Favorite Things

Favorite Things


There are a lot of things that people tend to forget over time, most of which are childhood memories, but for some strange reason, people always tend to forget the good memories, but the bad ones stay forever.
When I was a little girl, I remember living in a large, beautiful house in a calm little neighborhood in the little town called Syracuse, which lye just outside the capital of Utah, Salt Lake City. I lived with my little family, both my parents and my older sister, Anastasia.
The one thing I remember most about my sister was me and here playing with her old dolls. She had many dolls and me and her would play for hours dressing them and combing their hair. Anastasia loved all her dolls, so did I, the only one I didn't love was the little wind up doll. The doll had a basket full of sewing tools in her arms, two little brown braids and a straw hat. Anastasia usually dressed her in the old pilgrim pink dress and light pink bloomers. To most people the doll sounds like a delightful little toy for a young girl to have, especially because when you wind it, it plays the tune to "My Favorite Things" from Anastasia's favorite musical "The Sound of Music" and when you wind it, it even nods it head slowly to the tune, sounds like a fun toy right? Wrong!
I had always hated that doll, and I still do today. It creeped me out, the way It slowly nodded its head to the eerie tune of the song and it's little black eyes bore into my mind touching my soul with the cold hands of fear causing me to shiver and shrink away. The worst part was when ever it rained at night my sister would get scared and wind up the doll to calm her, so while she was quiet and fast asleep, I was wide awake staring at the little doll nodding its head, playing that awful tune, with the shadows of a rainy night dancing across it's demonic face. And every night that it wasn’t, raining the doll was still watching me. I would have nightmares about that little doll, singing its song and nodding its head while it used the little sewing needles and yarn to sew my lips and nose and ears and eyes shut, then sew my skin onto a quilt and burn the quilt in a fire, laughing manically
Of coarse, I would never tell these things to my sister, or my parents, I was the youngest after all, and I didn't want them to think of me as more of a baby then I already was. So I kept my mouth shut about my fear of the doll. Whenever me and Anastasia were playing with her dolls, I tried to keep the little scary doll in the very back so she wouldn't pull it out, and if and when she did pull the doll out, I would give her an excuse to leave, like, "Oh, I forgot, I promised Cricket I would play with her today, sorry, maybe later" Cricket was our Scottish Terrier. I knew that I couldn't keep giving excuses to leave whenever Anastasia pulled out her scary doll, and I knew that she would one day bring the doll out to play with and I wouldn't be able to give her an excuse. Well, that day did come.
Anastasia asked ahead of time if I could play with her and her dolls on Wednesday, two days from the day she asked, so there was no way I could tell her I had other things planned.
"Her, I don't think you've seen this doll yet Tatiana, have you?" Anastasia said, she should me the little doll with its horrid little black eyes, basket full of sewing torture, and little straw hat, a wave of grief flew through my body, I tried my hardest to keep it from reaching my expression.
"No I don't think I have, what's her name?" I asked, keeping my voice steady, at my best.
"I call her Lucie-doll, you can play with her today." Anastasia handed me the terrifying doll, I cursed my sister for being so generous.
"That’s ok, I'll just play with the other dolls today." I replied.
Anastasia cocked her little ten year old eyebrow at me, "Tatiana, are you afraid of Lucie-doll?"
"no! Why would you say that?"
"'Cause I've tried getting you to play with Lucie-doll before, but you always gave me an excuse, and I hear you whimpering sometimes on the stormy night when I listen to Lucie-doll's tune."
"I don't know what your talking about, im not afraid of a doll, it's just a dumb doll!" I yelled at her
"Then how come you always have something else to do when I bring her out, or how come I hear you whimpering at night when Lucie-doll is playing?" She said
"I don't do any of that! It's your imagination, that's all!" I yelled at her again
"Your lying! You’re a little liar and you're afraid of a doll!" She yelled at me
"NO IM NOT!!!!!!" I yelled back at her, then I screamed in her face and ran out of the room.
For the rest of that day I wouldn't speak to anyone, I just sat in the stairway window with Cricket on my lap.

