
Sue Short
The Island of Dreams
Updated: Oct 23, 2021
The Prince Albert Inn
Rachel has stood on this exact spot many times before.
Her full attention is focussed on the beautiful dolls’ house that Samuel made for his daughter, Beth
Now, the miniature inn belongs to Rachel, Beth’s niece
Samuel used wood from a wrecked boat to make the walls and floors of the dolls’ house
Over the years Rachel has created wonderful stories for her dolls
Her imaginative ideas have made up for the dullness of her own existence
She doesn’t go anywhere other than school
Her wonderful stories have helped deal with the negative life experiences she has faced to date
With parents who are too busy to take her anywhere
The dolls have made up for everything
There is something exciting yet to come, maybe in minutes or hours
That will bring Rachel great happiness.
Her lonely life will become a joyous and magical one
Today will be a special day but Rachel doesn’t know it yet.
She gazes into her old doll’s house in the attic of the Prince Albert
She remembers Samuel, her grandfather, with great affection
His carpentry skills came to the fore when he made the miniature inn for Beth
It is a replica of the Prince Albert where Samuel was once the popular innkeeper
Samuel’s son, Ben, is now the landlord
He’s a different personality doing a different job
He sells beer and wine to strangers
He’d rather be sailing the Cornish seas like his Grandfather, Jonas
Ben’s wife, Florence, makes dresses for wealthy ladies
And clothes for dolls’ house figures
Rachel noticed the ballerina doll had a letter in her left hand
Some seconds or maybe minutes later,
She found a magnifying glass with exceptional magnifying powers
It was in Samuel’s keep-sake box
She reads the letter with great excitement with just a tinge of fear
The words take her breath and loneliness away
Dear Rachel
Don’t be lonely anymore
Join me across the Giant’s Ocean on an island somewhere beyond your knowledge
We can dance in the Grotto of Miracles
We can live our lives through positive thinking
As she pauses to think about the letter,
The windows of her attic bedroom and dolls’ house have misted-up
Rachel tastes salty water, smells the sea air
And a strong smell of seaweed
She rubs the water-droplets from the windows of the Cornish inn
Where her Grandfather was once the proud innkeeper
There is a vast ocean stretching before her
Not the busy Truro streets and lanes
The Island of Dreams
Rachel is standing next to her dolls’ house
Not in an attic but on an island
In the middle of an ocean
Glistening and rolling waves surround her
She is afraid of the sea but happy to be safe on the island
But how did she get there?
A young girl in a pink chiffon dress is standing in front of her
She resembles the figure in Rachel’s dolls’ house
But she’s a living person not a doll
“Hello, my name is “Saffi”
She does a little dance around Rachel who tries to dance but fails
“How did I get here Saffi?
“You’re here with me. That’s all that matters”
“But I want to know if this is real. Are you real Saffi?”
“Yes, I’m a real person”
“Where do you live?”
“I live in America, across the Giant’s Ocean. I’ve a dolls’ house just like you”
Rachel giggled, “I think you mean the Atlantic Ocean”
“Well, that’s news to me so. I’ll carry on calling it the Giant’s if you don’t mind”
“Where are we Saffi? Is this part of America?”
“This is our island of dreams” said Saffi throwing her arms in the air and performing a ballet twirl of great beauty
“Your dolls’ house brought you. What do you remember just before you got here?”
“I was looking at my doll’s house in my attic bedroom”
“Where’s the attic bedroom?” knowing the answer.
“In the Prince Albert inn in Truro”
“It sounds as if it’s named after somebody royal; is it?”
“’It’s named after Queen Victoria’s husband”
Saffi makes an elaborate curtsy, then says very royally
“What happened next your majesty?”
“The windows of my bedroom and the dolls’ house misted-up
I tasted salty-water and I felt a sort of rocking feeling.
I looked out of my attic bedroom and saw the ocean
“Then what did you see, Rachel? It all sounds very exciting”
“When I looked again, I saw you, Saffi”
“Who did I look like?” Saffi knew the answer
“Like my ballerina doll”
“Is the doll in the attic now?”
They both looked
“No”
A few minutes or maybe hours later Rachel asked,
“Is the dolls’ house magic?”
“Kind of, but not how you mean.
Your grandfather, Samuel, used the storm- damaged wood
From the wrecked hull of his father’s vessel, the Daisy Belle
He made the miniature inn for his daughter Beth when she was your age
Your Great-grandfather, Jonas once lived on this very island
He sailed from here, across the Giant’s Ocean to Cornwall
There was a terrible storm and his boat was wrecked, he disappeared, presumed drowned
Your dolls’ house has the memory of the Daisy Belle
Search for the answer on the walls and floors
At that precise moment or maybe some moments later
Rachel tasted salt.
