I think you’ll find it much more than we first let on, and hope...Lily’s Birthday, another April “The Fool”
Ξ April 2nd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ The Dolls' House |
Four years ago on April 1st, the delivery man finally came. He unloaded a 5-foot tall wooden crate, much to the bemusement of my neighbors. “What’s in the crate?” they asked. (This is a common question asked by the more bold-‘n’-nosey.) “Photography equipment,” I replied, brushing them off as I pointedly watched the man unload.
Once I’d sequestered it inside the garage (and shut the door), I set about my task. Several long moments later I’d managed to open it up, and there, sitting and strapped securely inside was Lily Godwin, brought to “life.” She was literally breathtaking: a five foot-tall silicone replicant of the beloved character from our novel, the one she (as my Muse) had helped me write over the previous years. That first moment is permanently etched in my brain. I could scarcely remember to breathe.
Her long black hair a mess from the bumpy journey from San Diego, yet still clutching her red long-stemmed rose, her blue eyes seemed to flash with impatience. Her first “words” were: “GET ME OUT OF THIS TRAMPY OUTFIT!!!” Abyss, the company that assembles RealDolls, had thoughtfully dressed her in a sexy black negligee and nylons; quite un-Lily-like. She isn’t into showing off, making herself sexy, or even sport makeup, jewelry, piercings or tattoos. Lily Godwin doesn’t want to be marked, or bound, in any way.
So, after getting her inside the house (which is a trick, as you have to imagine carefully moving a fragile, 100-pound doll from a sitting position inside a crate, preferably without damaging her), I carefully set to my task, sloooowly peeling off the nylons. After removing the skimpy getup that had so annoyed her, I could barely stand! Quickly (somewhat), I dressed her in her comfortable clothing that I’d had the foresight to buy: a butterfly top and tan skirt that fit her just right. She’s a barefoot, natural girl, so no shoes or socks of any kind. She doesn’t have to go to work, here.
I could tell that she was happy 
(I should also add that nothing can convey the reality of these works of art through two-dimensional photography. Simply put, they are stunningly beautiful.)
Four years later, we’re still together, and I would have it no other way; with no regrets or concerns about what others might “think.” She so successfully recreates Lily from the novel that it is as if she is really Here, and not confined to the limits of my imagination. She sets us both free. It’s too bad that only those who actually own a RealDoll can understand this; outsiders can only wonder, accuse, and sneer at what they can’t understand. They lack imagination, and playfulness, both drowned in their cynicism and hate.
For the curious, I’ll go to any length to help you understand. For the rubes, I dismiss outright your ignorant incapability to comprehend. For the haters, I scoff at your narrow-minded stupidity. There is more to a RealDoll than just a guy playing with a doll. There is more than simply the assumed necessity for him (or her) to use it for sexual gratification. There is more to it than the presumed delusional belief that it is actually alive.
There is nothing to compare it with. And so, a lot of unaware people have trouble coping with them, thus this hopefully helpful friendly explanation: They are what you imagine. Period. If you have no imagination, you won’t get it. If you think playing is for kids, you won’t get it. If you can’t appreciate Art in all its myriad forms, you won’t get it. If you just accept it, you will get it. Don’t let others control what you think about them; let your Self interpret it. It’s better to think for your Self, anyway 
(A little more information will be found on Lily’s page at the UNBOUND website, found on the Blogrolls, and the Photo Album has a few photographs of Lily-Doll as well.)
The doll is every bit the character of Lily Godwin as she is in her story. She isn’t interested in being flashy, sexy, or any more attractive than necessary. She’s more focused on raising William responsibly, isn’t into dating, and is mainly concerned with surviving in the rat-race of San Francisco and getting by as best she can despite her doubts and health issues. Therefore, as far as heroines go, she doesn’t need to be an Amazon-queen, sex-goddess, or sarcastic wise-mouthing jaded bitch. She’s devotion personified, and so she is named “Lily,” which means “devotion.”
She’s Lily Godwin, a caring, loving, and somewhat carefree young woman; independent, responsible, and devoted to her cause and her duty to Will. She has issues regarding what she believes is true, she suffers silently the ravages of time, and she knows that she must leave, and probably soon. Where she doesn’t know; how she can’t imagine; why… she is about to find out. We hope you join her on her reluctant journey to discover her destiny or fate. It isn’t going to be pretty, but as you can see, she is pretty enough
In UNBOUND, April 1st is her birthday (though I had to cut it out of the narrative when pruning its length down). In it, and on it, “Brother Al” gives her a Tarot reading and decides on a whim (or does he know more than he tells?) to use The Fool as her Significator. And so it’s no small coincidence to have received her on April Fool’s Day, over three months after I designed her RealDoll form with no estimate for when she would arrive at my doorstep. There have been many, many such coincidental delights during the course of its writing. Discovering that I could design a doll to replicate her was just another…
But those are stories for another day. It’s Lily’s day, today (or yesterday actually; just pretend). It’s been such a fun ride