TM 218: A Beautiful Lie
It was her sixth birthday. Papa let her choose the prettiest doll and Mama made a cake. A small one, just big enough for her brother and herself. Pietro made a wish first, always, he was bigger, older, a boy. He never told her what he wished for, his expression always stern. Wanda wished for friends, playmates, new clothes, a better cart for Papa. None of her wishes ever came true.
It was her sixth birthday. Mama brought the cake and told her, like she did every year, "Wish big, my Wanda, when you are grown you can have anything. I know."
The Moon. Pietro is smiling, his daughter at his feet. Running in circles, her hair flies behind her. She is light in the dark. Crystal watches from the bed, laughing. Joy fills the room, their room, their home.
Wayne Manor. Lorna stands at the top of the stairwell as if she belongs there. Holding hands with a boy, tall for his age, dark hair and bright green eyes. His name is Thomas and though only four, he is already as serious-minded as both his parents.
Wayne Manor again. Not Lorna, Sally. And a woman Wanda does not know, beautiful, with airs of a wealth greater even than his. Bruce enters with a boy, a young man. I thought you were dead. Sally runs to him, crying, the adults stand by; the woman moved by the scene, Bruce watching her with eyes that never saw Wanda's sister.
New York. Kara rocks Addie in a chair as Darla watches, sitting on a sofa, knitting for her grandchild. Evan and Harry play with blocks at their feet, the picture of an intact family. Kara seems older and Connor is missing, but no one remembers.
Central Park. Katie runs to her mother and is swept into her arms. They spin, gold hair and green shining in the sun. A man's arms entangle them both into an embrace. Katie grins. Wanda cannot see his face.
London. Todd and Toad walk together. Affection evident, despite ego. Toad walks free. Todd looks past him, waves to someone out of sight. Wanda blinks, afraid to know.
DC. Little Beth runs, a baby brother at her side, just walking, mostly falling. And another girl, brunette, vaguely foreign features, impeccably dressed. She looks up to see her fathers and runs, pell mell into Jean-Paul's arms.
Greece. Anna walks by the sea, pushing an old fashioned pram. Her son sleeps as she chatters with Rachel. Like Toad, she walks free and clear. They stop to wave and two men join them. Erik, kissing the baby's head. Nathaniel, embracing Rachel, holding her carefully, tenderly, she is fragile in his arms. She pushes away laughing, but he pulls her back to caress her belly.
Westchester. Jean and her daughter. Nineteen and grown.
No.
Jean and her daughter. Five and -
No.
Jean and her daughter. A baby, crying, reaching for her mother -
No.
Jean. Pregnant and -
No. No, she wants a child here. Here. Not another shadow world.
Here.
Wanda awakens to the crying of children who should not exist. Who cannot coexist and thus populate a dozen separate otherworlds. The bubbles dance in her subconscious. Isabelle and Thomas and Jeanne-Therese. Charles and Amanda. They each have a name and a story and parents who love them but cannot keep them. Because Wanda cannot sustain her worlds, her wishes.
When you are grown you can have anything....
Wanda grasps at the bubbles, and sleeps without dreams, without wishes, without waking, holding on as fiercely as she can.
[ooc: Don't worry, Wanda will not be handing off any more imaginary babies unless you ask for them!!]
It was her sixth birthday. Mama brought the cake and told her, like she did every year, "Wish big, my Wanda, when you are grown you can have anything. I know."
The Moon. Pietro is smiling, his daughter at his feet. Running in circles, her hair flies behind her. She is light in the dark. Crystal watches from the bed, laughing. Joy fills the room, their room, their home.
Wayne Manor. Lorna stands at the top of the stairwell as if she belongs there. Holding hands with a boy, tall for his age, dark hair and bright green eyes. His name is Thomas and though only four, he is already as serious-minded as both his parents.
Wayne Manor again. Not Lorna, Sally. And a woman Wanda does not know, beautiful, with airs of a wealth greater even than his. Bruce enters with a boy, a young man. I thought you were dead. Sally runs to him, crying, the adults stand by; the woman moved by the scene, Bruce watching her with eyes that never saw Wanda's sister.
New York. Kara rocks Addie in a chair as Darla watches, sitting on a sofa, knitting for her grandchild. Evan and Harry play with blocks at their feet, the picture of an intact family. Kara seems older and Connor is missing, but no one remembers.
Central Park. Katie runs to her mother and is swept into her arms. They spin, gold hair and green shining in the sun. A man's arms entangle them both into an embrace. Katie grins. Wanda cannot see his face.
London. Todd and Toad walk together. Affection evident, despite ego. Toad walks free. Todd looks past him, waves to someone out of sight. Wanda blinks, afraid to know.
DC. Little Beth runs, a baby brother at her side, just walking, mostly falling. And another girl, brunette, vaguely foreign features, impeccably dressed. She looks up to see her fathers and runs, pell mell into Jean-Paul's arms.
Greece. Anna walks by the sea, pushing an old fashioned pram. Her son sleeps as she chatters with Rachel. Like Toad, she walks free and clear. They stop to wave and two men join them. Erik, kissing the baby's head. Nathaniel, embracing Rachel, holding her carefully, tenderly, she is fragile in his arms. She pushes away laughing, but he pulls her back to caress her belly.
Westchester. Jean and her daughter. Nineteen and grown.
No.
Jean and her daughter. Five and -
No.
Jean and her daughter. A baby, crying, reaching for her mother -
No.
Jean. Pregnant and -
No. No, she wants a child here. Here. Not another shadow world.
Here.
Wanda awakens to the crying of children who should not exist. Who cannot coexist and thus populate a dozen separate otherworlds. The bubbles dance in her subconscious. Isabelle and Thomas and Jeanne-Therese. Charles and Amanda. They each have a name and a story and parents who love them but cannot keep them. Because Wanda cannot sustain her worlds, her wishes.
When you are grown you can have anything....
Wanda grasps at the bubbles, and sleeps without dreams, without wishes, without waking, holding on as fiercely as she can.
[ooc: Don't worry, Wanda will not be handing off any more imaginary babies unless you ask for them!!]