All Dolled Up!

Charlie

Again, I had trouble believing my eyes. This had to be a prank, right? I expected my sister to pop out of the corner of the room and yell out 'April Fool's!'

A doll. In an abandoned house. It was so cliché I wanted to groan. Was I the protagonist of a horror movie? This definitely felt like a prank and I looked around wondering if there was a hidden camera somewhere. I didn't find anything like that, and there was so much dust around it didn't look like anyone had been there recently. Still, this was incredibly odd.

I shook my head and went closer to get a better look at her. She had long black hair which fell down to the level of her elbows. Crowning her head was a blue hat with violets stitched into it. She wore a dress with a white bodice and sleeves and a scarlet skirt decorated with multiple frills which fell all the way to her feet. It looked like she was wearing dark black shoes underneath it, but it was hard to tell given they were mostly hidden by the hem of her skirt. It was easy to tell that a lot of care and thought had been placed in making her clothes just by looking at them, and they also must've cost a pretty penny.

But what was extremely striking about her was her face. I wouldn't say it was human-like, no, because if it had been too human-like it would've likely looked very creepy with it bordering into uncanny valley territory. Her face had a strange, exotic look to it, but one that greatly suited a doll and was quite endearing. Her eyes, a soft brown, seemed to carry a kind of energy that was hard to describe, as if she was ready to burst into life at any moment and start walking around. It was also entirely likely due to my imagination, but her eyes seemed to have a certain air of melancholy to them as if she was mourning someone.

"My, my, you're absolutely gorgeous," I said. I felt incredibly stupid for saying it the moment the words left my mouth - there was no one around to hear me talking to a doll and looking like an idiot, though I still felt like one. But it was true, she encapsulated human-like features in a way that I hadn't seen any other doll do while simultaneously still looking like a doll, and there was just something... enchanting about the way she had been designed, for lack of a better word.

Of course, I then realized immediately that this had to be a prank from one fact alone- there was not a speck of dust on the doll. There was dust everywhere else, even on the case she was in, but not on her. Not to mention, now that I looked closely, there were footsteps leading up to her and back, interrupting the layer of dust near her, which were not my footsteps - all of these things meant that the dust had been recently disturbed.

Meaning it had only recently been put there.

Most likely by my sister- who I would have to give a congratulatory call to. She did fool me for a second there, and might've even succeeded in spooking me if the whole thing wasn't so obvious.

As I was about to leave the room, a thought hit me. It sounded crazy, but hey- it wasn't like it was going to have any drawbacks. I opened the glass display case, and onto her left ring finger I slipped on a ring. I then closed the case, and took a look at her and snorted.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept this anymore."

The voice which had said those words while giving the ring in question back to me echoed in my mind. I tried to shake that woman out of my thoughts- no good would come of thinking about her. I had intended initially to sell the ring, but when I found out that I would be lucky to get half of what I had paid for it, I decided to keep it. Hey, in the future, maybe I could still use it? It wasn't like whoever I gave it to next had to know the history behind it.

For now, I would leave it on her finger - as it was, I was not fond of the idea of carrying it around with me. There were a lot of negative memories attached to that ring now, not to mention I would be afraid of dropping it somewhere and losing all of the money I had spent on it instead of just half. Eh, at least this way, I wouldn't lose it, and I doubt that anyone would think it was an actual ring if they ever broke in and saw it on a doll’s finger, so the odds of it being stolen were also lower.

I felt really dumb after doing it, and hoped that none of my family or friends would ever get to know of what I had done. But whatever - it just felt good to do something about that ring and get it off of me, as if I had just gotten rid of cursed object.

As I was thinking of what to get for dinner (another round of ramen sounded extremely unappetizing), I got a call on my phone from a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" a male voice I didn't recognize said. "Um, is this Charles Padwick?"

"Uh, yes?" I said.

"Ah, sorry, I think we spoke once before, but that was a web meeting-- my name's Dylan Sofos," the voice answered.

Oh right - that guy. The assistant manager.

"Listen, this is kind of coming out of the blue, but I heard you were going to be in the area around this time?"

"Uh, yeah, I just got here yesterday," I replied.

"Ah, well, this is a big favor to ask you - but would you be fine starting tomorrow night? It's a bit earlier than what we originally scheduled, I know that but..." Dylan began. There was a pause, he was probably hoping for an answer, but before I could reply, he felt the need to explain himself. "The regular coming here just quit on us with short notice, and Linda was supposed to cover but she got appendicitis, and we would make do, but the thing is that Allen is out on his honeymoon and so- eh, yeah, I know you must be busy moving in and you weren't supposed to join until later but we ah, have no one else to rely on."

I thought about it. "What time is this again? I need to change some of my plans based on this."

"Ah, eight p.m., and yeah, sorry about this, I would've called you a few days earlier, but the thing is that I just got to know about this, and I was looking for someone else first before calling on you," Dylan said. He sounded slightly out of breath, as if he had run a short distance.

"Well..."

"We'll pay you overtime for those extra days," Dylan said.

I sighed. Thing was- I was definitely going to be needing more cash than I had originally thought I would need. And a part of me felt slightly better at starting out early. I felt like I might go crazy if I continued to stay in here in this house for too long (I think what I did with my ring earlier proved that) so...

"Alright, I'll be there the day after tomorrow," I said. "Or, sorry, the night after today I mean."

"Ah, thanks a bunch!" there was genuine relief in his voice. "Ah, I know this is another big thing to ask, but could you come in fifteen minutes early that night? I just want to get your orientation done first. Of course, you'll be paid for that time as well."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be there."

"Ah, great, really I have to thank you!" he said. "Ah, if you need anything or have any questions, please call me! Ah, and have a nice day!"

He disconnected.

I considered my options- I was fully prepared to work the graveyard shift, and I had a long history of working night shifts which is why I had signed up for it in the first place, but that meant that I should try inverting my sleep schedule as soon as possible. It would be sooner than I had planned - and there was no time like the present to start.

I decided to stay up for as long as possible tonight- but I didn't want to do any more work on the house once I had finished cleaning the bathroom. Instead, I got into my car and decided to catch a late night movie, and get some other supplies. I had pulled a few all-nighters back in college, so this wasn't completely new to me.

I was going to need a lot of coffee though.