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The women stop bowing and stare up at her. Celine freezes and frowns at the therapist.
“God sent help for you because He knew you were faithful and good. God is the one who punished the men who hurt you. God is why you no longer suffer. Doesn’t that make more sense than believing your pain was good?”
Celine looks at me with her tear-filled eyes before she mumbles, “We were sinful.”
“You did what you were told,” Donatella replies calmly. “You obeyed your fathers, yet you suffered. Why would God want that?”
“We’re born of sin.”
“So were your fathers. They did terrible things to you. That’s why you wanted to leave. God sent avenging angels to save you. Now, the devil is luring you back into the darkness.”
The Dolls look at each other except for Celine who only sees me.
“I didn’t protect you.”
Though my mind won’t allow me to remember the past, I’m not blind to the situation. Celine and I are only a few years apart in age. She said we never had a mother. Our father wasn’t around when we were little. We were trained to be obedient.
I picture Overlord’s girls who are around the age Celine would have been when I was born. Those children couldn’t take care of each other. Whatever sick things taught to them would be all they knew to believe. Celine was just a little girl, scared and suffering.
“I forgive you,” I say rather than explain how she isn’t at fault.
I know Celine can’t understand how she was innocent. She hasn’t been free long enough. None of the Dolls understand how the world works. They only know the rules taught to them since they were babies. That’s why freedom feels like a punishment, and their own happiness is a sin.
The Dolls remain kneeling, unsure of Donatella’s words. They seem so lost without someone ordering them around. But they watch me comfort Celine, forgiving her for what she had no power to stop. My sister sobs with shame.
“You weren’t allowed to eat cookies,” I say, understanding why Celine hit me as a child. “You weren’t allowed to have sweets. If you were bad, you got punished.”
“They turned us against each other,” Celine mumbles, still crying, wanting me to understand. “They made us punish each other. I took away Liza’s doll when she cried.”
Harley Quinn’s lower lip trembles when she looks at Princess. “I told Father you were bad when you didn’t want to be with that man.”
Baby Doll looks to Alice in Wonderland and says, “I kicked you when you wanted to hide in my bed.”
“We’re bad,” School Girl whimpers.
“We did what we had to do,” I say and hug my sister as I look at the others. “We were just kids when they trained us. We felt guilty when we did those things because we aren’t monsters. Those men were monsters. Our fathers were the bad ones.”
“They made the rules,” Cowgirl says and gets off the floor. “They said it was bad to cry, even when something hurt or we were scared. They were bad.”
Baby Doll and Alice in Wonderland stand up and hug each other. Soon, they’re all on their feet.
“I don’t like picking my own food,” Princess tells Donatella before sitting down. “I don’t like all the choices. I don’t like picking my clothes.”
“We can make it so there are fewer choices,” Donatella offers. “That way, you won’t be so overwhelmed.”
Dire and Rave go back to their seats while everyone gets back to their circle positions.
“I don’t want to eat around the men,” Baby Doll admits. “I feel like they’re judging me.”
“We can work on that, too,” Donatella says and types something into her phone. “Anyone else having trouble with choices or meal time?”
The women all raise their hands. Celine doesn’t react to any of their words. She’s dug deep inside herself. I hold her against me as I listen to the women talk about the things they don’t like at the Sanctuary. Most of their complaints revolve around being in charge of themselves like with food and clothes. Other concerns are weirder like not wanting to sit on a couch.
“My cottage has no chairs,” Cowgirl explains. “I can’t sit on a couch.”
“We can get you chairs,” Donatella says, seeming relieved to have them sharing.
“What about you, Celine?” she asks when my sister remains silent through the session. “What do you want?”
