Dark Dreams: The Doll

First: the official soundtrack.

After much searching and saving and waiting, our family had finally bought a house. It was a little strange, because it was sort of a fifties style ranch house, which is not something we initially wanted, but I think we're both just happy to have a place. We walk into the entryway, and the most notable thing about the place is that to the left is a doorway in the wall that forms a hallway and leads to the living area, a wall that is wood paneling on the bottom half and frosted glass on the top half.

My lovely wife carries a box into the living area, and calls to me. "Looks like they left something behind when they moved." I come around to see what she's talking about, and sitting on the floor is a doll. Like many dolls, it's not particularly childlike in it's dimensions, looking more like a small woman rather than a little girl. It's also gray, and it's skin is shriveled up. Strands of brittle gray are mixed in with the blond hair on it's head. It's lips have also shriveled, exposing little teeth behind them. It's eyelids are sunken inward, opened slightly to expose blackness where it's eyes should have been.

So, yeah, the previous tenants had left a little tiny corpse behind. A little tiny corpse in a blue dress. Charming.

I realize that my lovely wife has left to get another box. I look at the doll for a minute, then follow her out. Coming back in, I hear her say, "Well, you're going to have to get rid of it. I don't want the kids playing with this thing.". I ask why I have to do it, really not wanting anything to do with the ugly little bugger, and she gives me that look that tells me that there isn't any good reason for it being my job, but if I insist on arguing about it she'll find one. I sigh and go back into the room.

When I come around the corner, I stop because the doll isn't where it was before. I get a little irritated, wondering why, if she was going to pick it up anyway, my lovely wife didn't just throw it out. I look around and see that it's now sitting in the corner of the room. Its arms are down at its side now, and its little head is turned to the spot I'm standing in, tilted sideways as if considering me. I hesitate, finally realizing that something isn't right about all of this, and then walk over to and and reach down to pick it up.

And it raises its little head, and reaches for me too.