One day my friend Flavia and her older sister, Adrianne came over to play. Flavia and Adrianne were both South American and came from Peru, Flavia was my age, but Adrianne was much older, Adrianne was sixteen, old enough to drive. Adrianne was babysitting us because my parents were to be away on the business the whole day and late into the night. I remember the whole day with vivid detail, all the way down to what we ate for our meals, even down to the exact time that any of us went to the bathroom. But the part that I remember the best of that day, was when Adrianne told about her special religion, she said she was Wiccan, which meant that she was a witch.
Adrianne said that, although witches have a bad reputation, they can work miracles with people, they can do things that doctors and therapists and psychiatrist could never even imagine. It all sounded so cool and magical, that is until my sister had to open her big annoying mouth.
"So does that mean you could fix irrational fears people have Adrianne?" Anastasia asked.
"Ya, sure, why?"
"Because my sister is afraid of one my dolls, Lucie-doll."
"no I'm not!" I yelled at my sister, feeling the anger of my previous argument boiling up again.
"She is, she just wont admit it." Anastasia said to Adrianne.
"That's is! If you don't stop lying I'm gonna punch you right in the face!" I yelled at her. I'd never ever resorted to physical violence with my sister, actually me and my sister got along very well as far as siblings go, but I was just so angry with her! And I definitely did not want Flavia and Adrianne to know about my fear of Lucie-doll, it was bad enough my sister knew already.
"Hey! Hey! Girls! My goodness Tatiana, such violence. This doll fear must be a sore subject for you if you're resulting to physical violence with your sister, especially considering you and your sister always get along to well. Anastasia why don't you go get this doll, I think I would like to see it." Adrianne said.
Fear bubbled up inside me. My emotions were already running high from my sister mentioning the doll to Adrianne, I knew that when my sister brought Lucie-doll out, it would be harder then ever to control my fear of the doll.
Anastasia stepped out of her bed room and handed Lucie-doll to Adrianne. Adrianne examined the little doll first, then turned to me. "Well, I don't think this seems like a very scary doll, in fact I think this doll is a very nice toy for a little girl. I don't understand why you would be scared of it Tatiana." She said.
"I told you I'm not scared of some stupid doll!" I said, raising my voice slightly.
"Well then if your not scared of it, then prove to us. Take the doll." Adrianne said.
I cursed Adrianne in my head, I cursed Anastasia in my head, I even cursed my parents in my head, for leaving my hear alone the three of them in the first place. I looked from Anastasia, to Adrianne, to my friend Flavia, who had been sitting through the whole dilemma quietly, they were all waiting for me to react, to do something, to either cower in fear and deny, of to stand up strong and accept. Well I wasn't about to let Adrianne and Flavia know that I was some coward that was afraid of a doll, and I also wasn't about to give my sister the satisfaction that she had been right all along, and that I was afraid of some little doll.
"Fine." I said, more confident then I felt. Adrianne held out Lucie-doll for me to hold. I took the little wind up doll in my hands and held it there. Her little black eyes bore straight into my soul, as they always had, but never had it been this intense, because never had it been this close. I had never held Lucie-doll before, her skin was made of fabric that felt as if it were stuffed with toy stuffing very, very tightly. Her hair was made of light colored yarn, tied into two braids, the little straw hat she wore was made of real straw, and so was her straw basket filled with sewing tools. Anastasia grabbed the key on the back of the doll and turned it, Lucie-Doll's head started nodding and the little tune started playing. I was very scared and had to fight the urge to drop the doll and run, but I knew I couldn',t it would be absolutely humilating, but the more I stared at the doll the more scary it got, just nodding.....and smiling.....and nodding faster......head getting bigger......smile getting more sinister.......hands moving, reaching into her little sewing basket, pulling out some yarn and a needle, singing that song, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things" That's it! I just couldn't take it! I Screamed as loud as I could right into the face of the doll, dropped it and ran, ran as fast as I could! Out of the room, through the hall way, down the stairs and out the front door!
But I didn't run forever, I couldn't. After running for about ten minutes I stopped and collapsed, out of energy and out of breathe. Adrianne, Flavia and Anastasia came after, moments later. I groaned and braced myself for teasing and torment, probably for the rest of my life.
"I think you have a problem, but i think i can help" Adrianne told me

