China Dolls

The Shoppe And The Snake (Not Complete)

August 20th 

“I met someone today, her name is Sarah, she works at The Black Cauldron on Maine Street. She smokes cigarettes and has a snake named JuJu. She smelled of Cigarettes and Dior. Her eyes are something unlike anything i've ever seen. She seemed different than everyone else in this town. Full of life. Everything else in town just seems so dead. The grass is brown, Trees are barren, I don't even think I have seen a single animal. I went and explored the town today, not a single person was outside. Most cars seemed to have not left the spaces they inhabited. This whole town seems frozen in time. 

I have run out of things to talk about."

Nikki had decided that today was the day she would explore Blackridge, Her parents were too busy working on the house to even notice she had slipped out. The sky was a dark grey today, the wind tickled at Nikki's nose. She walked swiftly down the side of the road. Everything in this town seemed to stand still. The shops in town had help wanted signs posted in the windows, however a majority of the small town shops were closed indefinitely. Was all this walking for nothing? Was there truly not a single thing in town that was worth exploring? If that was the case she would be hitching a ride on the next bus out of here. She hated Blackridge. The kids here hated her, her parents hated her. She just wanted to go home. Nikki was abruptly pulled out of her mental despair when she saw a light up open sign in a shop. The Black Cauldron : Wicca and Psychic Shoppe. The building itself was in pretty poor shape, falling apart like everything else in this town.

NIkki’s blue eyes scanned the window outside of the shoppe to make sure it was actually open. She knelt down seeing a beautiful china doll in the window. Sure she was a little old for dolls but she did appreciate the sheer beauty of the intricate painting on the doll's face. After a moment of admiring the doll she was suddenly taken aback when a large yellow snake slithered in the window. Nikki was not scared of snakes, she was just surprised to see an animal. In her time in Blackridge she had not seen a single animal. Let alone a vibrant color. Most of the town was grey or mud red. She now absolutely had to go into the shop despite not wanting to be seen by her fellow classmates going into a witchcraft store. Already she was on the bottom of the social heap, this would only make things worse. 

Nikki pushed the large glass door with rotting wood trim open as a loud bell rang out through the empty shoppe. The items in the store seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dust. Clearly whoever owned the shoppe didn't care much for common hygiene. The small of cigarettes mixed with Dior perfume soon entered her lungs a soft cough leaving Nikki's body. Whoever owned this shoppe was a heavy smoker and decided it would be a smart move to mask it with expired perfume. After a while of looking around the store Nikki walked over to where she had discovered the brightly colored serpent. There it sat the large snake, it had to be at least eight or nine feet. NIkki slowly approached it a slight smirk resting on her lips. 

“Hey there little buddy, are you here all alone?” She spoke gently to the snake as she stroked its scaly head. Her eyes scanning it over. The animal looked like it was well fed. Maybe it ate the owner of the shoppe? That would explain why he or she was nowhere to be seen. After a while of just sitting and messing around with the large serpent Nikki decided to look around the store a little more. She stood up from the corner as she turned around suddenly face to face with a woman. The initial meeting caused Nikki to be at a loss of words, had this woman been here the whole time? The woman looked aged, definitely not as old as Mrs. Randall but older than Nikkis Mom. There was an awkward silence between the two while they both looked each other over. Finally the woman licked her lower lip and stepped back exhaling some smoke from her Marlboro Red 100’s  

“I  don't believe I have seen you around here before honey, I definitely would have remembered a face like yours..” The woman spoke slowly, her voice was soft yet rhaspy, It felt familiar. Nikki nodded slowly as she shifted her weight awkwardly unsure of what to say in response. 

“My name is Sarah Dubois, I own this lovely store. It is a pleasure to meet you, Are you here looking for something in particular? Or did JuJu catch your eye, that nasty little boy..” Sarah chuckled gently walking swiftly over to JuJu picking the serpent up draping him over her boney shoulders allowing him to wrap around her. She lifted the snakes head planting a rather odd kiss on his snout. Nikki watched this rather exotic woman, she definitely did not fit into Blackridge. Sarah had very distinctive features, a slim boney frame, brown fluffy crimped hair that came to a halt at her chin, and the most defining feature, her eyes. They were different than everyone else's in the town. They held life in this ghost town. 

Nikki adjusted her jean jacket as she turned around to look around the shoppe once more. The shoppe had changed completely. The dust had just magically disappeared and objects within it seemed to look a different way now. Her eyes immediately went to the china doll. It shared an odd resemblance to Sarah. Nikki slowly reached out and picked the doll up carefully admiring its features. Her gaze occasionally landing on Miss Dubois, then back to the doll. 

“Miss Dubois, Can I ask you some questions?” Nikki's voice was soft and a bit unsure at the moment. She was still in a trance staring into the dolls eyes. There was something about this doll. It drew her in, maybe it was the uncanny resemblance to Miss Dubois. Or the fact that she felt some sort of energy that couldn't be explained when she held it. After a brief moment Nikki was snapped back to reality when Sarah began to speak. 

“Please, Call me Sarah, Miss Dubois is my mother. How about we go sit in the back room. Away from prying eyes..” Sarah glanced nervously at the doll.  She seemed almost terrified of the doll, Sarah slowly extended a bony hand to the doll as the held it gingerly, like she was holding a living being. The complex expression on the womans face set off multiple questions within Nikki. The tall woman walked over to a glass case that held jewry and other odd trinkets, the glass door was padlocked. She slowly reached to a leather necklace she had been wearing. A key. Sarah placed the doll on the counter carefully, fumbling with the key in the rusted padlock. After a few minutes or so a loud grinding sound echoed through the small shoppe. Sarah finally emerged from behind the counter her eyes leaning back on Nikki. 

“Come on, we can speak freely now. I am certain you have many questions about this town.” A dry chuckle left her throat