Day 33 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Write about dolls coming to life.
Erin: “Lola get your butt into the living room,” my mother screamed at the top of her lungs.
“I told you I don’t like your soap operas,” I yelled back.
“Now,” her second scream came with far more scratching in the higher pitches.
I nearly broke my neck tumbling down the stairs, “What?” I was out of breath as I panted looking at the emergency broadcast that had come over the television.
“We repeat. Lock all of your doors, recede into the farthest bedroom of your home avoiding any children’s rooms,” my mother had gone completely ghostly.
“What are they talking about,” I asked as they again repeated without clarifying why the actions needed to be taken.
“Shh,” my mother warned.
“What are they talking about,” I yelled again as the screen showed a video of complete mayhem ensuing in the street.
“What is happening,” a frantic passerby yelled into the camera.
“Down with children,” a holler followed after her and a small robotic baby shuffled in front of the screen. “We’ve been abused and manipulated for far too long,” the robot stopped in front of the camera and her plastic lips curved into a smile.
She wasn’t a robot. I had seen her before. On a toy shelf, “that’s a doll.”
My mother nodded her head. Then all of the sudden the basement… or as we all knew the space, the hoarder’s closet… had a scratching coming from it. The handle turned and with a creak the door began to crawl open.
Shannon: “I was thinking about it, and it’s weird you never invite us over to your house. I mean your house is the only one we’ve never seen,” I commented even though it probably wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I at least wanted to bring the topic up.
“Yeah, what is that about,” Chloe chimed in and we both turned to Ally in unison, waiting for an answer.
“My parents get all weird when I have guests over. It’s embarrassing. Trust me, I’m sparing you the trouble,” Ally spoke it as if she’d rehearsed the line, and I wasn’t buying it.
“Awkward parents are the best,” I tried to push a little harder. “We don’t have any important plans, come on drive us to your house. Let’s do something different today. Right Chloe?”
“Oooo,” she cheered. “Yes. Pretty please Ally,” she begged. “We won’t judge you, we promise.”
She looked forward conflicted, “Ok fine, but you asked for it,” she eventually decided and we ended up at her house a few minutes later. He parents weren’t home, so I couldn’t prove that she was a liar. She gave us a quick tour as we passed rooms to get to hers, but never let us linger too long. “And this is my room,” she shrugged. “Nothing special.”
“No it’s cute. It’s a little more plain than I thought you would decorate it, but it’s nice,” I corrected her.
“It has a cute antique look,” Chloe observed as she explored the room. “Oh, where did you get this,” she kneeled down to an old leather suitcase.
“Don’t touch that,” Ally slid across the floor in a motion I didn’t know she, or anyone else, was capable of.
“Ok, ok,” sorry Chloe put her hands up.
“Jeez, what are hiding? It’s got to be painful to keep a secret that guarded,” I tried to calm her down. “Relax, you’re safe. We’re your friends. Don’t worry so much.” Suddenly the suitcase jerked forward and Chloe and I both jumped backwards.
“Stop,” Ally yelled at the suitcase.
“What’s inside there,” Chloe pointed with a shaky hand.
“Promise you won’t freak out,” Ally demanded, looking up to me.
“Promise,” I agreed immediately.
She analyzed me for a few seconds and then placed her hands on one of the belted straps. She paused again, and then started loosing each buckle. After she finished, she slowly cracked the top open for us to see only a dark shadow inside. Suddenly a small porcelain doll head rose up, and it blinked.
“Ahhhh,” Chloe screamed, backing away.
The head showed fear and ducked back down. “It’s ok,” Ally spoke to the doll, putting her hand into the suitcase. She pulled her hand back out and the tiny glass fingers were wrapped around Ally’s index finger. The doll hid behind her arm, but stood up all the way this time.
I’ll admit I was scared, but I made a promise and I was going to follow through on it. I sat down, trying to look less intimating, so I was no longer towering over her.
“Do you want to come out,” Ally questioned the doll, as if it was a real child, and it nodded. She held her arm tightly to lift her out and placed her on the hardwood floor.”
“How is this possible,” I questioned, now seeing there was no way this was an elaborate trick.
“There are things about me I haven’t told you yet. Please don’t think I’m weird,” she pressed her lips together as she looked down, preparing herself for the worst.
“This isn’t weird. This is amazing,” I reassured her.
“Yeah, you’ve been holding out,” Chloe added.
Ally looked back up with a smile, letting out a huge sigh of release. “You don’t know the half of it,” she gestured back to the two other porcelain heads peaking out of the case.
This has been done before, but has it been done by you before?
Pelky Sisters 
Kate:
Felicity was staring at her reflection in the looking glass, checking the slightly smudged mascara around her eyes. Through the reflection I could almost see the imperceptible tattoo peeking out above her low-cut jeans; the stylish protective symbol was hidden by most clothing, well normal clothing. Some days I sincerely considered, with the skimpy clothing she wore, that she wanted people to notice the tattoo. Finishing with correcting her makeup emergency she turned her back to the ornate, full-length mirror.
When she huffed in a look-at-me kind of way I turned back to the work at hand. Scattered across the rickety makeshift table was an odd assortment of candles, chalks, bowls and roughly bound books. We had gathered everything necessary for the ritual; everything apart from the most important part. As I reread the spell, murmuring it under my breath and pointing to each ingredient as I would need them, I listened intently for the unmistakable screams the last component was going to cause. After a few minutes I feared the worst until screams rang up through the trap door and there was a loud scampering up the shaky ladder.
