Devil Doll

Ava died six months ago.

She is my baby sister.

Ava fell from her bedroom window on the third and top floor of our family house. She was only 10.

At the time I was away at university, but I recall the dreadful event. I was summoned to return and stay with my folks at Grandma's. We soon returned home, but Mum and Dad locked Ava's bedroom door and boarded her window. It's remained that way ever since. The Court concluded it was an accident. And now my parents never mention it. Ava was "Daddy's girl" and even though he was our stepdad he loved her as if she was his own.

The terrible accident shocked everyone; thus, the house is for sale but so far, no takers.

I often think about Ava and how she died, and I want to know if there is more to it then I have been told.

Anyway:

after supper this Sunday, Mum says, "Hey Simon dear, you will be 21 soon so any special place you want to go for your big day?"

To avoid disappointing her, I suggested we go to the local Thai restaurant. She entered something in her phone and made a note in her appointment book at what she called her workstation situated in the living room. As she finished Dad called her to the study room, which she did. As they are both corporate lawyers, they often collaborate on work at home.

Before going upstairs, I noticed Mum's workstation or rather her desk drawer was left open as Mum had forgotten to lock it. Curiosity won. I opened the drawer to look. Under some papers there was a tin container with several keys: "Ava's room" was handwritten on one key.

Something piqued my curiosity, and I took the key, placed it in my pocket, closed the drawer, and on my way upstairs to my room called out good night to my folks.

I needed to know if there was anything in the bedroom that would help me to understand the mystery of why or how my sister died.

Weekdays my parents usually leave early and returned late and since I was on university holidays, I would have the place to myself.

I played on my home PC but was excited about tomorrow. I phoned my childhood friend Sally who is a brilliant student at a separate university to mine and coincidentally we both study law.

"Hiya Sall...how you?" I asked.

"Ok... have you invited anyone else for your birthday...?" she inquired. "Well not really" I replied. "Though Mum thinks they are taking me to have a Thai meal so need to tell her soon I have other plans"

We giggled. I would tell her all about when we were face to face.

I asked her:

"Dear, can you come over tomorrow?" Sally said she would come in the afternoon.

In the morning Mum and Dad left home early before 7.

 I wondered to myself should I wait for Sally or check Eva's room now? I needed to decide quickly. I waited till just after midday, but curiosity won.

So armed with the room key I walked to Eva's room. After Eva's death, my room and my parents were moved to the floor below, and the top floor was used for storage and in effect a shrine in homage to Eva.

Dust covered the aged grey door. Taking a deep breath, I shakily inserted and turned the key.

The door unlocked!

I opened the door slowly. Dark inside. The main light switch failed, I tiptoed into the darkness, scared but excited. My phone's flashlight surveyed the area. A little bed, blanket, dressing table, and stool in an empty room. I checked but the table drawers were empty. The room's only window was boarded within.

So, there was nothing of interest in the room which was a big letdown to me... but as I was leaving, I remembered Eva -who was a smart child and who loved to play hide and seek- and that she would often hide items in our big house.

 I checked the main dressing table drawer again and pulled it right out... 

Suddenly something fell from under the drawer! 

A large Ziplock bag!

I picked up the bag and saw a miniature doll inside as well as and what appeared to be a child's "my first diary" book.

 My body was shaking when I held the bag as in my mind the doll exuded wickedness. I left the room locking it and returning the key to the workstation before going back to my own room.

 I studied the contents of the bag without removing either the doll or the diary. The doll has fierce and penetrating blue eyes and glossy blond hair. She wears a tattered pink dress which is stained, and the name Cindy emblazoned on the front of her dress. I found the face hideous, and the mouth gave me the impression of a sneer or grimace and the eyes of the doll seemed to be staring at me in a menacing way.

Was this a devil doll?

I dropped the bag and feared a curse.

 I was shaking.

Maybe this demonic doll caused my sister Ava to fall from her bedroom window?

I texted Sally to come quickly and unless necessary didn't want to handle the bag again. After she arrived, I told her everything since I knew she would not judge me.

After telling Sally what I had discovered I said:

"Just look at the doll to see its' positively wicked...maybe Ava fell out of her window due to being frightened by this doll."

She looked at me with puzzlement. After inspecting the bag and doll, she responded, "Well it does have strange, mesmerizing eyes but otherwise seems quite cute to me. Maybe you've been watching too many horror films about killer dolls".

I could not agree and said:

"I know we are both going to be lawyers and we should not allow our emotion to rule us, but I want rid of this barbarity, it's not Cindy, it should be named Sinful and I want rid of it!"

-Sally pondered silently. After a long moment, she remarked, "Do what you like with the doll, but I would like to look at the diary and see if it says anything important in it".

We agreed and she retrieved the diary from the bag with the doll and returned the bag to me and I said: "I am going to the back of the garden and will burn this evil!"

I ran downstairs, grabbed a lighter from the kitchen, and went to the back garden, leaving Sally to read this diary. I collected leaves, twigs, and wood. I made a teepee shaped mound. Then I placed the bag in the center of the pile. Before igniting the fire, I recalled memories of my sister.

Did this horrible, demented toy torture poor little Ava's mind. How did she suffer before jumping or falling from her bedroom window?

I remembered many more happy family moments with Ava. How Mum always baked Ava a delicious birthday cake and Dad always taught her to swim when he frequently took her to the beach.

Such memories!

I lit the bottom of the mound and watched it burn. Surely for everyone's sake the doll had to be destroyed.

Suddenly though my phone beeped and a text message from Sally:

"DO NOT BURN THE DOLL,"

As the fire burned in front of me, I knew it was hopeless, but luckily there was a bucket of water nearby that I tossed it over the flaming pile, and I managed to grasp a piece of plastic bag as I jumped over the remains of the fire.

I landed across the blazing stack lying on my back with something plastic in my hand, and amazingly I seemed uninjured!

Sally ran to me as I laid there. She cried. "My darling Simon," she exclaimed. "I don't know how to tell you...but poor Ava wrote in her diary. The 'boogie bad man' visited her in her bedroom at night for weeks. He water pistoled and kissed and touched her everywhere over her body He often took her swimming, but he did worse there. After being threatened not to tell anyone, she used the doll to protect herself. The Boogie man water pistoled the doll too. She finally could not bear it anymore...

....so, she hid the doll Cindy - which she considered as her baby -in the dressing table and ended it all from the window..."

The shock was momentous....no more words were spoken as both I and Sally recognized the severity of the situation.

I checked the fire pile in front of me. All ashes. But amazingly in my hand the plastic bag containing the doll were undamaged. My law background told me that the dress stain on Cindy was likely from the water pistoling and that DNA could identify the culprit.

Now as I lay on my back, I examined the bag and the doll. 

Instead of sneering, the mouth was actually a smile of love.

With eyes that are kindly and not at all menacing:

A tell-tale doll, not a devil one.