Maddie Boatright, 10, "Doll Shop"

“Welcome,” I heard a friendly voice say as I entered the doll shop with my mom. My dad wanted to take me to get a new doll for my birthday, but my mom insisted that she should take me so my father could finish packing for our upcoming vacation. I was glad that my mom wanted to take me, because my dad told me that she was jealous of the amount of time he’d been spending with me lately.

“Hi, I’m here to buy a doll for my daughter,” my mom said as we entered the shop before turning to me. “Go pick out a doll you’d like, sweetie,” she whispered before disappearing to go talk to the man who greeted us.

I walked around and looked at all of the beautiful dolls, only focused on how excited I was that one of them was going to be mine. But, there was one in particular that drew my eye. She had almost human-like features. Just when I went to pick her up, she grabbed my hand with her smooth porcelain one, and in a low voice she said to me, “whatever you do, don’t go into the back.” In the blink of an eye she was a doll again; I couldn’t help but feel like I was imagining things. Just then my mother approached me. “How’s it going,” she asked. “See anything that you like?”

“This one’s pretty,” I answered.

“She is,” my mom agreed. “But don’t decide on one just yet. The owner got a new shipment of dolls this morning. He’s offered to take us to the back to see them.”

My stomach dropped as I thought about what the doll told me. I didn’t want to risk anything, so I said, “No mom, that’s okay I really like this one.”

“We can’t turn down his offer, it would be rude,” my mother said in an almost threatening tone. I felt her cold hand grip mine as she rushed me into the back where I finally saw the face of the friendly voice.

“Hi little doll. I need to go grab the shipment, don’t move,” he said with a creepy smile, causing an unsettling feeling to rush through my body. “Would you two like some water while you wait?”

Before I could decline, my mother responded for both of us. “We would love some.”

The man grabbed two cups and handed them to us. I was pretty thirsty so I had a sip, noticing that the liquid in the cup tasted funny.

“Give me one second to grab those dolls,” the man said and disappeared rather quickly.

In an instant I heard my mother whisper to me, “I’m sorry honey, it looks like it’s just going to be me and your father on this trip,” and then everything went black. ***

As I woke up I heard a voice say, “I told you so,” and looked over to discover the doll from earlier on the shelf next to me.