Short Stories

Amanda

"Amanda?... Amanda?", the woman called out as she walked over the toys scattered all over their backyard. "Where are you sweetie?"

She sighed as she picked up the blocks from the ground and attempted to clean the mess by putting everything in a big box nearby. "Are you in there sweetie?", Lauren asked playfully, before swinging the lid open to surprise the girl; but was disappointed to find the box entirely empty. She felt worried. It wasn't the first time Amanda had run off to the woods to play, but this time was different cause she'd usually come back after being called for.

"Strange...", Lauren, Amanda's mother said, trying to ignore the slight rise of panic in her throat. Grabbing her long and flowy dress, she made her way towards the start of the forest, just a few meters beyond their backyard. Looking out for bushes and any types of sharp objects, she noticed the little crook in the fence, reminding herself to get it fixed before Amanda ran out again. 

The forest was extremely vibrant and beautiful this time of the year, yet it still felt scary when you walked in it alone. The grip on her dress tightened, and so did her throat. She could no longer scream out her seven year old's name. She could only whisper it at a volume which wouldn't have been audible to someone standing right next to her. 

"KitKat... Her favorite candy.", she mumbled as she noticed the glossy red wrapper lying on the trail. "Amanda!", she called out once again. This time a bit reassured that her daughter was nearby.

"Aman-"

She stopped dead in her tracks and tilted her head to the side to focus on a red object mounted on a tree's bark, looking horrifyingly similar to her daughter. "Amanda.", she whispered, taking a step back. Before she knew it, she was walking towards the object. She didn't know if she was relieved or scared when she realized it was just a life-sized doll... covered in blood. The stench was already in the air, but it looked so fresh.

Lauren ran over to the pile of horror, the smell of blood and chocolate mixed together making her eyes water. She dabbed the moisture away, the glossy wrapper of a KitKat catching her eye and the favorite dress of her daughter which was now adorned with blood on the doll's body. 

"My baby...", she choked out as she picked her up, not caring of her own ruined dress. 

She knew magic in this part of the woods was common, but she didn't want to believe it, she dropped to her knees, screaming out as she hugged the doll to her chest. 

The next thing she knew, she was at home. The doll cleaned and bathed, sitting on her lap, but she felt numb. She knew she had to find her princess. She knew she never should've let her out of the four walls of her room, knowing she had been extremely kind on her lately. Letting her out to play on the porch every month. Others would say she was crazily obsessed. She liked the term "concerned" better.

.

Next morning, when Lauren woke up, her daughter... the doll was not in the bed next to her and she shot out of bed, running out of the house and was shocked to find her sitting at the very same spot where she'd found it before. She was mad, but it wasn't sane to scream at her dead daughter's form in a doll, but she started losing it when the same happened a couple more nights.

Lauren's madness was over the peak. She thought it was justified that she didn't wanna let her child go. She came to the decision of tying up the doll to the bed before going to sleep.

Lauren stirred. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with them still closed, wondering what time it was. It still seemed dark outside. She reached out for her glasses and wore them, instinctively looking out for her doll on the side of the bed, feeling extremely confused when she couldn't find it. 

She closed her eyes and when looked at the ceiling again, she screamed as her view was not what she expected. She was tied, the doll's face scarily close to her, to the point where she couldn't focus on her. Fresh blood dripped down to Lauren's mouth from the doll's eye.

"She's alive..."

Lauren could get no other words out before getting plunged into total darkness.

THE END