Episode I

No More Rules


Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Ruiann. Ruiann was a nice little girl, and everyone always said that she was so sweet and well behaved, and of course, very helpful. Well, almost everyone said that. Mommy was sometimes a little less complimentary in her opinion. And Uncle would sometimes criticize Ruiann, especially when she would leave her toys and books lying on the floor. Imagine that. But for the most part, Ruiann really was a very sweet and nice little girl. Even Mommy and Uncle admitted that.

Of course, there were some things that Ruiann just did not like. One was eating dinner. Somehow, food just wasn’t very interesting, and in the middle of dinner, her mind would often wander. Then, before you known it, Ruiann was wandering too, wandering away chasing after her thoughts, and away from the table. For some reason, Mommy didn’t seem to like that. On those occasions, Ruiann would be scolded in a most unfair manner. At least she considered it unfair.

“What’s the big deal?” she would say to herself. “So what if I don’t eat everything on my plate?” Okay, so maybe sometimes she didn’t eat “anything” on her plate, but that was understandable. There really was a book that she wanted to read, or some exciting TV program that she wanted to watch, or there was that unfinished picture that had to be done before bedtime.

Bedtime: that was another problem. Why did Mommy and Uncle insist that she go to bed so early? Every night, it was the same old thing. “Ruiann, its time for bed,” or “Ruiann, put away your books and brush your teeth,” or “Ruiann, why aren’t you in bed yet?” This was just so unfair. Her friend Kiki got to stay up until 10 o’clock. So why should she have to go to bed by nine? What was so great about sleeping? Of course, this lead to the nightly drama, where Ruiann would try all her best tactics to delay the inevitable sleep for as long as possible. First, there was snack time, with some cookies and milk. She absolutely could not sleep without some milk. And you know it takes a while to drink milk. Why would Mommy get so impatient?

“Hurry up and drink you milk! It is already 9:15. You should have been asleep fifteen minutes ago.”

After the cookies and milk, Ruiann was still not sleepy. A good story often helped, and Uncle was very good at reading those to her, or even making up stories. Of course, he would get irritated after Ruiann asked for the third or fourth story, or as he called it, one plus one more plus two more equals way too many. Uncle was so silly. He even had to put a math problem in there. Who can sleep, when you talk about math? That really just kept her more awake. Yes, it seemed that life was very difficult, in so many ways.

On one evening, Ruiann was in a particularly bad mood. Dinner had been a disaster. Not the food, of course, that was okay. Uncle even told Mommy that it was very good, which made her smile. But Ruiann was not in the mood to eat. She had been drawing a beautiful picture, which Uncle agreed was one of her best ever, and she really wanted to finish that one. But when dinner was ready, Mommy and Uncle had insisted that the picture could wait.

“Can’t I finish this first?”
“Sorry,” said Uncle. “But if it makes you feel any better, just remember that an artist is never appreciated in his or her own time.”

Ruiann wasn’t sure what that meant, but she certainly didn’t feel appreciated, in her time, or any other time. Reluctantly, Ruiann left her unfinished picture and went to the table. During dinner Ruiann played with her food a bit, building a rice castle surrounded by meatball walls. Again, no one seemed to appreciate that either, even though she considered it quite funny. But Mommy and Uncle didn’t seem to have a very good sense of humor tonight, and there was more of that scolding and unhappy looks.

After about five minutes, Ruiann suddenly stood up and walked to the living room, since she was still thinking about her unfinished masterpiece. “Where are you going?” asked Mommy. “You haven’t finished your dinner.”

“Oh, do I have to?”
“Yes, you have to.”
“But I want to finish my picture.”
“Young lady, you march yourself back to this table and finish your dinner. You haven’t even touched your plate.”

There was more of the same back and forth exchanges. The arguments were always the same, and neither side seemed in any mood to compromise. Of course, it was two against one, but in addition to being nice and sweet and well behaved, Ruiann was also stubborn. Finally, when Ruiann had at least eaten part of her dinner, a truce was called.

“Okay Ruiann, it’s time to clean off the table,” Uncle said with a smile.
“Why does he smile when there is work to do?” Ruiann asked to no one in particular. “This is taking even more time away from my drawing. Couldn’t we do this tomorrow?”
“We most certainly can not,” said Mommy. “You know the rules.”
“Yes, rules, rules, rules, there are always rules,” Ruiann said under her breath. As quick as a flash, Ruiann ran to her desk and started writing something.