With the steps safely pull in Teresa turned around with a sloppy grin plastered to her inquisitive face. We were hiding out in her attic, the perfect place to perform our spells. Downstairs her little sister was crying in the middle of the hallway as their father cooked a late dinner; he didn’t have time to satiate her right this minute.
Teresa stood half a foot taller than I with fair corn hair and, unlike the vain Felicity, a bare complexion complete with a few pale pimples. Everything about her reminded you that nothing you did would ever be as good as what Teresa could do; most of our peers despised her, but she was honestly one of the kindest people I knew.
At school the three of us were outcasts. Felicity attempted to fit in with the popular crowd but she was always the outsider because she wasn’t just a sheep. Obviously Teresa spent more time studying and thinking about her future to make connections with people she would never see after high school. Then there was me; I didn’t care to be in a group and I didn’t really fit in with a lot of people. Together, outside of school, we clicked because of our secret love of the occult.
Tonight we were gathered to attempt our most powerful spell yet; bringing Teresa’s sister’s doll to life. Clutched in her sweaty hands the pink plush toy looked pitifully childish but Teresa just smiled at its innocence. Suddenly there was a brilliant crack of thunder and the lights across the street flickered dangerously before dying completely. Rushing to the window I watched as the whole neighbourhood was thrust into pitch darkness.
We were fortunate to have my grandmother’s ornamental candelabras lighting the attic but downstairs there were some loud noises like someone searching for a flashlight in the night. Staring at each other in the silent room we started to laugh nervously to dispel any negative thoughts in the group. As we learned the first time we cast a spell together, you needed to have a head clear of pessimism.
Around the room we took a collective deep breath and began preparing the space. Painstakingly I, being the artistic one in the coven, began to sketch a circle on the floor using the white chalk. When I was finished the sigil I swapped the alabaster for the coral, buttercup, lime and sky chalks. As I was doing that Felicity arranged the bowls and other ingredients around the circle gently and read through the spell a few times. Standing off to the side, clutching the doll, Teresa looked the least skeptical I’d seen her.
Teresa took a slightly stuttering breath and almost whispered, “Are you guys sure about this? I mean, with the storm out there-” Rain pattered aggressively against the original-to-the-house window pane, causing the frame to shudder mildly. When she touched the window I could see the terror in her eyes but this was the perfect night for a spell. At one point or another we’d all be scared out of our skins by the magic we were able to do; this was Teresa’s turn.
Finishing up the pentagram I clapped my hands, marveling in the cloud of chalk dust that hung in the air around me. Around me was the perfect setting for the ceremony and Teresa knew it. Deliberately placing the book back on the table Felicity faced the room and called to Teresa fiercely, “Look, this is the best time for a spell. If you don’t wanna do it Lea and I will. You can leave.” Known for her competitive ultimatums, Felicity would have made a great lawyer.
Pouting a bit Teresa came back to stand just outside the circle, still cuddling the silly puppet. Clearing my throat and taking up the grimoire I nodded at my partners in crime to begin the spell.
When we were waiting for the invocation to take effect a bolt of lightning struck the old oak tree just outside the window and the three of us jumped. All of us were looking outside when the doll’s head began to slowly turn to face Teresa but when it got up we watched it with petrified awe. Using its limp little legs to crawl across the chalk lines, the symbol smudging slightly, it was horrifying to look at.
It eventually gave up on shuffling over and sat down peering up at us with its dead, plastic eyes. Suddenly there was a resounding knock on the trap door that sent us all into a panic. Turning to me, Felicity murmured, “Lea, end the spell. Finish it.” Her hands were frantic as none of us could leave the circle until I closed it.
Flipping to the end of the spell I thanked each element’s spirit and released them, having my companions blow out each candle as I released them. As we were plunged into darkness the doll’s unseeing eyes hit the rough floorboards as the spirit attached to it was released. When Teresa flicked on her flashlight she went to the door and let down the ladder. From the darkness shone her dad’s flashlight and, not surprisingly, he just wanted to know if we wanted cookies.
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Created to Write:
Finn had seen some pictures where someone took a child’s drawing and either made a better drawing or made a doll with the original as inspiration.
Finn figured he’d do both.
He finds a few pictures and starts to draw a life-sized drawing on the blank wall in his room. When he’s finished, the doll has bright pink hair, tan skin, blue eyes, and a red and orange dress, just like the crayon drawing online, only he made it more realistic.
He sets his brush down, then puts his hands on the wall. The doll slowly emerges into his room. He holds her wrists gently, as if to steady her. She’s made to look like origami, like any real life artwork he animates. She looks around, not really sure what to do; she can’t think for herself, after all.
“Okay.. stand right there,” Finn instructs. She does so. He looks at the drawing, then positions her arms and head so it matches. Then he takes out his camera, “Smile!”
She smiles, then he snaps a picture. He then walks around her, marveling at his handiwork. Her entire back is white paper, because that is never shown in the drawing. The white slowly creeps to her front.
Finn returns to the front. The doll is scared. “Hey, it’s okay,” he says softly. He takes her hands again. The white moves to her face. “It’s okay…” he says slower, patting her hair.
The white continues until it covers her completely. Then the white crumbles to nothing.
‘That’s the last time I make a human-like animate,’ Finn decides, staring at where her drawing used to be on the wall. ‘She actually looked like… like she felt it.’
(Finn’s power is awesome!!)
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