Her eyes felt itchy from salty mists that suddenly surrounded her
She closed her eyes to take away the rocking sensation.
When she opened them again
She was back in her attic bedroom in the Prince Albert in Truro
Suddenly feeling very sleepy she lay on a cushion
Beside her doll’s house
Rachel fell asleep clutching Saffi, the ballerina doll
And dreaming of dancing with her new friend
The following day or maybe the following week,
Rachel examined her dolls’ house very carefully
She studied the walls and floors of the miniature inn
She traced engravings with the tips of her fingers
They were hard to read as the sea had been busy
Maybe a letter E
And part of the letter L
The last two letters of the word DAISY BELLE
Could it be?
She examined the entire house for engravings
And found letters that made up the name: DAISY BELLE
The next day or the day after that
Rachel noticed that Saffi was holding a miniature book
With her magnifying-glass, with its exceptional magnifying powers
Rachel read the words, on the cover, of the tiny book
LOGBOOK OF THE DAISY BELLE
JONAS BELLE
She twirled a twirl of great beauty and laughed out-loud.
A Parcel Arrives
The next day or maybe the next month
Rachel is passing her mum’s sewing-room
This is where Florence and Beth make dresses for rich ladies
And clothes for Rachel’s dolls
There’s something new on the sewing table
It’s a parcel but not just an ordinary one!
There are many unusual postage stamps on it
With lots of string and sealing wax around its paper covering
Rachel stands in the shadows to watch and listen
“Where’s it from?” she wonders but somehow knows
Florence and Beth seem mystified
“The parcels come from someone called Saffi
She lives in America” says Florence
Rachel waits a long wait to find out more
But finally finds out what the parcel contains
When Beth spreads a beautiful piece of material on the table
Its blue silk chiffon and a dance dress pattern
There’s a little card under the material too
“Is the dress for one of your rich ladies Florence?” asks Beth
“The material is to make a dance dress for Rachel” she says sounding quite amazed for once in her life
Hearing that, Rachel skips off along the corridor of the dusty inn
She can hear her father barking orders at his staff
“Get those beer barrels up to the bar…move it or I’ll fire you”
His voice is husky from shouting
“He’d rather be sailing on the Giant’s Ocean” Rachel says out-loud
She knows that her Father is sad not cross
But hurries off up the stairs in case he sees her
The Dancing Begins
The next week or maybe the next month
Florence and Beth have made the dance dress
It’s made from the blue silk chiffon
The dress is the same style as Saffi’s dress
With puffed sleeves that are so pretty and a skirt full and flouncy,
When Rachel puts the dress on she feels as if she’s floating like a cloud
She’s eager to visit Saffi on the Island of Dreams
Maybe she’ll be able to dance all day and night
But first she’s got to learn to dance!
Rachel stands in front of the dolls’ house
She closes her eyes
The mist whirls around her
The rocking sensation makes her feel a little giddy
Rachel is on the island when she opens her eyes again
Saffi is standing in front of the dolls’ house
Wearing her pink silk dress and ballet shoes
There are pink feathers in her hair
She’s holding some blue feathers in her left hand
Rachel puts the feathers in her hair and does a twirl
“Thank you for the beautiful chiffon. I loved the pattern, just like yours
Mum and Beth worked very hard getting the dress finished
Even though they didn’t know why
“You’re going to have your first dance lesson today”
She leads Rachel to a glittery pavement
Where the two girls face each other
A band is heard but not seen
“Now let the dancing begin”
The Grotto
Steep sided cliffs
Foamy waves crash into the Island of Dreams
With shells of azure rock pools into which
Crabs and small fish make a temporary home
The beach is the special place onto which
The turtles come then make their way
Up the steep paths of sea-grass and pebbles
Leading from pure white sand and stormy seas
Testing and tortuous but needing to be achieved
They make their way towards their ultimate goal
The grotto of jewels and turtle shells
There is a platform on which Saffi and Rachel
Will dance together
The girls each find turtles’ shells on which to blow
By this action they will be able to enter the grotto
Under the reddening sky
The turtles form a circle around a bejewelled platform
And make sounds of welcome
Saffi leads Rachel into the beautiful hollow
In which there is a gold and silver birdcage
Saffi enters the glimmering structure and collects
A jewel of beauty to present to Tarquin
King of the turtles
He gives consent for dancing to begin
Music of strings, woodwind and percussion
Is heard from cave nearby
It’s melodious and inviting
Rachel and Saffi dance together
Under the red sky