4 Chapter 4: The Cursed Doll

"Excuse me, madam?" I open my eyes and in front of me stands an old wise man, clad in uniform, looking at me expectantly. His hair was a colour of pepper and he had some freckles on his nose. "Ticket please?"

"Oh" I managed to say. I pick up my handbag from below my feet and opened the side pocket and give the ticket to the conductor. He examined it for merely a second and punched it and then gave me back. I put it back in the side pocket of my bag and leaned back on my seat, looking outside the view.

How soon the time passes whenever I think about him, about us, it feels so natural. The sound of the wheels hitting the track echoes in the air. I let the feeling of being with him embrace me once again.

"Mama!" I call and she embraces me in a hug.

"What is this mess sweety? What happened in your race today?" she asks with concern while looking at my attire and I try not to lie to her about my day.

"Mama I met a brat today."

"Honey you don't say that." mama arches an eyebrow at me and I tell her everything that happened

"It doesn't sound like the kid was at mistake only, you too need to learn some manners young lady." mama says, frowning at me.

"But mama-"

"Oh, where is my princess!" A very familiar heavy voice called behind me.

"DADDY!" I jump up in his arms.

"Oh! You've become quite fat." daddy says, cuddling me in his strong arms.

"No! You're lying daddy!" My face changed into a serious expression.

This can't be true, I can't actually be fat. Or am I really? tears started to prick from my eyes.

"Princess, I'm just joking with you but it's not a bad thing to be fat although you're not. But hey! My princess is strong and brave, she doesn't cry on such things, right?" daddy stroke's my hair gently and looks at me lovingly. I hug him and he kisses me on the cheek.

"Yes, I'm strong and brave like Dumpy!" I glee with joy.

"Whose Dumpy?"

"The puppet show I went to watch the other day, Dumpy was a brave soldier who saved the villagers from monsters, he kicked and bashed every evil!" I tell him with the motion of my hands, demonstrating the vision while my father smiles at me.

"But my princess is braver than Dumpy." he kisses my forehead before releasing me back on the ground and then ruffles my already dirty hair.

"Now let's get you all cleaned up so we can have lunch together." Mama chimes in. "Daddy, your princess almost killed a prince today," she says, picking me up.

"Well, honey that explains the mess but that's my girl!" daddy winks at me and I giggle.

"You better teach your princess some manners." mama eyes my daddy.

"Oh, honey tonight we're having dinner with the Adams. He's finally coming back home."

"So we're finally meeting him and his family again, glad to know that Mr. Harris." mama says with amusement in her eyes.

"Mama, who is Adam?"

"Mr. Adam is daddy's childhood friend."

"Best friend?"

"Yes, best friend," she says, pinching my nose.

"How come we never met him before?"

"Well, he works in the city far away. He left the town before you were even born, taking his family with him but later he sent his family back here but he still lives there."

"Why didn't he come back?" I ask with widened eyes, probably their family would be lonely without him like when I am when my daddy's not around.

"Honey city's life is a bit different from here Mr. Adams family didn't like it their so he decided to send them back a month ago but he couldn't come back himself because he has work there to look after. But he will be visiting his family often now."

"Why did he go there?"

"Well he has a big responsibility to take care so he went to the city to work hard for his family like daddy works hard for us in the woods and travel to the city, just like that."

"Mommy I want to work hard too!"

"You will daddy's princess." daddy comes pinching my cheek. "Can we now have some lunch, honey? I'm starving really."

