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Title: The Dollhouse and the Sweet Potato Plant, A Children's Mystery

Suspects: Blinky, the wide-eyed cat; Grandma Maribelle, the woman next door; Corky, the younger brother; Sylvia, the cousin; Mom and Dad.

Maddison was eight years old when Aunt Rose suddenly passed away. Aunt Rose was her mother's sister and a beam of sunshine to the whole family. Everyone loved Aunt Rose and Maddison was her very special niece! Maddison knew it and loved being the center of Aunt Rose's attention. Her death was a traumatic experience. It would have been for any eight year old, but even more for Maddison because of the very special bonding she had with her only aunt. Aunt Rose had one child, Sylvia, who was ten years older than Maddison. Because of the age difference Maddison and Sylvia did not share the childhood experiences that cousins of closer age levels would normally share. Sylvia was in her first year of college when Maddison was in the third grade.

One might say that Sylvia was a wee bit jealous of her mother's attention to the younger cousin, but she was careful to conceal it. If one observed Sylvia very closely though, it would be noticeable in the tone of Sylvia's voice or the slight roll of her eyes when Maddison was around them.

Trying to accept the fact that her beloved Aunt Rose would never be around again was especially difficult for Maddison. She cried and cried whenever she thought of the warm hugs, the tickles, the adventures in the park or going to get ice-cream cones together. It was more than Maddison's little heart could bear. Corky, her little brother who was five, did not understand at all. He was not as close to Aunt Rose as Maddison was. Although he loved her and missed her, he did not share the same extreme trauma of grief.

Maddison's Mom did not know how to cope with her grieving daughter. In fact, she was so saddened by the loss of her sister that she did not know how to cope with much of anything very well at the time. Her memory was not as clear as it normally would be. Maddison and Corky would find Mom doing strange things, such as placing a box of Kleenex in the refrigerator and putting a gallon of milk on top of the coffee table. Dad did his best to hold things together, realizing that grieving takes time. He was a very gentle and loving man to his family and performed his role as provider and protector well.

When Dad was at work Grandma Maribelle who lived next door, made it a point to stop by to visit and deliver her latest baking endeavor!

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