"Ok Tatiana, tell me, how long has your sister had Lucie-Doll?" Adrianne asked, sitting on one of the chairs in the living room and with me sitting across from her.
"Forever." Ianswered, keeping my eyes shut, as Adrianne told me to do.
"So how long have you been afraid of Lucie-Doll?" Adrianne asked.
"Forever." I answered again.
"Well, is there any experience you've had with Lucie-Doll in the past that might have triggered the fear?"
"uh...no, not really"
"Is there any reason you can think of that explains your fear?"
"She's scary."
Adrianne sighed, "Well, we're obviously not getting anywhere, so I'm just gonna go ahead and start with the spell, it'll be harder to do with out the reason why you're afraid of the doll, but not impossible" She said.
I opened my eyes, "You're going to put a spell on me?" I said, a little panicked.
"Not on you, on the doll, but it's a solitude spell, I can only truly connect with the spirit of the doll and transform it so it's less scary if I'm alone with it."
I paused, a little unsure what to do or say.
"Don't worry, the doll will be fine." Adrianne said.
I still said nothing.
"I'll be fine too"
".....well, OK, if you're sure it will work."
"I am. Now, Flavia, run to our house and get my book of spells under my bed, Anastasia, go and find all the candles you have in the house, and a jar of salt, and some incense if you have it. Tatiana, you can help me clear out Anastasia's room for the spell." Adrianne said.
Me and Adrianne had to move Anastasia's desk, rug and TV set to the side's of the room, so that there was space for Adrianne's spell. After ten minutes Anastasia came back with about ten candles, our table salt, and some incense that belonged to our parents. Twenty minutes later Flavia came back from her house with a very big leather bound book.
Adrianne opened the huge old book and i could almost see the dust fly through the air from it. "Let's see, fear spells, fear spells, fear spells, AH! Fear spell" She said. She skimmed the summary of what the spell does to make sure it was the right one.
She took the table salt and dumped it on the carpet to form a circle, the salt was suppose to keep out evil spirits while she was in their realm. Inside of the salt circle she formed another circle with the candles, they were meant to help with communications between the spirits and her. She lit the incense in the middle of the circle, right in front of her and Lucie-Doll, the incense is herbal and more spiritual. Before she locked herself in the room, she asked us who the doll was modeled after, Anastasia didn't exactly know, she thought maybe some famous girl in the pilgrim times, maybe a girl who made a difference in the time they were traveling.
While Adrianne was in the room, chanting her spell and calling to the spirits of the dead to help her, Anastasia and Flavia pressed their ears against the door to listen, but I sat away from the door with my knees tucked close to me.
Adrianne was in Anastasia's room for half an hour, maybe forty five minutes, when she came out, carrying candles and burnt incense, "Well, the spell is done, now to test it" Adrianne put the incense and the candles back, then the salt, and vacuumed up the salt on the carpet. Then she got Lucie-Doll and brought her to me, "Well, what do you think? Is she still just as scary?" She said, as she handed me Lucie-Doll.
The minute that doll touched my hands I dropped it, there was something wrong, something not right that happened with the doll, she wasn't just my sister's scary doll anymore, she was something more, something much more evil now. I jumped up from the spot i was sitting and backed as far away from Lucie-Doll as possible, fear obvious in my face.
"Tatiana, what's wrong?" Anastasia asked me.
"...The doll, she......"
"What's wrong with the doll?" Adrianne asked
"She, she....she's...EVIL!" I stuttered.
"Evil?! How can that be possible?! I just did the spell, fresh out of the spirit world, this doll is completely pure! Here, I think it's your imagination acting on your old fears. Now take a deep breath and calm yourself, rid yourself of your old fears, clear your mind, become completely at peace with yourself." Adrianne said to her.
I did as she said, becoming as possible calm as I could, then Adrianne picked up the doll and put her back in my hands. I held down the painful urge to scream and run. I stared at the doll, just as i had before, but it was different this time, the doll wasn't just scary, it was absolutely terrifying. I could feel the evil power surging through the little doll's fabric veins. I through the doll against the door and screamed at it.
"I don't understand, how could the doll be even scarier? Either I've done something wrong with the spell, or you've just got a serious problem with doll!" Adrianne said.

For the rest of the night, Lucie-Doll stayed in Anastasia's closet while we all watched TV down stairs. I tried hard to act like myself again, but I was still uneasy about the doll. I'm not sure what Adrianne did to it, but I don't think she made anything better, in fact, I think she made it much, much worse.
Mother and Father came home very late last night. Me, Flavia and Anastasia were all asleep, but Adrianne was still up. Mother gave her some baby sitting money and Father offered to give her and Flavia a ride home. After Father returned from their house, he and Mother woke me and Anastasia and sent us to our rooms.
It was later that night when I heard the noise, at first I thought my music box was still open, but then as i listened closely, I realized it wasn't the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle little star I was hearing, It was the musical number from the play The Sound Of Music, the scene where the children are scared of the rain and thunder, that horrid, horrid song! But, something was wrong, it wasn't raining outside, and even if it was, Anastasia would have been too tired to worry about the rain when Mother and Father sent us to bed. I sat up in my bed, confused as to why that stupid doll was playing. The closet door was left open, which was too odd, Anastasia hated having things out of order, she never left the closet open, no matter how tired she was, and on top of that, she didn't even go in the closet.
I stepped out of my bed and headed to the closet. Before I shut the door, I glanced at the top shelf where we keep our dolls. Lucie-Doll was not there. To be honest, I never understood why I didn't piece all these clues together sooner, I must have been groggy from sleep, normally if i was more awake, the moment I heard that song I would have known something was wrong, but I didn't, not until just then. Lucie-Doll was missing, but I was hearing that song, and now that I concentrate on it more, I can hear it's coming from the hall way. Panic and fear spiked inside my chest, I ran to our bedroom door, but before I did, I glanced at my sister to make sure she was ok. She appeared to be sleeping like a rock, the covers were pulled over her head and all you could see was a mess of long light brown hair sprawled over her pillow. I thought that maybe there was something wet on her covers, but it was too dark to tell what it was, and I didn't have time to worry, I had to destroy that doll now before it killed anyone.
I ran out into the hall. It was dark, but moonlight shown through the windows of the other rooms in the house that were open. I quickly scanned the hall way. There, sitting on the banister, was the core of my nightmares, