Starting School without Sullivan Doll

Once upon a time, in a house full of laughter and joy, there lived a little girl named Kylie.

Kylie was almost seven, and she was growing up to be quite a young lady. She had tons of toys that filled her room with color and happiness, but among all of them, there was one blue Sullivan doll that Kylie’s heart was completely attached to.

This doll had big, kind eyes and a permanent smile on its face. Kylie slept with it every night, and even when she needed to go to the bathroom, she’d take her Sullivan doll with her so it wouldn’t be lonely!

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Her mom had named the doll Sullivan, just like a real friend. Kylie loved talking to Sullivan and telling it all her little and big secrets. Sullivan would always listen with its big eyes, seemingly understanding everything Kylie said.

Now Kylie was seven, and it was time for her to go to school. Oh, how excited she was for school! Every day, she’d ask her mom,

“Mom, when does school start?”

Her mom would laugh and say,

“Be patient, honey, just a little longer.”

Kylie had tried on her pretty uniform, which her mom had bought for her, countless times. She’d also filled her backpack, which had a butterfly on it, with notebooks and pencils. But there was something nagging at her heart that made her a little anxious. It was being away from her Sullivan doll. She couldn’t take her Sullivan doll to school with her, could she?

Whenever she thought about being away from Sullivan for a few hours, her heart would feel a little strange, and she’d get sad. Just imagine, for seven whole years, she hadn’t been apart from it for even a minute.

One night, Kylie was sleeping beside her mom and whispered softly, just loud enough for her mom to hear,

“Mom, I’m going to miss Sullivan when I go to school. Sullivan will be all alone here.” Her mom laughed and gently stroked Kylie’s brown hair.

“Sweetheart, Sullivan will be waiting for you here. You’ll go to school and learn lots of new things, make new friends, and then when you come back, you can play with it a lot and tell it all your school adventures.”

Kylie thought for a moment.

“But I’ll miss it so much. Sullivan is used to me always being next to it. What if it gets really sad?”

Her mom smiled and an idea popped into her head.

“Well, we’ll do something so Sullivan won’t be lonely and will know you’ll be back soon.”

Kylie looked at her mom with sparkling eyes.

“Really, Mom? What are we going to do?”

Her mom put a finger to her lips.

“It’s a secret. A surprise for the morning of the first day of school.”

Kylie closed her eyes with curiosity and excitement and fell asleep, but from that moment on, her mind was occupied with her mom’s surprise.

On the morning of the first day of school, Kylie woke up full of excitement. The sunlight streamed through her window, brightening up the whole room. She took a deep breath. Today was going to be her first day of school! She put on her pretty uniform, which was a blue skirt and a white blouse, and stood in front of the mirror.

She tied her hair with a bow scrunchie and picked up her backpack with the butterfly on it. Her heart was a little nervous, both about meeting new friends and her teacher, and about being away from her Sullivan doll. She wanted to hug Sullivan, but her mom had said there was a surprise and she had to wait.

As she was leaving the house, her eyes suddenly fell upon the armchair by the shoe rack in the hallway. There, sitting on the chair, was her Sullivan doll! With its big, kind eyes that seemed to be looking at Kylie. It was as if Sullivan was as excited as Kylie and waiting. But that wasn’t all!

Sullivan was holding a small, folded piece of paper in its hand. Kylie went closer with surprise and picked up the paper. Her heart was pounding. Written on it, in a slightly crooked handwriting (which was clearly her mom’s, as her mom’s handwriting was a bit messy but full of love), it said:

“Kylie, I’m waiting right here for you to come back! I’ll miss playing with you!”

When Kylie read this, a huge smile spread across her face. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart. All her worries and sadness flew away. Sullivan was here! Waiting for her! Her heart was no longer anxious. She knew that Sullivan wasn’t alone and would be counting down the moments until Kylie came home. She happily ran to her mom and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, Mom! You’re the best! The best mom in the world!”

Her mom laughed and kissed Kylie’s face.

“Now go to school and learn lots of new things. Your Sullivan doll will be waiting here for you to tell it all the fun things you learned.”

Kylie blew a little kiss to Sullivan and left the house. Now she knew that her Sullivan doll wasn’t alone and was waiting for her every moment. That day, Kylie ran towards school with great enthusiasm, thinking about how much she would have to tell her doll when she got back home. There was no sadness left in her heart, and she knew that a kind, blue friend was waiting for her at home.