"Let's get your bad princess showered first," Mommy says taking me to the bath area while daddy mocks behind her and I giggle.

~~~

"Don't start running Sarah and Maria!" mama says, holding our hands while daddy is paying the carriage man for our ride.

"Let's run to the first house on the street and see who wins," Maria whispers in my ear and I nod in agreement, excitedly. "On the count of three" she mouths.

1

2

3

We both pull our hands from mama's grasp and run towards the house while I could hear mama shouting from behind but all I care was to win. We both were on equal lines, trying hard to step forth from one another. I was trying to catch my breath.

Almost there.

I hit the wall of the house with my extended hands.

"I reached first!" I look to my side and Maria's breathing was also in rage.

"No, I did!"

"I did!" we started to quarrel when mama picked me up while daddy picked up Maria.

"Okay now be good girls you both," Daddy says, looking at both of us. "We're meeting a very good and an old friend, you would want them to like you so they would treat you with chocolates." Both I and Maria perked up after listening about the chocolates. "But the reward is only if you behave well" we both nodded, excitedly.

Daddy goes to the front door of the same house and knocks on the door and a small boy opens the door on the second knock.

"Mommy! Daddy! The guests are here!" he grins, excitedly. Mama puts me down on the ground and I look at him.

Oh. No.

The brat looks back at me.

We both blinking at each other.

The atmosphere turns dark, Thunder cracks from above. We both stare at each other with a death glare. Blood flooding up to my eyes, foam coming out of his mouth.

Okay, I'm exaggerating.

"What's with this gloomy aura?" Maria jumps in between the both of us. I can hear his parents greeting my parents in the background.

From the entire town does it had to be his father? Errr...

My daddy's best friend with the brat's father! Errrrrr...

"Come on in children." Mrs. Adam calls in from afar "Oh!" She looks at me. "You're Sarah?" I nod, innocently. She smiles at me "Glad that we are acquaintances."

Yes, But this is going to be tough.

She greets Maria and Maria plays her being-the-most-innocent-child-in-the-entire-world-role while I scoff at her attempt.

"Son talk to them, show your friends your stuff and play with them." His mom nudges him towards us and leaves us standing there with him. He looks at Maria and smiles. He introduces himself.

"And what's your name?" The brat asks, particularly to Maria. Err...

"Umm... Maria." She answers.

"Would you like to be my friend Maria?"

Hey! I am also here. I wanted to shout out loud instead I just pout with my hands folded against my chest.

"You got some chocolates?" She asks him.

Of course, she's my sister.

"Yes, I got some" He rolls his eyes.

"Okay, friends!" she exclaims.

Sold on just a few chocolates, Maria? Gah!

The brat takes us to his room, shows us his stuff well not us but particularly to his new friend. He keeps shoving his stuff towards Maria while Maria bickers over her chocolate.

I catch a sight of some stuffed doll on the side table of the bed. I take it and little away from it is a bottle of sticky glue and a piece of cloth. I observe the stuffed doll and find the hand torn which was apparently stuck by the glue. An evil grin spreads across my face.

Looks like something was being amended, too bad I have a plan.

"Hey, brat? You didn't show Maria this stuffed doll?" I instigate him by pointing towards the stuffed doll which was still on the bedside table.

"Don't you touch that!" He moves towards the stuffed doll and picks it up, aggressively and hides it behind his back.

What a kiddo.

I had applied glue all over the doll it sure will start working in a few seconds and...

Realizing something sticky in his hand he opens his fist to drop the stuffed doll but it remains stuck to his palm. He shakes his hand but it doesn't fall. He uses his other hand to pull it off but the other hand also sticks to it.

Wow. I'm really an evil kid, aren't I?

Maria is still over her chocolate, going all goo-goo while I'm having fun watching the brat panic.

"You ugly-fat girl help me with this!"

"As you wish" I pick up the cloth from the table and cover my small hand from it and hold the head of the doll making sure the cloth covers my skin and apply force to pull it off. The head tears apart from the body but the body remains stuck to his palm.

Uh-oh. Success!

I look at him and I see his eyes glistening with tears.

I made the brat cry. Awwhh! such a baby.

He runs out of the room, hiding his red face from us towards the living room with his hands still sticking together.

"I think he loved that stuffed doll," Maria says, finally giving up on her chocolate.

"Too bad, it's dead." I giggle.

"Sarah you're evil."

"And you are a greedy girl," I say sticking my tongue out.

~~~

I'm sitting in the middle of brat and Maria, eating silently on the table, from the corner of my eye, I look at his hands they aren't sticking anymore but seems like have been washed a lot that his skin has come out to be crumpled.

"Sarah, you're sure a pretty girl. I didn't get to see you when you were born but I knew you would be pretty." Mr. Adam says, smilingly.

"Thank you Mr. Adam" I answer, shyly.

"What do you like?" He asks while taking a bite of his food.

"I like chocolates!" I tell him without a second space.

"Glad I bought a lot of them from the city."

"Really?" Both I and Maria synchronized together and everyone else on the table laughs.

Except for him. You know, who.

Suddenly curiosity bulges inside of me and I spit my words out.

"Why are you still in the city when your family is here? It would be so lonely for them." I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, he looks hesitantly to the people sitting opposite him on the table that is my parents and my parent's shrug, looking at him.

"Well, Sarah I work for a large firm which... umm.. makes me able to buy lots of chocolates for everyone."

"For everyone?" I ask as amazed as I was.

"Yes, for everyone and I can't drop it because not everyone gets a chance to work there. And I think my family is more comfortable living here so I'm happy with their choices and it's much safer here than the city."

"Papa I want to live with you in the city, I never wanted to come here but you insisted on us to stay here." brat jumps in.

"Son, papa knows better. let's not talk about it right now, the dinner's getting cold," says Mrs. Adam.

Brat looks down at his plate and I know he is sad. He loves his father just like I do but if he wanted to live there why did Uncle Adam send them back here? I guess town is much safe after all, who knows there could be monsters out there who'd devour anyone.