“Ruiann,” said Uncle, in a not too happy voice. “Come back and do your chores. You can draw later.”

Ruiann didn’t answer at first, but finally she said, “I’m not drawing. I am doing something else; something very important.”

“Well, whatever it is, it can wait.”
“Okay, I am almost through, just a minute.”
Ruiann quickly ran back into the room, carrying a piece of paper and a roll of tape. She did not stop there, however. Instead, she went straight to her bedroom, and using the tape, she fastened the paper to her door. Mommy, who was always very curious, especially when Ruiann had tape in her hand, followed her daughter to her room, and began to ask her about what was on the paper.

“Oh, these are just my rules,” Ruiann said matter of factly.
“Your rules? Well, let me see.”
There, on the paper, was a heading entitled Ruiann’s Rules. Underneath, there was a list of various chores, and the price that each should pay.

Mommy looked at these with a smile, as she read out loud:


Ruiann’s Rules:

Making the bed $2

Doing dishes $1

Picking up toys $3

Clearing the table (before dinner) $1

Clearing the table (after dinner) $2

By this time, Uncle was also becoming curious as to what was going on. He walked to the door and began to read the new rules that were apparently to go into effect in the near future. Uncle read the part about doing dishes with interest, especially since his hands were still wet from doing the dishes, the dishes that Ruiann did not help to clear from the table.

“I don’t recall you ever doing the dishes,” he said.
“Yes I did, don’t you remember that one time I helped you?”
“Oh yes, you helped me rinse once.”
“That’s right,” said Ruiann excitedly, “so, where is my dollar?”

Uncle took Ruiann’s request for money in good humor, although Ruiann was sure he didn’t take it quite seriously enough. He just smiled and shook his head, and muttered something under his breath. Uncle would often mutter under his breath when Ruiann did something. Ruiann wasn’t sure, but it seemed that he was counting sometimes too. Why would he do that?

While Ruiann was pondering this question, Mommy started to speak. “How about all the things we do for you? Shouldn’t we get paid for that?”

“Well, maybe,” said Ruiann, “how about 20 cents?”
“Twenty cents!” cried Uncle. “You have some strange ways of looking at things.”

After much discussion, and a lecture from Uncle on the value of money and hard work, it was bedtime. Again, Ruiann had a hard time going to sleep, and after requesting a fifth story, Uncle finally said, “You have to go to sleep, young lady. No more stories tonight.”

As Ruiann lay in her dimly lit room, trying to go to sleep, she kept thinking about how unfairly she was treated. Eat your dinner, pick up your toys, brush your teeth, go to bed, go to sleep, blah, blah, blah. Why were they always telling her what to do? “I wish I could go some place where no one would tell me what to do,” she said out loud. “I wish there was a place like that.” With this thought in mind, Ruiann closed her eyes, and began imagining what such a place would be like. She considered this for a long, long time, until she finally dozed into a gentle slumber.

“Pssst. Pssst. Hey, little girl. Wake up, little girl.”
Ruiann suddenly jerked awake, and looked around the room. Were those voices she had heard? No, there was no one here. Her fluffy blue stuffed dog was on the bed beside her, and her favorite doll was there as well. But that was all. It must have been a dream, or my imagination. “Well, Mommy always says that I do have quite an imagination.”

With that, Ruiann rolled over and closed her eyes again. A deep breath filled her lungs, and just as she was about to return to sleep, she heard another noise. “Psssst. Pssst. Are you awake?”

This time Ruiann knew it was not a dream. She sat up quickly, once again looking in every direction. A scared feeling was starting to build up inside of Ruiann. Just as she opened her mouth to call Mommy, she saw the strangest thing. There was her doll, standing on the bed beside her. What’s more, for all the world, it looked like the doll was looking at her. But that was a silly thought. Then another thought occurred to her. How could a doll stand up by herself?

As Ruiann was considering this, an even stranger thing occurred. “Hello,” said the doll.

Now, the idea of a talking doll should have been terrifying, at least if you stop to think about it. But somehow, in the mind of a child, this did not seem so unusual. After all, Ruiann had spent many hours talking to her doll, and pretending that it talked back. So, when it actually did talk, was that so strange?

“Ummm, did you say something?” asked Ruiann, still not quite sure that she had heard what she thought she heard.
“Yes I did,” said the doll, taking a step closer to Ruiann. “My name is Alicia, and it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you too,” replied Ruiann. “I, ummm, I never knew that you could talk.”

At this point, the doll had sat down beside Ruiann and leaned back against the pillow. “I know you are surprised that I can talk, but we are not supposed to let people know about that.”

“Know about what?” asked Ruiann.
“About the fact that we are alive and can talk and do all kinds of things.”

Ruiann was considering this, and it took a few seconds before she said anything else. But then one question popped into her mind, and she asked, “So why are you taking to me now?”

“Ahhh, that is a good question. Well, I heard you talking tonight about how you wished there was a place you could go, a place where you could do what you wanted to do, whenever you wanted to do it.”

“Yes, I said that, but I don’t think there is any place like that, at least not according to Uncle.”

“Yes, there is a place just like that,” said the doll. “Would you like to go and see?”

Some things come easily for a child, and strange and unusual events might not be so difficult to understand. But these things were becoming a little much, even for Ruiann. “There is such a place? Where?”

“Oh, I can take you there,” said the doll. “It is very easy and very simple, and we can be there in 2 minutes if you want.”

Ruiann again stopped to consider this. She was upset at having to follow orders all the time. Rules, rules, rules; those were just no fun. And why shouldn’t she get paid when she works? Mommy and Uncle got paid when they went to work. Then, of course, there was the ordeal of having to eat dinner. Yuuck! And, oh yeah, sleeping. That made Ruiann the maddest of all.

By this time, Ruiann had thought of dozens of reasons why she should indeed accept her doll’s offer. “Okay, I will go with you,” she said defiantly. “That will show them.”

What exactly it would show Mommy and Uncle, Ruiann didn’t know, but it would definitely show them something.

As she considered this last thought, Alicia, the magical doll was already on her feet and walking towards Ruiann. “All right, it is time to go.” Ruiann started to get up off of the bed, but before she had moved far, Alicia stopped her. “No, you don’t need to move, just stay there.”

“But how can we go anywhere if we stay here?” Ruiann asked.
“I will show you,” said Alicia. “First, you need to pick me up and hold me very tightly in your arms.” Ruiann was not so sure how this was going to accomplish anything, but she did as she was told.

“Okay, now what?”
“Now you need to repeat after me, magic doll that I hold, take me to the land of old. Magic doll, that I hold, take me to, the land of old.”

As Ruiann considered this little rhyme, she couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. This is a fun game, she thought. Even if we don't go anywhere, it is pretty cool to have a talking doll.

As Ruiann repeated the words over and over again, a most strange and curious thing began to happen. She began to feel herself move back and forth, and side to side, not unlike someone on a small boat in a stormy sea. At first, the sensation was pleasant, and a little bit fun, but soon, the rocking became wilder and wilder, and before you know it, Ruiann could swear that she was spinning around and around, and upside down. What was this? This was no game.

“Mommy, where are you? Mommy, Uncle, help me!”

Almost as soon as the spinning had started, it stopped. “Thank goodness that is over,” she stammered. Ruiann had closed her eyes tightly during the ordeal, and even now, she kept them closed, since she was still a little bit dizzy. Slowly, as she regained her sense of balance, she opened her eyes. “What!” After one glance, she quickly shut them again, and began rubbing her closed eyelids with her two clenched fists. “That can’t be right.” Once again she tried opening her eyes, knowing full well that her first glimpse must have been her imagination. No! It wasn’t! “Where are we?” she asked with a mixture of fear and wonder in her voice. “Where are we?”

Alicia was now standing beside Ruiann, and giving her a most unusual look. The look seemed almost sad in a way, but there was also kindness there. “We are here. We are in the Magic Land.”

Yes, that seems like a good name, thought Ruiann. This place definitely looks magical. But where was the Magic Land? What was this place really? How did we get here? A hundred questions were running through Ruiann’s head all at once. Somehow, this did not seem quite right. Perhaps, thought Ruiann, perhaps she should not have come here after all. I wonder? Yes, I wonder?

Welcome

Welcome to my "Ruiann and the Magic Land" posts. Here you will find information, as well as exerpts from my book about a brave little girl who suddenly finds herself in a far away and magical land. Ruiann and the Magic Land is the first in a series of stories about the continuing adventures of Ruiann. I hope you enjoy them.