My Friend, Matilda

She did it!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. This all started when Sadie moved into a new home. 28 years old, a nice car, a new house, and a cat. She liked cats. They are self-sufficient but, at the same time, loving balls of fluff and affection. Her cat was always with her and followed her from room to room. Her cat, Matilda, was also her best friend. Not just words, they really were friends.

They talked to each other and slept together.

Moving into the house and setting it up was seriously the first adult thing she ever did. She got the house for a great price, and the previous owners told her they needed to sell fast because they took a job in California and needed to be there by the first of the month.

She remembered this house when she was little. Her aunt lived here, and her Mom and her would visit a few times a month. Her aunt had a little girl she played with when she was there. Matty was her name. They loved playing dress up and could play forever. She had a favorite doll she carried with her everywhere. It was an off-brand Barbie-type doll, but it was dressed like a hippie and had blue hair.

Sadie thought that was the coolest doll in the world, and when they played, the doll went on adventures, traveled all over the world, and always came home from her trip and took a nap.

Sadie and her Mom went to the house one day, but Matty wasn’t there. Her Mom told her she was gone. Sadie figured she had moved and went in to play with the toys again.

They stopped going over to the house after a few months. She thinks they moved out and went to another town. She heard her Mom telling someone that they went upstate. They never talked about where, nor did they mention a place, just upstate.

Sadie grew up and did well in school. She knew things, and because of that, she got away with a lot that she shouldn’t have. But, once she started college, that feeling and precog inkling disappeared. These days, she never thinks about it.

Lately, though, she is getting that little tickle again. She knows things and has a familiar feeling that she can’t shake. At night, she dreams amazing dreams; during the day, she sees things around her, people, events, and places she dreamed about the night before.

Matilda started a strange ritual. When Sadie came home from work, Matilda would be in the corner of the living room. Relaxed, but a bit nervous. She walked over and picked her up and realized the floor was a little soft. It felt spongy.

She called a contractor, Robin and Willomena Ruck, and on Saturday, he and his wife stopped by to evaluate the work. He measured, tested, and told her $600 to make it solid again. She agreed, and they would start on it Monday morning.

The contractors lived a few doors away, and she had no issue telling them she would leave the key on a magnet in the mailbox next to the front door.

At 8 o’clock, she left for work, leaving the key where she had said it, and at 10:30 on the dot, Willomena called and told her she needed to get home now. It took her half an hour to get home, and when she did, there were police cars, a coroner, and more people in front of and inside her home than she thought possible.

As she parked at the end of her driveway, she was approached by a pair of plain-clothed detectives: a man and a woman.

“Are you Miss Roberts?” The man asked.

“I am. What’s going on?” Sadie asked.

“I am detective Marlow, and this is detective Finnley. We are here investigating the incident in your living room.”

OK, she was confused, and looking at her face, you could see the disconnect between what she knew and what they just said to her.

Sadie said, “What incident?”

Detective Finnley asked, “You have no idea?”

Sadie shook her head, hoping someone would fill her in.

Detective Marlow said, “It appears that your contractor opened a section of your floor this morning to do the repair you asked him to do and found something rather disturbing.”

She stared at him like he was about to grow a third eye. He looked at her, she knew, waiting for her to say something, but she didn’t.

He continued, “They found the remains of a child. Wrapped in plastic, air-tight. Her neck was broken. Can you shed some light on any of this?”

“No. I can’t. I bought this house a month or so ago and moved in. I always liked this house and was happy it went on the market.”

Decetive Finnley said, “You are familiar with this house?”

“In a way. When I was little, maybe six or seven years old, my Mom and I used to visit here. I called the lady Aunt Roberta. I think their last name was Powell. Now I realize she was not any relation, just a friend of my Mother. She had a daughter, Matty, that I played with when I was here.”

The Detective added, “What happened to them?”

“All I remember is that they moved upstate.”

“Where upstate?” Marlow asked.

“No idea. All they ever said was upstate, never a city name.”

