and whatever it was had set the young girl off, until she was barely able to breathe she was laughing so hard.

Glad to see her two charges sharing a joke, Drea said, “What’s so funny, Dottie?”

“Well, last time I was here, they gave me a cat scan. But Jaci just asked me where the cat was.”

Drea smiled, and said, “And what did you say?”

“It was in the machine, that’s why it purrs,”

Drea giggled, which set Dorothy off again, and her laugh got Jaci laughing as well, and they all laughed until their sides ached.

The doctor came in and said, “Well, it’s time.”

A couple of orderlies came in, and put Dottie on a gurney, and then they took her to the little room where they were going to do the “peek inside her” as Tante Drea said.

They placed a mask over Dottie’s face, told her to count down from one hundred, and she got as far as eighty-nine when she fell asleep.

While she was sleeping, she dreamed.

She saw the man who had done so much harm to her, pulling on a rope that seemed to be attached to her chest, dragging her toward him.

“We belong together, my little toy. Come take your place!” He said.

Then suddenly, she saw Jaci, and Tante ‘Drea, and a girl from her class named Kylie, and even her mother grabbing the rope trying to pull her to safety.

“Cut the rope!” Tante ‘Drea said.”

“How?”

“Forgive him, and let him go. Or he will always own the right to pull you back.”

Dottie looked at the monster who had taken so much from her, and asked “How can I forgive him?”

“See him rightly.” Kylie said, and Jaci gave her a pair of glasses.

Dottie put them on, and then looked at the man again. And just like that, she saw him not at the beast of her nightmares, but as a pathetic old man who hurt because he knew nothing else.

“I forgive you!” She shouted at him. and a knife appeared in her hand.

She started cutting the rope, repeating with each stroke “I forgive you.”

“Forgive yourself as well.” Tante said.

“I ... I forgive me.”: Dottie whispered, and with that, the rope was cut, and she was free.

******

Dottie blinked, and opened her eyes, “Tante?” She asked groggily.

“Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling? “

‘I’m okay, Tante. I had a funny dream.”

“You can tell me about it later, hon. Let’s let the doctor check you out, and then hopefully, I can take you home.”

So Dottie woke up as the doctor checked her out, and pronounced her fit to go home, and Tante Drea asked, “When will we know what the results were?”

“It will take a couple weeks. Andrea. But dont worry for now. Just take her home and have a quiet day until the effects of being put under totally wear off.”

“That will be a bit of a change for Dorothy. ‘Quiet days’ dont happen much.”

“Tante!” Dottie said, but then got distracted by Jaci bouncing into the room and jumping into the bed with her.

“Wake up, sleepy head!” Jaci sang.

Dottie didnt reply, just hugged her sister with every bit of strength she possessed.

*****
So Drea drove the girls home, and listened as Dottie described the strange dream she had had while under to Jaci, and smiled. Maybe, little Dorothy was finally ready to face what happened to her, and really begin to leave it behind, and heal.

Drea drove into the driveway, and realized there was a strange car on the street in front of their house, but focused on getting the girls inside, when the other car’s door opened, and a woman stepped out.

“Todd?” She called, and Dottie turned and looked.

“Mom?”