Forever Yours

Chapter 2: Meet Elianna

The doll was beautiful. She had smooth, white skin. Her chestnut brown hair framed her small face and her eyes were closed. She wore a light pink flower crown, a black and pink dress, pink gloves, knee high socks, and black ballet flats. Her dress was lined with a light pink lace as was the gloves she wore. 

"She's so pretty," Chelsea said. I nodded. "Can we put her in my room?"

"If you want, Munchkin," I said, picking up the doll and carrying her out of the closet. The weird thing was, she was warm to the touch. I didn't understand why a doll who looked abandoned felt so warm. It was really cold in that closet. I placed the doll on the window seat that my sister fell asleep on.

"It looks like she's looking out the window," Chelsea said, sitting next to the doll. She reached out to touch the doll's hair when the doll's eyes opened. Her eyes were a mesmerizing light pink that seemed to sparkle. The doll turned her head to the left, then the right. I picked up Chelsea and backed away a little. How was this doll looking around?

The doll turned towards us and smiled a little.

"Hello," she said with a British accent. "Who might you two children be?"

"How are you moving? How are you talking?" I asked. I felt ridiculous talking to a doll.

"I am not normal. I won't hurt you. My name is Elianna. May we be friends?"

I looked down at Chelsea and saw her smiling from ear to ear. I looked back up at Elianna as she got up and kneeled in front of Chelsea. She reached out and placed her hand on my sister's cheek.

"Who might you be young one?" Elianna asked.

"I'n Chelsea. You're very pretty. Do you mind if I call you Eli?" Chelsea replied.

"Of course you may. You are a very sweet girl." Elianna looked down at her necklace. "What a beautiful necklace you have Chelsea."

"Thank you. My friend gave it to me."

Elianna nodded and stood up. She was a little shorter than me but it still bothered me that she could walk and talk like a human.

"Who might you be?" Elianna asked, looking at me and tilting her head.

"I'm Dominick," I said.

"You are a very nice boy. You look out for your sister."

"If you don't mind me asking, how are you acting like a human when you are clearly a doll?"

"I am not normal. I can only tell you that... for now at least." She smiled up at me. She turned toward the window and began walking towards it. She sat in her spot and stopped moving, her eyes dull and gray.

"Eli?" my sister asked. She sat next to the doll, but Elianna didn't respond. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, Chelse..." I said, shaking my head. "I want you to be careful okay? We don't know what she really is and what she is capable of. Let me know when she wakes up. I want to be in the same room so I can protect you."

"Okay Domi!" Chelsea ran over to me and hugged me. I smiled down at the small girl and hugged back. If anything ever happened to my little sister, I don't know what I'd do. I would be heartbroken and upset, probably blaming myself for not being there for her.

I looked at Elianna, making sure she wasn't moving. Something seemed off about her, almost like she isn't a doll at all. I'll have to make note of her behaviors and hopefully, if I ever needed to, be able to stop her if she tries harming Chelsea. I'm not about to lose another sibling. 

"Domi?" Chelsea asked, looking up at me with her innocent eyes. "Do you think Eli will wake up soon so we can play?"

"I don't know. Leave her alone for a little while, Chelsea. Why don't we go set the table for when Mom and Dad come back with the pizza?" I suggested. Chelsea nodded and ran out of her room towards the dining room. I chuckled and followed. We set the table, but my mind kept going back to Eli. What exactly was she? What gave her the power to be 'alive'?

We sat in the living room, waiting for our parents to return. An hour had passed and they still weren't home. That was a little unusual. The pizza place isn't that far from our house so they should have come home 15 minutes after they left.

"Domi? Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Chelsea asked.

"They're on their way back home. Don't worry. They'll be here soon," I said, however something in the back of my mind told me they weren't coming back.

We sat in silence for another hour when a knock on the door was heard. I quickly got up and answered it, thinking it was my parents. However, I was met with a police officer.

"Are you Dominick Bailey?" he asked.

"Yes sir," I responded, a little terrified. Why was a police officer looking for me?

"Is your sister around? I'd hate for her to hear this."

"Chelsea, go to your room." I turned around, knowing she was around the corner.

"Domi?" she said quietly.

"Go to your room and play with Eli okay?" I said with a smile. Chelsea nodded and ran to her room. I heard her shut her door. I turned back to the officer. "What's going on?" The officer looked down, then gave me a sorrowful look before saying:

"Your parents went missing, and they won't be coming back."