It began on a Monday morning when the sky was painted its wonderful shades of red, pinks, and purple. The warm light covered an average brick house full of comfort. All of a sudden there were thuds upcoming from the top-half of the house and traveling downstairs, and from right window placed in the kitchen invited light that revealed the face of a young girl who was scared in beauty. Her round face featured her 11 years of age, eyes that reflected the blue sky, and long black hair to mimic the deep black night. Her straight locks were normally still and smooth, but in that morning, her dark hair went in every which of ways making spider-like arms.
Rubbing her eyes with her vanilla like skin hands, she heard a familiar voice coming from the floral living room calling out, “Lori, are you awake sweetheart?” This in fact was her name that she had been known to be. Walking towards the voice that comforted her in a warm tone, she discovered her mom on a silver laptop making clicks and taps, holding a mint colored mug with steams flying towards the ceiling, in her grey sweatpants and lilac purple shirt. Her messy bun brought out her emerald-green eyes that locked on to Lori’s.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you, mom I-”
“Oh no, no, no, Lori I wanted you to join me actually!” Her cheeks rose, creating a smile, “Lori, I know you love to bake and cook, so if you’re wanting to make breakfast, I’d love to be your guest.”
“Thank you!” an excited peep crawled out of her mouth. As she pranced to the kitchen, she opened the fridge and grabbed the green egg carton along with a creamy vanilla colored milk jug, a rectangular bar of butter, a pouch of white flour and sweet crystal like sugar. She gazed at these items and pondered to make a something sweet or a meal. Memories of her father flashed before her eyes and she saw herself younger with her father in the kitchen, each memory showing how she grew older and more fond of cooking. Suddenly those memories faded too rapidly and all she saw were the papers that pierced her heart and her mother’s marriage. She had grew up with her father introducing her into the world of spices. Slowly she opened the carton of eggs picturing a plate of sunny side eggs with a bright runny yellow like substance goo-ing down the plate.
As she cracked open the carton, she found a note on a pink slip of paper written in blue pen and cursive handwriting that was not familiar. “Look outside-” the other half was torn off.
Walking to her front door, she cracked it open and along came a slight shiver down her spine from her neck down to her waist. She could barely move, her eyes were frozen, and all she could hear was her heart throbbing louder and louder until it sounded like a speaker was inside of her ear. Finally opening the door, there was a worn out orange and white shoe box, with holes, and duck tape covering the corners and other areas.
She opened it, and peered at what was inside of it. A doll… the was the other half of the note taped on to the doll’s tiny hand, “I have a gift for you.” There was no name signed, for who was this mysterious person’s gift from? Could it have been her father? His hand writing could have changed over the years.
She took notice from the doll and questioned whether to fear it, or to make it her comfort. The doll hadn’t been her desire to keep, its appearance already give her a discomfort feeling. Her sky blue eyes locked on the soft baby blue and baby pink button eyes sowed on the stitched face. The doll had many patches of cloth sown on her covering her old wounds and hair muddy brown with unequal layers of hair. Her skin was sandy besides the patches embedded on her. Her dress was soft pink with brown and red stains covering it all completely. What scared Lori most was her stitched smile that seemed to go above a normal person cheeks.
She took the doll inside and avoided telling her mother, she tip-toed upstairs making a loud creak-
“Honey is that you? what about breakfast? If you don’t feel like cooking I can pick up some donuts.”
“Uh yeah mom, that sounds great!” not focusing what the question was.
She ran up to her lime green room and placed the doll on the shelf, then there was a voice-
“Hi, I’m Mimi!”
Lori looked at the doll, “Cool name! We should hang out some time Mimi!” Making a gesturous joke and came out a small chuckle.
“Let’s play!”
“Maybe later, okay Mimi?”
Lori left the doll in her room and time passed on, and the blue sky soon turned into a cloudy grey and black night.
“Hey sweet heart, how does pizza sound to you?”
“Mom, I’m starving, I could go for anything right now.”
“Okay I’ll be back soon, it should take me half an hour. Take care, Love you.” Lori’s mom walked out the door and into her car. Lori watched the headlights turn on and mom leave the drive way until her car drove smaller and smaller, then suddenly disappear in the cloudy distance.
Lori walked in the living room and ignored the silver laptop taking space on her brown cotton soft couch. She clicked to turn on the tv and before finding a channel to settle on, her attention grasped towards the kitchen. She heard the sound of a pan fall on the floor, and walked closer to the lit up room.
The power went out.
The sky cleared, and the moon lit up the house through the open curtain windows. Lori discovered the doll sitting on the kitchen counter with a fork through her leg and beside her were spoons the spelled out the name Lucy. Lori’s hands trembled, a shiver rolled down her cheeks to her arms and waist. The blue in her eyes became a shade lighter than before.
“Mimi… who’s Lucy?” she asked in fear.
“Mimi wants to play!” the doll’s face lit up by the moon’s fingers of light touching the window. It gave Lori a tense feeling.
“Mimi, who is Lucy?”
“Mimi misses Lucy… Mimi is sad now… Mimi misses Lucy very muuuucccchhhhh.”
Lori was full of fear when she heard the doll speaking to hear without any movement given. “Mimi, I don’t know who Lucy is?!”
The doll jumped of the counter and faceplanted into the ground. She struggled to get back up, but s**k up with a kitchen knife. “Is it Mimi’s story time yet?”
“Mimi, I want to know who Lucy is!” Lori took slow steps back, hoping the doll wouldn’t swing the steak knife.
“Mimi had a friend before. But now is gone. Lucy give me the name Mimi. Lucy replaced Mimi! Then Lucy disappears, on news… Lucy didn’t tell Mimi goodbye! Mimi makes sure that if no one plays with her. Then they no-no play with anyone ever!
Lori ran up the stairs, she heard echos coming from the doll. “Mimi wants to play.” At the top step was the doll standing with a large shadow and knife stuck on her quite fond. She ran back down before any other breath was met upon Mimi. She turned onto the living room but Mimi was laying on the white coffee table, then towards the dining room.
“Mimi wants a tea party…”
It seemed that everywhere Lori turned Mimi was already there before she was. She looked up at the chandelier, the doll came down in a blink ending Lori’s life, her life flashed before her eyes, remembering everything she had ever done in her life all in one last second.
She blinked and saw a blur of her in a hospital bed. And blinked final time but hearing a long beep sound that the monitor beside her loudly sang. Before she could close her eyes again she heard the whisper of the doll saying, “Mimi nows plays with Lucy and Lori-…” the voice trailed off.
***
She woke up to her mother sobbing loudly with a tissue in her hand, Lori walked right up to her and asked her mom. “Mom, whats wrong?” there was no sign given. Her mom looked up to Lori’s direction and answers-
“What happened?”
“Mom I’m okay! Let’s go home!”
“So?-”
“Mom!”
There was a deeper voice that entered the room.
“She’s gone Mrs. Herrin, I’m so sorry, we think that while you were away, there was a murder crime.”
“Oka-ay thank you for your time.” Tears were rolling down her face and soon on Lori’s too.
The doll was now beside Lori and another little girl was too. When Lori looked back up they all stood in an unfamiliar house, soon to be dead forever.
The girl beside Lori was wearing a white blood stain dress, with blood-shot eyes which now Lori appeared to have. She had blond pigtail with a black bow and became Lori’s friend. Lori found herself in a dress a well and had not feared the doll anymore.
She could do nothing but play with Mimi forever…