Creatures On Fire

I Want Your Soul... And Your Body (Annabelle)

Natalie didn't know what to do. In one day her niece is going to celebrate her seventh birthday, and she still had no gift for her. Natalie's brother, David, earned very well, and so did Mary, his wife; so they bought so many things for little Jenny that Natalie already had no idea what to buy her. But she knew one thing: Jenny was very fond of dolls. Of course, she had many Barbie dolls, and one that Jenny loved most of all. It was a baby doll, and Jenny liked to play the role of a mother, calling her doll "Baby Emily." Natalie couldn't help but smile while remembering her niece pushing a little baby trolley with Emily inside it while Mary took her for a walk. It looked so cute. Then she suddenly remembered something. Jenny had many dolls, but neither of them looked as pretty as a porcelain dolls that she has seen in a shop nearby. The idea then came to her mind at once: she would buy a beautiful porcelain doll for her niece's birthday.

The toy store wasn't located far from Natalie's living place, so she decided not to waste time and pay a visit at once. This appeared to be one of the largest toy store in the city; and when Natalie entered, plenty of various kinds of toys opened to her glance, from toy cars and planes to plush animals and dolls. Natalie's eyes ran up and down such a big amount of toys, but she knew what she was after, concentrating her attention on shelves with dolls which stretched from one end of the store and almost reaching the other. And while she studied them, the voice of a saleswoman behind her back made Natalie turn around abruptly, startling her a bit.

"Can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"I'm looking for a porcelain doll for my niece," Natalie replied. "Tomorrow she will be seven years old, and she loves dolls. So I'd like to buy her one."

"Oh, I see. Come with me, please," the woman said, inviting the customer to follow her. Natalie obeyed and followed the saleswoman to the middle of the long shelf where the porcelain dolls were stored. "Well, here we are. Take a good look, there are many dolls here. I hope you find what you seek."

"Thank you very much," Natalie said, and the saleswoman left her with the dolls. The choice was big, and each porcelain doll looked more beautiful than the previous one. Natalie could only admire their beauty. But when she lifted her head to check the higher shelf, her eyes fell on a vintage doll in a white dress and auburn hair with two braids. So far it seemed to be the largest of all the porcelain dolls and also beautiful in its own way. But something about this doll felt disturbing to Natalie; she couldn't even comprehend what. She decided to ignore it then and get back to searching for a gift for Jenny until finally one doll on the left caught her attention. This one was smaller and dressed in a white royal-style dress and bonnet, embroidered with gold. The strands of her fair hair were curled up like the noblewomen wore in antique times, and her sky-blue eyes seemed almost alive. Natalie was totally charmed with this little porcelain princess and decided to purchase her. This doll cost more expensive than many other ones on the shelf, but it was worth the money. It would be a great gift for her beloved niece.

As Natalie took the pretty doll from her place, she couldn't help but take a look at that vintage doll again that sat higher, and right then she felt tingling inside her body. The doll had her head turned to the side and looking to Natalie. The young woman thought that before the dolls head was looking straight. This seemed weird. Natalie had such a feeling inside that this creepy doll was watching her, but in a minute she tried to do her best to dismiss it. How could a doll possibly watch someone? It's not alive, so in the end Natalie decided that it was just a hallucination and went to the cash. The saleswoman was standing there, waiting for her customer, and when Natalie reached her, she decided to ask about that strange doll.

"This doll is rather old. No one creates them anymore, so it is pretty much the only one left, at least in our area," the saleswoman explained. "It appeared in our shop recently, but I have no knowledge about how exactly it got here. The owner should know more details, and my job is just to sell. Would you like to have it?"