Freya and the Sock Dolls
Prologe
It's hard to believe, but people still live on Earth who are sure that only our world lives, that we are alone in infinite universes, that time and space are inviolable and constant.Obviously, it isn't! We live in amazing worlds that are intertwined in the strangest ways.
Prehistory
A wonderful family lived in one small but very beautiful city: dad, mom and a little girl - their daughter Freya. It was a very nice and, in general, an ordinary family, but with one interesting oddity - they all loved fairy tales very much. Fairy tales were read aloud at night, watched on TV, composed on the go, told each other on the way to school, drew, played roles, and even filmed with a smartphone camera.
The tales were different. The Pope loved to tell the parables of his distant homeland - Senegal. Mom fascinated the audience with the tales and legends of her Irish ancestors. And Freya Valerie Connolly-Diouf, and this is how the full name of our little heroine sounds, loved to read, listen and tell all the fairy tales in the world, without exception.
But sometimes more cruel things happen in life than even in the worst fairy tale. Our planet was covered by a wave of a new virus, and no one knew how to get rid of this misfortune. While scientists and doctors were inventing drugs and developing vaccines, many people fell ill and died. Freya's mother was among them. She died just a few days after she fell ill, but the saddest thing is that the girl could not even say goodbye to her - no one was allowed to enter the hospital due to quarantine. So, at only 11 years old, Freya was left without a mother.
Only by losing a person do we realize how much he/she meant to us. Freya was constantly crying and almost never left her room, and dad although suffered a lot. But he did not have time to cry. He had to work hard and think about how to help his daughter cope with the ordeal that befell her.
Sometimes the best ideas come to us at the most unexpected moment. Dad constantly thought about how to help his daughter - during work, washing dishes, cleaning. Once, having hardly put Freya to bed, he decided to sort out his wife's things, which were still in the closet and the old chest of drawers. Of course, you understand that for this he had to call on all his courage, but the girl's father was a very strong and courageous man - he served as a firefighter and often faced very dangerous situations. The case moved slowly, the man often stopped, held this or that thing in his hands for a long time…
It was deep night when, in one of the lower drawers of the dresser, he suddenly found an old pair of socks, also once belonging to his wife. The socks were really very old - they were knitted by Freya's grandmother many years ago. As if obeying some unknown force, dad put socks on his hands, the way actors put on sock dolls in puppet theaters - and at that moment a new fairy tale was born, although the hope of its appearance had almost dried up.
Mother's old socks got a new image and a new life - on the same night Freya's father sewed those eyes from wooden buttons and, in general, did everything to turn them into real sock dolls. One of the socks (it was slightly larger in size) became the Daddy-sock, and the second sock (it seemed a little more beautiful) became the Mom-sock. The fairy tale-play was almost ready, but dad postponed the premiere for several days, as he was not sure of Freya's reaction. His fears were in vain - the girl was delighted, she sincerely fell in love with her new sock dolls and gladly participated in inventing and staging plays.
Every evening before going to bed, a new performance was played out - sock dolls told Freya the story of the acquaintance of mom and dad, she attended their wedding, bought their first car and a new house with them, traveled to Africa (home of dad's parents) and Ireland (home of mom’s parents). A miracle happened, which dad did not even hope for - Freya again began to smile, play, laugh, and communicate with friends and classmates. The girl became more and more attached to her sock dolls - she even took them with her to school, considering them to be real talismans.
But then one day...oh, how often we underestimate this word! Once, when Daddy-sock and Mom-sock turned exactly six months, a huge nuisance happened, without which this whole story would not have happened. Dad (the real one, of course) was urgently called to work in the evening, and he had to ask his neighbor, Miss Rosemary Grogg, to stay with Freya. After putting the girl to bed, Miss Rosemary decided to clean up her room, and at the same time to wash some things. So, the sock dolls ended up in the washing machine...
Everyone knows that if you put several pairs of socks in the washing machine, one of them will definitely disappear. We will tell you about the reason for this mysterious phenomenon later, but for the time being, suffice it to say that one of the socks has gone missing. And not just one of the socks, but one of Freya's favorite sock dolls. The Mom-sock vanished into the belly of the old washing machine.
History of the Old Washing Machine
When the Old Washing Machine first rolled off the assembly line, it was not at all old, but quite the opposite - young and full of the brightest hopes. She dreamed that she would find herself in a beautiful cozy house and would definitely be in the very center of attention. Young Washing Machine believed that washing was a very exciting process, and imagined how the whole family would gather in front of her round porthole window instead of the TV. You shouldn't laugh at her - in the store she watched a huge number of commercials where the life of household appliances was painted in such colors. And advertising, even the most implausible, is sometimes believed by people, what we can say about washing machines! We all have the right to dream, besides, Young Washer had every reason to have the highest opinion of herself.
She had many washing modes, a security system, a small computer, and even an internet connection function. The Washing Machine carefully studied its instructions while still in the store and was ready for any, even the most difficult task. She was a bit vain, but overall a very good, reliable, responsible, very modern and kind washing machine that sincerely wanted to be useful and needed. It's a shame, but reality instantly turned her dreams to dust.
Instead of a cozy living room or, at worst, a bathroom, the Washing Machine found itself in a gloomy dark basement. She still had the hope that people would often come down to her, but minutes, hours, days passed - and no one came to her. The washing machine felt sad. And at that moment she heard a hoarse, raspy voice that came from the farthest and darkest corner of the basement.
«They will come», said the voice. «They will come in two days. People will come down to you once a week with a basket of dirty laundry. You cannot count on more».
Daylight entered the basement only through a small window under the high ceiling, so it was not surprising that Young Washer did not immediately see the Dirty Dryer in the far corner of the basement. Perhaps, if the Dryer had not spoken, the Washer would never have paid attention to her at all.
«Who are you»? - Asked the Washing Machine.
«So far, only household appliances that ungrateful people imprisoned in a dark basement…just like you. But if you want, I can become your friend and mentor».
Young Washer said nothing to Dirty Dryer. And two days later, people really came down to her - with a basket full of dirty linen. The Washing Machine decided that if she tried and did her job well, then the attitude towards her would definitely change. At least they will come down to her more often than once a week! The clothes were washed, rinsed and wrung out perfectly - but no one paid the slightest attention to it. Two hours later, people went down to the basement again, collected clean things in another basket, and left without giving the Washing Machine even a word. Young Washing Machine sighed heavily. And from the dark corner came the sarcastic laugh of the Dryer.
«You don’t have to try so hard to surprise people and make them respect themselves. This is what they expect from you - that you will be exhausted here, in the dark, while they have fun upstairs. And then you break down and get thrown into a landfill. I know this because I have been living in the basement for a very, very long time. Before you, there was already the same naive and stupid washing machine, and before it - another one. To get people's attention, you need to do something special that they never expect…».
But the Washer said nothing this time either. Most likely, she simply did not understand what her neighbor, beaten by life, was talking about. Perhaps, preoccupied with her thoughts, she did not even hear her.
And time went on. Time generally has this strange property - to move forward. Now slowly, now rapidly, but never, never stopping. One wash followed another, and they all looked like two drops of water. None of the people tried to learn from the Washing Machine all its unique capabilities, no one read the instructions, did not study the washing modes. People just pressed their familiar buttons and left. All the knowledge Washer had learned in her shop school was wasted.
No matter how hard the Washing Machine tried, it did not manage to attract the attention of people, which endlessly pleased the Dirty Dryer, which was downright squealing with delight (all its mechanisms needed lubrication for a long time). And then one day Washer itself spoke to the Dryer. It's been six months since she settled in the Connolly-Diouf family's cozy house. They started talking every day. Though not right away, the Dirty Dryer told the Washer her story. Once upon a time she was full of hopes, but a long life in the basement (she ended up here with the previous owners of the house) turned her against people. She could no longer work as efficiently as she had before. and she was trusted to dry only the oldest and heaviest things - blankets and rugs. All this angered her even more. The Washing Machine, which every week passed heaps of dirty things through its drum, listened to her more and more attentively, and over time began to understand her and trust her. After all, it's hard to keep thinking good things while wallowing in the mud. The Dryer's plans began to come true - she became a friend and mentor of the Washer.
Several more years passed. Freya's voice was already ringing in the small cozy house, but the Washing Machine never saw the girl - she was afraid to go down to the dark basement. However, the Washer didn't care anymore - her thoughts became almost as dirty as dirty laundry. For hours on end, she listened to Dirty Dryer, more and more imbued with her mood and attitude towards people. Now the Washing Machine did not try to work well; on the contrary, it began to be mischievous. Often she thundered, rang, did not add washing powder in time, and sometimes even slightly shocked the owners. The Dryer commented on her actions with a touch of contempt. «It’s not enough», she said. «You’ll only make people angry, but you won’t force them to respect yourself. I already know! There is a much better way…». The Washing Machine remembered that once the Dryer had already talked to her on this topic, and now she wanted to know more about this mysterious «way».
And then the Dirty Dryer told her the terrible secret of all washing machines - it turns out that each of them can open a portal to a parallel universe of missing things and socks! Yes, it is there that all our things and socks disappear, which, and each of us is ready to swear on it, we just put in the drum of the washing machine! The Old Washing Machine (and it has already grown old, since the age of washing machines is short-lived) was very interested in this story. But how do you open the portal? Alas, the Dryer did not know this. She believed that this riddle could only be solved by the Washing Machine itself. And then the time came for reflections and new dreams: «Oh, how great it would be», thought the Old Washing Machine, «To take things dear to them from people and throw them into the portal! After a long search, they will have to contact me, I will return the loss to them, and then they will definitely begin to respect me, use all my possibilities, reckon with my opinion, and maybe even love»!
For a whole week Washer thought so hard that she didn't even speak to the Dirty Dryer, but it was all in vain. And then she remembered about one of her almost forgotten functions. She can also connect to the Internet and try to find information about the portal there! The washing machine quickly found the home wi-fi network (training in the store and a careful study of the instructions helped), connected and typed in the search box: «Find the portal, missing socks and things». The Dirty Dryer, watching her manipulations carefully, chuckled in satisfaction.
Very little time passed, and Washing Machine had already found some strange and very suspicious site where it was possible to download programs and applications of the type: «Interception of ISS control» and «Creating a time loop at home». There was also a program that the Washing Machine needed, which was called the Sock Portal. After a little hesitation, the site was still very suspicious; she still downloaded and installed it. All that was left was to wait for Friday - on that very day Daddy came down to the basement with a basket of dirty linen.
What happened next - we already know. The Washer managed to open a portal and Mom-sock disappeared. The next day, a cozy, beautiful house literally stood on the ears - the real dad, Freya, two of her classmates and Miss Rosemary were looking for the missing sock doll. But all was in vain - Mom-sock was never found. And Daddy-sock looked at the searches with his wooden eyes from the height of the clothesline and was very sorry that he was speechless. He knew that all this fuss was just a waste of time. The search for Mom-Sock periodically flashed with renewed vigor. No one could come to terms with the loss, and it was difficult for Freya, Dad and even Miss Rosemary to explain why they were so eager to find a toy made from an ordinary sock. The performances stopped, the fairy tale dried up. Alone, Daddy-sock could not cope with his role, and indeed he «behaved» very strangely. The sock doll constantly disappeared from its drawer in Freya's room - it was found in the kitchen, near the computer, on the floor, but especially often on the stairs leading to the basement.
Needless to say that Freya was sad again. The girl could not think of anything other than the lost sock doll. Everyone tried to calm, comfort, distract her - dad, friends, neighbors but everything was useless. Freya's father almost started making another sock doll, but stopped in time. It seemed that just a little bit more, and everything would become as bad as after the death of mother…
But just imagine what it was like for Mom-Sock, who first found herself in the Old Washing Machine, and then - in general, in a parallel universe! At first, she did not understand anything, except that she was breathing again, feeling and realizing what was happening as clearly as during life. And then, of course, she got scared. This is not surprising - after all, she found herself in a world where missing socks and other things lived! And they, like people, were very, very different…but we will tell about the adventures of Mom-Sock later, but for now, let's return to a small cozy house - to Freya and her dad.
Freya was a smart and independent girl, she was not just sad - she thought where Mama-sock could disappear and how she could be helped. Of course, it didn't take her very long to understand one simple thing that many adults still cannot understand: the sock doll hit the washing machine for sure - the sock doll was not in the washing machine when the wash ended. And this means…but what, in fact, does this mean?! «This means», Freya decided, «That Mom-Sock remained in Washing Machine, even if it seems that she is not there»!
The girl, overcoming her fear, began every day to go down to the Old Washing Machine, touched its smooth surface, and even tried to talk to it and ask questions. The Dirty Dryer was very unhappy with this, she thundered, rang and squealed trying to scare the child - but Freya did not give up.
On Friday, the day of washing, Freya brought her mother's favorite blanket and her remaining sock doll to the basement (it was Daddy-sock, if you suddenly forgot), spread the blanket on the floor right in front of the round window-porthole, sat down on it and that's it. For an hour and a half, while the clothes were being washed, she showed an impromptu performance to the Old Washing Machine. It was a wonderful performance - with the help of Daddy-sock and her own talent, Freya told the story of her family, as well as how they all feel bad without a mother. The Washing Machine was impressed and moved, especially since this was the first performance she saw in her life. The Dirty Dryer, of course, tried to disrupt the show with a terrible noise, but no one paid attention to her. In the end, the Dryer simply overheated and had to shut up. And the Washing Machine suddenly realized that she had chosen the wrong way to earn respect and love.
The Show went on; the spin mode was running at full power, the Washing Machine made a decision. She highly appreciated the capabilities of her computer and again decided to use this feature to help Freya return the sock doll. The machine had already studied the laws of a parallel universe well enough (we will definitely tell you about this world some other time) and knew what to do.
