• She never thought she’d tell her story.
    Or write a blog.
    Because, after all, she was a lousy writer,
    though she wanted to be one, at one time.
    And she had nothing to write about.
    Nothing at all.
    But then, thing’s changed. Her cousin visited,
    and she remembered.
    She remembered Ukiah. Ukiah, California.
    And she wanted to tell people about her love.
    And her hate. And her pain.
    So she started to write, though she knew she’d probably never finish.
    This is her story.

    *

    Do you know where Ukiah, California is?
    That is what she’d ask you.
    Because she loves it there. She loves the street she used to live on. Eastlick is what the sign says.
    And she loves the trees.
    They’re the kind that change color in the Autumn.
    Autumn is her favorite season, but this season is hard to find. Autumn isn’t everywhere.
    She loves the memories there. The memories are what makes a place, after all.
    And she loved living there.
    The school, the park, the Father, the Mother.
    Someday, she’ll write about all those things. But not today.
    Today is the the day she’ll tell you about the move.
    The move that ruined her life, on more ways than one.
    No one want’s to leave the place they love.
    And yet that is what they did.
    They tore her away.
    Away from her friends, her memories, her love, her town.
    They took her someplace strange.
    All she could do was whisper goodbye.
    And goodbyes are so sad.

    *

    She thought about the doll.
    It was a porcelain doll in a used bookstore in Ukiah.
    A beautiful doll, with big brown eyes and
    lovely brown locks.
    The doll held a little stuffed bunny in her arms.
    And the doll looked rather lonely.
    She was little at the time, and she wanted
    that doll. She wanted it badly.
    Wanted to hold it in her arms, bring the doll home
    and set it on her shelf.
    They wouldn't let her though.
    The doll is no longer there.
    And she can't find it anywhere at all.
    What use is the internet when it doesn't find the
    thing's you want most.
    Why does she want it now?
    Why?
    Is it because of memories?
    Is it because it reminds her of the happy times
    when she was younger?
    And why can't she just hold it in her arms,
    just at least be able to find the doll?
    She dreamed about the doll,
    and it was a sad dream.
    Does this doll represent all she lost, all she loved,
    all she dreamed about, all she
    wants back?
    She will never know,
    because she can feel it,
    her and the doll, her doll, will never meet again...