coraline: behind the tiny door

chapter 1/ The Pink Palace

" The Pink Palace and all its horrors is nothing but a silly joke Sam", Elliot said with a wide grin on his face. Sam's mind was deep in the newspaper and ignored everything Elliot said. Sam's head arose from the black ink and spoke," did you guys know a story about a girl named Coraline who went missing at The Pink Palace about 20 years ago? and before that three previous kids went missing without leaving a trace?". Sam got no response as her parents just nodded along to everything she said per usual.

" Coraline, are kidding me, have you not heard that story is a hoax made by some old ladies who wanted to teach kids about stranger danger, I swear you believe anything you hear". Elliot scoffed

Once again Sam ignored Elliot as she keeps reading about the blue-haired girl who went missing without a trace besides a black cat who would scratch at the old wallpaper that leads to nothing but brick and a crawl space. Sam keeps reading and reading about the summer funeral and how the only beverage was lemonade as witnesses say, " All she ever wanted was to have a garden party to show off The Pink Palace and the stunning thorn rose bushes". Sam for the next three-hour car ride never spoke a word, never looked out the window to notice how the sky changed from a bright blue to a black as dead as night.

Sam and Elliot felt the car halt to a stop as they were parked in the driveway of The Pink Palace.

" do you not think the name is very misleading cause this place does not look very pink but rather looks like what mom cooked us for dinner", Elliot said laughing.

His parents snapped at him for being cruel and unkind towards his mother.

" Elliot you can say that to any other mother but never your very own!" his dad shouted.

The family slowly emerged from the car to unload the dented moldy boxes that only held old junk and broken memories. Sam was expecting this marvelous home covered in pastel pink paint, except to only find a worn-down house covered in spider webs shattered windows. Sam quickly noticed that covering the backside of the house, over by the dead garden, was police tape and a dismantled gravestone. Sam's eyes wandered from her parents to the garden then back to her parents. Sam could feel an unknown force calling her to go towards the garden as something unexpected was waiting for her.

She slipped away from her parents as they were arguing to go investigate the backyard. The back yard was covered in nothing but dead plants and vines that stretched to the top apartment that overlooked nothing but old willow trees. Sam made her way into the garden covered in rain from the thundering sky to see rats tearing away at the flesh of a forsaken bird. Sam felt as if the rats were emerging in hundreds, looking as if they were to gang up almost like a circus and chow on Sam's bones just like they did the birds. Sam kicked and yelled till every last one of the hair-raising rats was gone from the garden.

As Sam was exploring this garden she noticed a once familiar glass table and clay pitcher with dragonflies. Sam slowly walked to the pitcher and saw old lemonade that had turned a moldy green. Sam grabs the pitcher firmly to only be met with the pain of her finger slicing upon the rough glass handle.

" AH FUDGE" Sam yelled as the red blood slowly covered her once clean hand and making its way to splattering on too the white and black newspaper.

"holy crap," Sam said in a mouse-like voice as she realized the glass table and clay pitcher was the front photo of the magazine taken from Coraline's funeral. The glass table was once surrounded by The Jones family grieving over their once adventurous daughter's death.

" It just doesn't make sense how she could just disappear and not one person saw or heard her," Sam thought puzzling.

Sam picked up the thorn roses and placed them next to the gravestone that read " Coraline Jones".

As Sam was about to continue her adventure through The Pink Palace, she noticed a dragonfly pin submerged in the grass and dirt. Sam picked up the jeweled dragonfly and studied it closely. She knew exactly where this pin came from. Sam stuffed the pin in her pocket to keep as a memory of Coraline.

Sam made her way back to the car to notice that the car was all unpacked when the family realized they never stopped for groceries.

" I call staying here and taking a look at the house!" Sam said proudly.

Elliot's face turned to frustration, " why can't you just go with mom and dad and leave me alone for once!"

Sam looked down in disbelief and walked calmly to the creaky front door. Sam looked behind her to see her parents were already halfway down the gravel road to the grocery store in the next town over. Sam barely pushed on the door as it flew open.

" Elliot, did y'all already come inside and put stuff away?

" no maybe your BFF Coraline from the newspaper did", Elliot laughed in disbelief.

Sam in anger rushed into the house and locked the front door behind her, she then booked it to the back door to prevent her brother from finding any way inside the house and having to wait out in the thunder. Sam walked around to the kitchen to see a small table not nearly big enough for a Thanksgiving Turkey. Sam rushed up the stairs much too excited to see what her room would be like.

Too much surprise Sam opened the door to be placed in a room already having a bed in it from when the moving company came the day before.

" did they stop halfway through or am I just blind, also why did we hire a moving company if half of the boxes we brought in the car," Sam said looking at all the open boxes.

" hmm I don't remember me ever having a doll, I haven't played with those since I was 6"

Sam looked over in the corner to see a blue-haired doll with button eyes staring at her from the corner of the pitch-black room. Sam freaked out by the blood-knitting doll decided to take a trip and try to find the wallpaper the black cat clawed at in the newspaper. Sam rushed down the stairs, almost falling, and practically flying into the living room. She saw what looked to be a picture of a boy in all blue crying over ice cream that had fallen on the ground, that looked very similar to the back yard.

" How can a painting be so interesting yet so boring at the same time," Sam said in discomfort.

Sam heard a creak from the front door and sprinted to the front door to be met by her brother and an elderly woman with pale skin and grey hair.

" Hi Dear, I am Mrs. Silvia I live right below you"