Closet. Mahogany. Keyhole.

It was all a dream.

The fashion model. The singing competition winner. The ballet dancer on the stage. They all slowly faded as she opened her eyes to a feeble ray of sunshine on her face.

Ellie could still feel the silky straps on her shoulders as she walked down the runway, could still hear the melody of her winning song, could still taste the rapturous applause as she gave a graceful bow after the ballet performance.

And, of course, Trinity was there. She was always there, helping her put on makeup, adjusting her dress, encouraging her, and being there in the audience, where Ellie could trust to look for her reassuring smile whenever she felt nervous.

As the stage lights dimmed and the applause died out, Ellie lay there looking at the ceiling, wondering if she could bring her back. But she could already sense the emptiness of Trinity’s bedroom, devoid of all furniture save for a bed and body. Trinity had long since began her journey to a faraway place, bringing with her all the memories and possessions she deemed important. Today was just the day she would leave everything else behind.

Carefully, Ellie creaked open her big sister’s door to a bedroom full of beige. There were no posters or shelves to cover up the dull color, just four walls of beige and a wooden closet, which Ellie avoided looking at. She could still remember when everything was a bright pink, but you could barely see the walls then because of all the posters, toys, and dolls piled on top of one another.

Beige. It was Ellie’s least favorite color, except for maybe mahogany. As she stood there looking at her sister lying peacefully on the bed, she wondered how Trinity could ever give up walls of pink for walls of beige, a dream of glitter for a dull university.

“Stop it,” Ellie heard Trinity say. Her sister’s eyes were still closed. “Tomorrow’s my orientation day, and I need to be there whether you want me to or not.”

Ellie bit her lip. She wanted her sister to open her eyes and talk to her face to face. She didn’t want to be invisible.

“Bring me with you then,” was all she could manage.

Trinity sighed. “You’re just a. . . you’re too young. Besides, you wouldn’t like any of my friends anyways.”

“I’ll be a good sister.”

Trinity opened her eyes at the ceiling, refusing to look at Ellie. “Just go away please.”

Ellie glanced down at her feet, wishing she could go away. With her. But she obediently walked out of her sister’s bedroom, dragging her feet as she went.

Around midmorning, Ellie heard the front door open as Trinity came back from a jog. Ellie grabbed her favorite teddy bear and a set of teacups as she headed downstairs, calling out to her sister, “Wanna play tea party with me one last time? Please?”

Trinity hesitated. “I can’t. I’m heading to the airport in two hours.”

“But you already packed everything.”

Another sigh. “Don’t you understand, Ellie? I can’t play tea party with you anymore. I just can’t.”

Ellie in fact did not understand, did not understand how her big sister didn’t want to spend one last day with her, before she headed off to college.

Trinity plugged her airpods back into her ears, signaling that the discussion was over. Ellie stood there for a while, then caught up after her and tapped her shoulder. Reluctantly, Trinity stopped and took out one earbud.

“M-hm?”

Ellie swallowed. “What are you gonna do in college? Do you want to become a fashion model like you said before?”

Her sister smiled. “Not anymore. I’m planning on majoring in physics- I want to become an engineer.”

“Cool. Me too!”

Trinity’s smile quickly melted into a scowl. “Please. Get your own dreams.”

“I do wanna be an engineerer!” Ellie insisted. “So can I come now?”

“Let me go,” Trinity said calmly. Ellie hadn’t realized that she was clutching her sister’s skirt.

As she once again put the airpod into her ear, Trinity briefly put her other hand on Ellie’s head. “Ellie, everybody’s gotta grow up someday,” she whispered, then headed down the hall into the kitchen.

Ellie stood dejectedly at the base of the stairs, still holding her stuffed bear in one hand. She thought back to all the times she and her sister spent together, playing tea parties with all the stuffed animals and dolls, having a picnic in the neighborhood park, going to Disneyland on the weekends. She didn’t recall exactly when Trinity began burying herself in books and homework, or when she started to hang out with friends from school more often, or when she repainted her bedroom walls. It was as if Ellie had been watching everything from a keyhole, unaware that everything around her was changing, aging. She didn’t want Trinity to forget her when she headed off to college.

Determined, Ellie clasped her teddy bear in her hand as she headed for the kitchen. Trinity was making a salad, but stopped when she saw Ellie holding out her teddy bear.

“Take this,” Ellie said, looking at her feet, as she offered her sister her favorite stuffed animal.

“Ellie. . .” Trinity bit her lip. “I don’t have enough room in my suitcase.”

Ellie’s eyes began to well with tears. “Then take my bracelet,” she said in a wavering voice, unclasping her golden bracelet and holding it out for Trinity. The bracelet had been on her wrist so long that there was a faint, pale line where it used to be.

“That bracelet’s too small for me, you know that,” Trinity said, closing Ellie’s hand over her bracelet. “I already brought everything I need with me.”

Trinity heard her sister mutter something, but she couldn’t hear. “What’s that?”

“I said I don’t want you to forget me,” Ellie said, her lower lip trembling. “I don’t want you to forget me.”

She said it over and over again, and as her words eventually dissolved into sobs, Trinity set down her salad and crouched down, facing Ellie.

“I won’t forget you Ellie. Ever,” she said as she embraced her little sister. As she held her trembling body, she said quietly, “But I need to move on. You have to let me go.”

Ellie looked up at the window, hoping it was raining outside so she didn’t have to say goodbye just yet. But she couldn’t tell if the water was from outside, or just in her eyes. And then all she could see was a keyhole, with a bright light coming from outside. 

The lonely doll sat motionless on the shelf in the closet. For eight years she had been there, with nothing to do except reminisce as to how she and Trinity used to play make-believe, how Trinity would dress her up and pretend she was a dancer, or a singer, or a fashion model. She wished Trinity might one day slide open her closet door and take Ellie out to one last adventure, just the two of them.

Ellie hated the inside of the closet, its oppressive mahogany wood separating herself from Trinity. All she could see of the world outside was through the keyhole, which was always facing the bed. It was empty now; Trinity had left for college without a word to her. She wondered how long it would take for her to crumble away, to fade from Trinity’s memory.

As the doll settled into another dream, a feeble ray of light poured through from the keyhole. It landed on her arm, tracing a faint line on her wrist.