When the washing and the performance were over, the girl saw strange symbols on the display of the Washing Machine, which, we assure you, had never appeared there before! But Freya, as we already know, was a very smart child - she instantly realized that this was not just a set of emoticons (emoji), but a real message! She grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from the shelf and carefully sketched the symbols. The display immediately went out, there was a click - the clean linen could already be taken out. The girl quickly put the fragrant things in the basket and ran upstairs, not forgetting to sincerely and wholeheartedly thank the Old Washing Machine.
Having come running to her room, Freya put the piece of paper on the table and once again carefully examined all the symbols written in the emoji language. These were the signs: «Sad girl» emoticon - Arrow - House - Plus - Number 10000 - Plus - Socks - Equal – «Merry girl» emoticon next to the House. It took Freya just a few minutes to figure out what she needed to do to make Mom-Sock come back - draw ten thousand sock dolls! The girl so wanted to return her doll as soon as possible that she immediately got down to business - took out a stack of paper, colored pencils and felt-tip pens, and started drawing.
And the Old Washer had to listen to the angry grumbling of the Dirty Dryer for several hours - she did not understand anything, but really wanted to find out what was happening. But her curiosity was not satisfied - the Washing Machine did not want to talk to her. She had a lot to rethink and think.
But where did this huge figure come from - 10,000 socks?! Everything is very simple - the Old Washing Machine decided to free not only Mom, but also the rest of the socks that once fell into the parallel universe from other portals. And there were exactly ten thousand of them! If you think that writing such a message is very easy, try it yourself; just first imagine that you are an ordinary washing machine. In addition, our Washing Machine was very disturbed by viruses that it picked up by downloading a program to open a portal from an unverified site. But, if you decide to do something good, no obstacles will stop you! The machine was so imbued with this idea that sometime later it even began to use for the good the virus that was mining cryptocurrency when it was free from its direct duties. The Old Washing Machine supported the work of interesting blockchain projects, was engaged in charity work…After all, can't household appliances be in the trend of modern digital technologies?!
What about Freya? The girl drew and painted…soon her entire room was filled up with children's drawings and all the walls in the corridor were pasted over. Freya tried to draw very well, neatly and quickly, which is very difficult! The Washing Machine did not tell her anything about this, but the girl herself decided that she would definitely have time to draw all 10,000 drawings before Christmas, because it is on this holiday that any miracles become reality. Dad and her neighbor Miss Rosemary, who came more and more often, were at first silent, then perplexed, then began to grumble slowly. In the end, dad decided to have a serious talk with his daughter, since half of the house had already been littered with drawings! Freya decided not to tell him the secret (these adults always get everything wrong), but reassured her father, saying that this helps her not to be sad. Actually, she did not deceive him at all - she had absolutely no time to be sad, since there was less than a month left before Christmas! Freya would draw much faster, but she was distracted by school, and the need to eat and sleep (however, she often neglected sleep, drawing at night under the covers by the light of a flashlight).
Time is the only thing that comes, never being late. It was Christmas Eve. Turn on your imagination and imagine such a picture - Freya is sitting in a beautiful dress at the table in her room, Miss Rosemary is trying to attach a bow to her unruly hair, and the girl, not paying attention to what is happening, continues to draw the last, ten thousandth drawing - a portrait of Mom-Sock. Freya was in time.
It is not hard to guess what gift our little heroine asked for Santa. But Freya did not forget about the Old Washing Machine - on Christmas night she went down to the basement to congratulate her on the holiday and give her a gift - a beautiful sticker in the form of a Superhero Washing Machine (Freya herself carefully pasted it next to the display). The Old Washing Machine almost cried with joy, and the Dirty Dryer seemed to be overheated with anger…
In the morning, dad decided to wash some things, and two hours later, Freya was awakened by the loud and joyful cries of her father, who ran into her room, holding a sock doll high above her head. The Mom-sock was perfectly washed and smelled fresh and lily of the valley. How she ended up in the machine again, no one understood - only Freya and the Old Washing Machine herself knew about it. Joy and surprise reigned not only in the cozy house of the Connolly-Diouf family - many other people felt the same feelings when they suddenly found their missing socks.
Life in a cozy house has become much more interesting and joyful. The performances continued, only now their plot was supplemented by the adventures of Mom-sock in a parallel universe. All Freya's drawings were inserted into homemade frames and hung on the walls, additional lamps appeared in the basement so that it was light and not scary at all. The Dirty Dryer soon disappeared. Nobody else ever heard or remembered about her. Even the Old Washing Machine, which now has new real friends!
Writen by Roman Luka 25.12.2021