Coraline 2: The Fate of the Beldam

Reopening the Other World

The following Monday was memorial day, so Wybie and Charlie hosted a barbeque for the family. The neighbors from the other apartments were out of town. They were relatively younger people who traveled a lot. Wybie was given the pink palace by his late grandmother, but he decided to give it to Coraline's parents. Coraline had a hard time ignoring her work since her employees were constantly emailing her which Wybie was starting to get a little frustrated by. Phoenix was outside enjoying the weather while on his computer doing his family tree research.

"Son, put that computer away and spend time with your grandparents." Wybie says, putting a plate with a burger, hotdog and chips in front of him. "You mean like Mom is?" As Wybie was walking away, he stopped in his own tracks. "Look, your mom is just trying to finish up what's left from her work. She'll focus on us once she's done." "Sure." Wybie knew how his son felt, but there was only so much that he could do to convince Coraline to relax and spend time with her family.

Cypress went for a walk around the property to the old well that Coraline told her about and showed her when she was Archer's age. "What's with the fairy ring?" She asked. Coraline and Wybie weren't sure how to answer since they didn't want to get the idea of the other world or portals into her head, so they just told her that it was just an old well that's been there for a few hundred years. Fungus grows in moist places, and that's what happened. However, this time, Cypress brought back something Coraline hoped she would never see again. A doll that looked exactly like Cypress.

Horrible memories flooded Coraline's mind. The beldam, the buttons, the needle hand, the deteriorating other world, and the overall horror. "Cypress River! Where did you get that?" She asked. "It was just by the well." "Give me that! It's not safe!" Coraline snatched it from Cypress. She glared directly into the button eyes as if she knew she were glaring at the beldam herself. "It's a doll Mommy, it's not going to hurt anyone." "Trust me, you have no idea." Coraline began to walk off with the doll, intending to hide it. She passed Wybie on the way towards the house, and showed him the doll. "Cypress found this by the well. I'm going to hide it. Keep her distracted for me, will you?" She asked, desperately. "Good idea."

"Daddy, I want that doll, it looks exactly like me!" Cypress cried. "I know honey, but that's the problem. When your mom and I were kids, your mom had a doll that looked exactly like her. The problem was that weird things started happening, and those weird things put your mother in grave danger. We just don't want the same thing to happen to you or your brothers." Cypress clearly didn't understand, but she trusted her father. Meanwhile, Phoenix came across his great-great-great-great-great grandma Judy, whose parents founded Ashland.

"Hey grandpa, did Grandma Judy's parents actually settle Ashland?" He asked Charlie. "Yes. Isn't that amazing? This house was built for them." "Wow! That's incredible." Phoenix says. "I think if you go into the storage room, some of their stuff that was passed down is in there." Phoenix made his way the 4th apartment that had been turned into a storage room and digged around some boxes. He found a box labeled "Jones Family" and opened it. He was being as careful as he could when he found a very old newspaper. It was torn, but the picture of the family was still recognizable.

It was a family of four, a wealthy looking couple with two daughters. One daughter had lighter hair pulled back into a ponytail and the younger girl had darker hair pulled back into curls. She looked like a young version of Coraline. Phoenix couldn't really read the names of the family members, but he knew that this was his grandma Judy's family. "Grandpa, is this grandma Judy and her family?" Phoenix asked, holding up the newspaper. "Sure is! Those are her parents, John and Eunice, and that's her sister, Florence." "Woah. Can I keep this?" Phoenix asked. "Sure, I don't see why not. But if your grandmother wants you to put it back, you do so, okay?" "Alright, no problem."