XVI The Tower | A Doll House

Darlene was a Titan — a very large Titan. Out of five children she was the only one born with the Titanism gene mutation. By the time she was ten years old, Darlene could no longer live in the family home. Her father found an abandoned shipping container which he somehow brought home and left in the backyard. She had to duck in order to get inside it since it was only nine ft. tall. But it was 40 ft. long so at least she could lie down comfortably. In any case, that’s where Darlene lived out her life.

She was raised in poverty as her father was a gambler who blew most of his money at the Chariot track. For a while, her mother worked as a seamstress but that didn’t last because she didn’t like to sew. As such, the family of seven ended up on welfare and food stamps.

Darlene was the oldest, therefore she pretty much raised the younger kids. Her mother didn’t enjoy motherhood, cooking, or cleaning, whatsoever and Darlene was born to be a caregiver, so it worked out, luckily for all concerned.

Of all the things she could have wished for — aside from different parents — Darlene wanted a doll house. The other girls on their block each had a doll house. Darlene watched them play and longed to join them, but they never invited her. This was due, in part, to Darlene’s size. The other kids were afraid of her, even the boys, and yes, even the parents. They couldn’t have known that Darlene was the most gentle and caring person they’d likely ever meet because no one bothered speaking to her. Once it became common knowledge that the family was on government assistance, nobody spoke to any member the Makris family.

As the years went by, the younger children left home and had families of their own. Darlene stayed in her shipping container in her parents’ backyard. Where else could she go? At 15 feet tall, she couldn’t fit anywhere, besides, no one would rent to her even if she could.

On nice days, she would go for walks early in the morning before the rest of the town was awake. That way she wouldn’t frighten anyone or cause a scene. One day, she happened upon a construction site. There was one building that was about halfway built and reminded her of the doll house she’d coveted so long ago.

Darlene couldn’t believe her luck! It even came with its own people! She just had to have it. So, speaking softly she introduced herself to the workers and told them she wasn’t going to hurt them. She explained that she was moving them all to her house where she would take good care of them. If they wished, they could go home to their families at night as long as they promised to come back the following day. Except on weekends, of course. If they wanted to stay overnight, she’d cook for them and make sure they had everything they needed.

And so, Darlene finally had her very own doll house and people inside that she could take care of. That’s all she ever truly wanted in life anyway.