April prompt #16
If the house was burning and you could rescue one thing, what would it be and why?
David’s #4
WHAT I’D SAVE
~assuming my husband and cats are safe, of course
I think I’d save the dollhouse that my parents
made for my fortieth birthday. The shingled
roof, the little doors and windows, the wardrobe
with its tiny hinges and a lion
and a witch penciled in inside. When I
open the bench, I see “Hi Mame” in my
father’s precise printing. It’s a name no one
calls me now. And Mother made the curtains
and the bedding—embroidered pillow slips
and quilts. She painted a canvas rug like
a watermelon slice. Oh, there are other
things I might miss: photographs, a few books,
Grandmother’s cinnabar vase. But yes, I’d
save the dollhouse, this sign that I’m
ascended from people who care.