The Hermit and the Ragdoll

He found her one morning washed up on the shore still smelling of seawater and weighing heavy with it. How she came to be there he never did learn but he took pity on her for he'd fallen in love with her smile.

Bending gently he picked her up out of the sand and turning, leaning on his walking stick, he carried her slowly back to his home.

Talking to her gently he stripped off her wet clothes and hung them to dry. He continued his monologue as he lit a fire and sat her within the circle of it's warmth. Then when she was dry and dressed again he sat her on a shelf where he could see her from any corner of his domicile.

He talked to her often after that, her unwavering smile bringing him solace and telling him in ways only a doll can, that he was loved.