Sunny

The store window displayed the doll for all to see and Lili could swear it was staring into her soul. It looked very old, which fit the antique store. But somehow Lili felt that this doll was older somehow. Its hair was curly or rather crunchy and a bright red that could rival the bright red blush on its cheeks. The cracks of the porcelain and the dullness in its eye color gave away its age. It looked quite obnoxious and like Lili had said. Old.

“Do you like her?”

Lili yelped and looked to her right to find a man standing by her. He looked to be in his early 30s and had shoulder length brown hair. He wore a long trench coat and suit. He stared at the doll like it was a prized possession or an award.

“Well? Do you like her?”

“Uhm. Well… She is rather…. Strange?”

The man looked at Lili. No. He stared into Lili. There was no color in his eyes and his face was blank and somehow she couldn’t grasp any of his facial features. He was blank like an unblemished canvas.

“Would you like to buy her?” He asked and Lili couldn’t decipher the sound of his voice though. It echoed in the back of her head causing pain in her head. She just nodded, entranced, and followed him inside the small shop.

The inside was much bigger than the outside and looked more like a museum than an antique shop. Display cases and shelves littered the place and inside were many weird look items with prices that varied between money exchange systems. The man picks up the doll from her display window and presents her to Lili.

“She’s quite old, but very strong. Sunny even survived a house fire! She’s the only doll of her kind. Since the toymaker died before they could make more.”

Lili blinked. “How old is Sunny?”

“Old.” He then walked off with the doll gesturing for Lili to follow. She still didn’t even know what she was doing in here in the first place. Now that man wasn’t close to her Lili could feel this crushing presence in the store. Like a crowd was watching her every move. She could hear faint whispers in her ear tell her to come to them. She wanted to surrender-

“Are you coming, Miss Lili?”

“Yes of course!”

Lili ended up out of the store 10 minutes later with a two pound bag weighing her down and a thirty-dollar-sized hole in her heart. Yet still, she didn’t even know what that man looked like. Jasmine would kill her,...... but Jasmine wasn’t here, so it didn’t matter.

She got home and put the bag on her coffee table and sat on the couch, suddenly exhausted. That headache hadn’t gone away and the lights above felt like a knife stabbing repeatedly in her forehead. It was time to call it a night. Even though it was only 5:30. Lili would just get up in the morning and deal with the doll then. Sunny was tomorrow Lili’s problem.

Lili shot up from her bed at the sound of a crash in her living room. The bedroom door creaked slowly and Lili could feel her hair standing on the back of her neck. Slowly she got up from the bed and grabbed her old and dented bat from high school. She walked down the stairs listening for anything. But the house was quiet, so quiet it made her skin crawl.

“Lili?”

She froze at that voice. She hadn’t heard it in 2 years. Why was she here? Jasmine was gone.

“ Lili? Where are you? It’s so cold, Lili.”

Lili covered her ears and sat at the bottom of the stairs with a forgotten bat. Even though her ears were covered, Lili could still hear her sister’s cries loud and clear.

Go away. You aren’t real. Jasmine is gone.

“ Lili! Help me! Lili!”

Jasmine is gone.

Jasmine is gone

Jasmine is gone!

Jasmine is gone!

JASMINE IS GONE!

The house was silent again. All Lili could hear was the sound of her breath and the faint sounds of water dripping. She could feel herself shivering from a chill and lili suddenly realised she was cold. It was June in Georgia and she was cold. As a test she blew a breath and found that she could see it. What the hell was going on?

After a few more moments of gathering her thoughts she grabbed her bat and steeled her resolve walking into the living room. Sunny was out of the bag and sat on the couch staring at the tv. A home video played and Lili could hear seagulls and crashing waves…..and laughter.

Why was this playing?

“ Lili! Look what I found!”

“ Jasmine! Get back here! Goodness, I can’t take my eyes off you for a second!”. She could hear the laughter in her own voice. Lili didn’t remember recording this.

“ Oh come on! The water’s fine!”

“ JJ you’re out too far!”

She turns off the tv and lets out a breath Lili didn’t know what she was holding. This has gone too far. It’s 3am and Lili can feel a headache coming on. She still hadn’t found what fucking fell yet either. She grabs Sunny and trashes her in the kitchen and then notices the broken glass on the floor. Well at least she found what broke. With a sigh she starts cleaning up the glass.

“ I am definitely destroying that do- OW!!” Lili pulled her now bleeding hand back from the glass she was picking up. She runs to the sink and sticks her bleeding palm under cold water. She watches the blood wash away. The dark red liquid is being diluted by the water until it disappears. She can still hear the waves crashing and Jasmine laughing. That day was supposed to be fun. A break from the therapy visits, social workers, and uncertainty.

You were supposed to be her safe place. Why did you let her go? Why didn’t you save her? Why couldn’t you treat her better? Why couldn’t she have just listened to me? You’re the reasons she’s gone.

“ Lili?”

She froze as the voice of a little girl spoke once again

“ Lili, I’m scared. I need you Lili.”

No. Jasmine is gone

“ Why won’t you look at me? Are you mad at me? What did I do wrong? Lili please?”

Lili’s headache was getting worse. Instead of an ache it was not a banging pain. Like someone was bashing her skull in. The sound of waves was now unbearably loud. Lili could see Jasmine lifting up a seashell she found in the water proudly. Her little body was almost completely submerged. The little girl had gone too far out. The waves had taken her and by the time the lifeguard had gotten her out. Jasmine was already gone.

Lili felt something cold touch her shoulder and a little voice called out to her.

“ I’m right here Lili. Please look at me.” And she did.

The sight before her made bile rise in her throat.

Jasmine was standing there. But her eyes were glossy,sunken, and white. Her skin was swollen and a strange mix of blue and grey. Her pink swimsuit is covered in mold and grim, the bright pink now dull. Lili can hear her wheezing as she tries to breathe. Lili could smell the salt of the sea mixed with the stench of a rotting corpse coming from her little girl. Jasmine was right here and she was clutching a doll.