Creatures of the Heart

DOLLS

Eyes - they are everywhere Sheila looks. Green, blue, brown and all other imaginable colours. The beautiful irises stare out of almond, round, long-slit eye sockets - unblinking. They seem to follow her every step. She watches in awe as she trails her mum and little sister around the small shop.

So many dolls are packed into such a small space, every inch of the shop's walls is covered with them. Unlike the Barbie dolls with impossibly skinny arms and legs and tiny waists, these dolls look like toddlers between one to five years old. Aside from the shine of their plastic skin, one could easily mistaken them for small children. At 14, Sheila is no longer into dolls, she still can't help but marvel at the beauty of these play things.

"That one! That one!" Susie, Sheila's 5-year-old sister, squeals as she points at a chubby doll with curly brown hair and dark green eyes.

The lady behind the counter smiles. "That's a very pretty doll, just like you."

She retrieves the doll from the shelf and carefully wraps it in chiffon paper before putting it in a box. Sheila's mum, Mrs. Raja, happily chats with the lady as she pays for the doll.

The box which now contains Susie's doll is almost as tall as the little girl. Susie hugs it like she is holding a precious treasure. Sheila rolls her eyes at her little sister's affection for dolls.

Before they exit the shop, the lady behind the counter squats down to speak to Susie, "This is a very special doll. It now belongs to you. Promise me you will take care of it?"

Susie nods with all earnestness of an innocent 5-year-old. Then they leave the shop as the owner watches and smiles sweetly.

The tropical heat outside engulfs them. Susie refuses to let go of the box even though she can hardly see where she is going. She starts to cry when her mum insists on taking the box.

Sheila groans. "Just let her carry the box, Mum. It's hot. Can we go home now?"

"I have to buy lunch first," Mrs. Raja replies as she tries to calm Susie.

After some fussing, Susie settles down but she still refuses to give up the box. Sheila is getting more impatient as the afternoon heat intensifies. Not wanting to go far, Mrs. Raja decides to buy their lunch from a popular restaurant just two shop lots away.

The place is crowded. They stand at the entrance looking for empty seats but find none. So Sheila's mum turns to the girls and says, "Wait for me here." and then to Sheila, "Watch your sister."

Sheila leads her sister to wait beside the shop as Mrs. Raja pushes through the lunch crowd to place her order at the counter. As soon as their mum goes into the shop, Susie takes the doll out of the box and begins a one-sided conversation with her new best friend.

"Yes, I love you too," the little girl says to the doll. "Party? Where?"

Susie seems to be listening for a reply. Sheila glances at her sister and sighs. She turns her attention to her smartphone. Her best friend is swooning over a cute guy from another class. She continues to read her friend's endless messages about what she would say to him when she finally meets him.

Sheila giggles at her friend's silliness. Her eyes leaves the screen for a moment and she catches a glance of her little sister, Susie's pink skirt and pink shoes are seen entering the doll shop. Hastily, Sheila calls her sister and chases her into the shop.

The door slams behind her. Sheila expects to see her sister at the doorway but no one is there. Everything in the shop looks the same but the air is different, the lighting dimmer. Sheila calls out to her sister but receives no reply.

"Hello?" Sheila takes another step.

A soft rustling floats down from the shelves. Sheila snaps her head up to look at the dolls lined neatly in rows. They stare back at her. She shudders and averts her eyes. Determined to find her sister, she takes a few quick steps towards the back of the shop.

A chill weighs down on her shoulders. The stench of rotten eggs and sour milk hit her so forcefully that she gags. Fear squeezes her heart, but she knows she has to move forward. A few more steps and she can see the back of the shop as it opens into an empty space. There at a low table sits Susie, and the shopkeeper is whispering in her ears.

"Susie, what are you doing here?"

The lady looks up, her face pale and wrinkled like a thousand-year-old corpse. She grins and says, "My, my, look who the cat dragged in."

She gestures at the table. On top of it lay a tea set, the ones you would find in a doll house. "Susie is just playing dolls with me. Come and join us."

Sheila's head begins to swim. Deep down, she knows she must leave immediately, but her feet shove her forward. Like a magnet, she is drawn to the table. Her mouth feels dry as she tries to speak. A raspy noise escapes, but no words. Her legs move on their own and walk her towards the other chair at the table. She sits down. The rotten smell which overpowered her senses earlier turns a sweet fragrant. She becomes lightheaded.

The lady pours a red liquid from a teapot into Sheila's cup. Every instinct in Sheila's mind tells her not to drink it but her muscles refuse to obey. Her hand reaches for the plastic cup and lifts the lid to her lips. She lowers her eyes to look at the drink. It oozes and bubbles. An acrid smell like burning lava rises from the drink. An uneasy sensation chills her entire body as her hand continues to tip the cup into her mouth. The fiery liquid burns her tongue but she can't scream. Sheila watches in horror as her sister drinks from her own cup, the little girl's face unchanged.

Wispy mist rises from the two girls' heads. The lady stands between them and chants an ancient rune so old that even the earth does not recognise it. The clouds of white mist thicken and languidly snake their way into two black long-neck bottles placed in front of the girls...

*

The voices fade in and out. Sheila begins to wake. Her vision is still blurred. Someone is speaking loudly beside her ear, "She's gorgeous."

Sheila focuses to see the face of a young woman staring right at her.

"Who are you?"

The young woman continues to stare, but says nothing.

"Her eyes are so beautiful." The woman looks away, she seems to be talking to someone else.

"What?" Sheila says.

The woman walks away.

"HEY!" Sheila tries to move but her body is frozen. She pushes harder. Still no movement.

The young woman returns and picks her up. Sheila is surprised at how easily she has been lifted. The woman walks past a standing mirror. Sheila sees her carrying a pretty doll with long brown hair - her own face is reflected on the doll's in the mirror.

Sheila is the doll!

NOOOOO!

No one hears her scream. No one ever will.