Can we speak to your Mother? How can we get in contact with her?” Finnley asked.

Sadie smiled ever so slightly. Before she could speak, Finnley asked, “Why the grin?”

“I almost told you to contact my Mom by Séance, which made me smile. My Mother died a couple of years ago from cancer.”

“Sorry to hear that. Is there anyone you know who can tell us about Roberta and Matty?”

“I have no clue. Until last night, I forgot all about this.”

Both Detectives narrowed their eyes, speaking together, “Last night?”

“It’s kinda silly, but last night I dreamt about Matty and I playing in her room as our parents had coffee and sat at the kitchen table. Yesterday, I went up to the attic, and it looked like no one had been there in a long time, covered in dust. But, I found a box marked Matty’s things. I opened it and found a hairbrush, her favorite one. We used to brush each other’s hair back then.”

“Can we get that brush?” Marlow asked.

“Of course. It is still in the attic. Pull the cord in the hall and climb up. There is no light up there, so you’ll need a flashlight.”

Marlow looked at Finnley, who nodded. He donned gloves and booties and headed into the house.

“Can we go inside? I would like to see how much of my home is disassembled.”

Finnley gestured, and they went into the house.

The contractors sat at the breakfast bar, and Sadie walked over to them; Finnley followed.

Mr. Ruck said, “It appears your floor was so bad because someone removed and did not properly replace it after they buried the body.”

At that moment, the clear plastic containing the bones of a child was extracted from the floor. Sadie looked at it and was shocked.

“That’s Matty!” She exclaimed.

“How do you know?”

“That doll, it’s unmistakable. She took it everywhere with her. Matty and I used to play with it all the time.”

Finnlet walked over and looked at the digital images they had taken before they moved the bones. She looked and found the doll. In the image, the skeleton was lying on its back, the doll on its chest, and the hands of the victim holding the doll.

Whoever did this knew the relationship between the girl and the doll. Finnley returned to the three on-lookers as Marlow returned with the box of Matty’s possessions.

“I found the brush. Maybe we can make a positive ID of the little girl?” He said.

Finnley replied, “No need. Sadie made a positive ID.”

“He looked at the skeleton, “How?”

“That doll. They played with it when they played together.”

“Are you certain, Miss Powell?”

“I am. I know it. I feel it. Look at the doll. On its left hand, you’ll see a couple of fingers missing. Her cat chewed them off.”

She grabbed the tablet and found the picture of the left hand. Fingers were missing.

“OK, then. Matty has been found and will be properly laid to rest. First, our ME needs to examine her.”

“She was my friend when I was little. Let me know when I can properly bury her.”

“We’ll keep you informed.”

They left the house, and in a few minutes, the other cops and everyone else left. Mr and Mrs Ruck and Sadie were left alone.

Matilda came from the back of the house and hopped onto the counter. She snuggled to her owner.

“I think I will call it a night. I can take care of it in a few hours tomorrow. I have all the measurements, and the detectives said they would not need to return to the hole. So, it will not look like it was ever an issue tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

He walked over and covered the hole with a tarp. Stapling it to the plywood around the hole.

Sadie knew it was a critter barrier and to stop the weather from getting into the house.

Once they left, Matilda sat on her lap at the breakfast bar, but she had not moved in for more than an hour.

Maybe 15 minutes later, the hair on Matilda’s back started to rise. Her back was hunched, and she was staring at the tarp. It pushed up slightly, and Matilda hissed. Sadie calmed her.

As she did, she saw her friend holding the doll. More precisely, she could see through her friend.

“Thank you……” Her words sounded distant, echoed like they were in a great cavern.

A moment later, Matty began to fade until she was gone. Matilda settled back onto Sadies lap.

“Well, Matilda. She did it! I know now why I had to buy this house. Matty needed to rest, and we needed to help her.”

Matilda gave the strangest meow Sadie had ever heard and then started purring.

Sadie sat on the couch a bit longer, thinking of playing with Matty. It was a good memory.