Tell Me I'm Pretty
There was a girl named Bella Sikes who was 16 years old. Her family had raised her in a loving, positive atmosphere and always encouraged her to care about others. Yet, as much they tried to influence her ideals, they always had trouble with Bella when it came to her own appearance.
Her family always told her that true beauty was on the inside, but Bella did not or perhaps could not grasp this. Ever since she was young she spent countless hours styling her hair, trying on different clothes, and worrying about her appearance. Bella always got compliments on were her eyes which were a deep, piercing blue. Because of this, she loved eye shadow and became fixated with it very quickly.
This obsession with Bella’s looks grew worse when she got her first doll. Her aunt gave her an elegant porcelain doll for her birthday. Bella was enthralled when she first laid eyes on it She admired the grace and intricate detail. To her it was the perfect portrayal of beauty. Her favorite thing about the doll was how lifelike the eyes were. It made her think of how pretty her own eyes were.
Soon after, dolls became Bella’s new obsession.
Mrs. Sikes would often find her daughter dressing like a doll and putting on makeup to look like one. She became so worried about the obsession that she began taking away clothing and makeup in hopes that it would stop her daughter’s excessive behavior. Unfortunately, this was to no avail.
Bella’s mother finally had enough and told her that if she didn’t stop obsessing over her appearance that she’d throw all the dolls away. Bella promised to stop with tear-stricken eyes, but soon continued the behavior as if it was impossible to stop.
At her wits end, Mrs. Sikes ransacked her daughter’s room and threw away all the dolls and makeup into the dumpster. This devastated Bella to no end. She screamed and cried for hours in total disbelief that all of her favorite beautiful things were being taken away. She even stopped talking and was sent to a psychiatrist for help. This endeavor also proved fruitless.
One day, Bella disappeared on her way home from school. After checking the most logical places to find her, Bella’s parents knew something was very wrong. Kidnapping was immediately investigated. Bella’s cell phone was found in her locker at school, which was quite strange as she never went anywhere without it.
The only clue they had was a phone call Bella made that morning. This call was to a world renowned doll maker by the name of Samuel Black. Upon hearing the name, Bella’s mother immediately remembered that her daughter asked if she could buy a Samuel Black doll. This was immediately denied due to Bella’s obsession and the exuberant price range of the dolls.
After the police spoke to Mr. Black, they found that Bella contacted him personally about purchasing one of his dolls. This was both perplexing and disconcerting to Mr. Black because his number was not publicly listed.
Bella was upset at Mr. Black’s rejection, offering to do whatever it took to get one of his dolls. Seeing that something was not right with Bella, Mr. Black abruptly ended the call after more of Bella’s unending pleas.
The authorities checked into Mr. Black, but there was nothing suspicious and he was quickly ruled out. He was especially forthcoming with the authorities and vowed to alert them should Bella ever contact him again.
The media quickly picked up the story and it was soon all over the news. While it was nice to think that more people could help her find Bella, her mother became very stressed from all the attention. She was glad when things finally died down around three months later.
Despite having no leads, the one thing that helped her through was the letters of encouragement she got from the public.
One day, Mrs. Sikes received an unusually large package at her door. She was not expecting one, but she reluctantly signed anyway. There was no return address, so she brushed it off as a consolatory gift from a sympathizer.
After tearing off the outer package, she saw the name “Samuel Black” on the box. With a hint of wariness, she opened it completely. Her fears were confirmed at the sight of the life-size doll inside the box. This upset her greatly. She couldn’t fathom why someone would send her a doll after everything that she’d been through with her daughter.
Once she got over the initial shock, she saw in person just how detailed Mr. Black’s dolls were. This one was ornately decorated and the amount of detail was immaculate. She was awestruck at how real and eerie the doll’s glass eyes were. Bella’s mother was never a fan of porcelain dolls for this very reason. In fact, she found them downright creepy and the eyes on this one were especially eerie.
Shivering from the sight, she walked into the kitchen and phoned the doll maker’s company to vent her outrage.
“Hello! Samuel Black Dolls, how can I help you?” The secretary greeted her.
“Yes, this is the mother of Bella Sikes. I can’t believe you would let someone do this!”
“I’m sorry...what’s the problem, miss?”
“Someone has sent me a doll from your company, which is just ludicrous! After all I’ve been through over Bella....I-I-I just...”
“Oh my....I am so sorry, Mrs. Sikes. I’ll look at our orders to see who sent it to you so you can file a harassment report if you’d like.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay, I just need your address to confirm.”
After checking for a moment, the secretary came back on the line with a puzzled tone.
“Thanks for holding Mrs. Sikes. I--I’m not really sure how to tell you this but...it seems no one has ordered a doll from us that was sent to your address.”
“What?!! I demand to speak to Mr. Black then!!”
“Speak to....oh........”
The solemnity of the words fell heavy on the mother’s ears. “You...haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“The police found Mr. Black in his home yesterday when he didn’t show up for work. He...he was murdered.”
“Murdered?!”
“Yes....they’re still investigating it. We’re all pretty shaken up about it...”
“Oh...I...I don’t know what to say. I’m...I’m so sorry...”
“It’s perfectly fine, Mrs. Sikes. It’s understandable under the circumstances. You’ve been through a lot. Is there anything else that we can do for you today?”
“No....I don’t think so.”
“Okay. Again, I’m so sorry and wish there was more I could do. If I overlooked an order with your address, I’ll let you know first thing, okay? We’ll keep you in our thoughts.”
“Thank you.”
Mrs. Sikes put her phone away and sat down in shock. She could only stare blankly at the wall for a few minutes as she processed the bleak news.
What is going on here? Who sent the doll, then? Perhaps someone bought it and sent it to me personally…
In a daze, she went back into the den where she left her package.She almost fell over when she entered the den and saw the opened box.
The doll was gone.
“Randy?” She called hesitantly.
She could hope that her husband quietly stepped in while she was on the phone call. There was no response, so she texted him to make sure he wasn’t there.
Her husband replied.
“Still at work. Is everything okay?”
After she read the alarming message, she noticed something odd on the packaging. She had to hold her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
There was dried blood inside of it...
Backing away from the package, her mind raced as she tried her best not to panic. Then the cool touch of a porcelain hand grabbed her shoulder.
She screamed and pushed the hand off her as she ran for the front door, not daring to look behind her. Livid fear coursed through her body and quickly rose to a panic as she reached the front door.
The door was chained shut.
She heard a heavy clop of footsteps approaching her in the foyer and she turned to see despite not wanting to. The life-size doll shuffled into view and stared at her in silence.
Her legs seized up and she shrank against the wall, waiting for the monstrosity to end her. As the thing got closer, she saw that a trail of blood oozed out from one of the doll’s pant legs.
Samuel Blacks’ blood....
The white porcelain face of the doll was now more horrific than before. Its bright smile was painted on, complete with blushed cheeks. Once it came face to face with Mrs. Sikes, the thing stopped and turned its head to the side in curiosity.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!!” Bella’s mother screamed.
“Don’t you like it?” The doll thing said in a whisper.
“Wh-wh-what?”
The doll’s voice was so quiet that she almost thought it was a hallucination.
“I said ‘don’t you like it?’ The way I look?”
At that moment, the mother realized why the doll’s eyes were so unsettling. They were a deep piercing blue, just like Bella’s. She began to cry uncontrollably, not wanting to accept what was happening.
“Don’t worry, mommy. You’ll get used to it. It’s part of me now...like a beautiful evolution.”
The mother continued sobbing in disbelief and shaking her head.
“Don’t be scared. It’s just me. Don’t you think I’m so pretty now? Am I just the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?”
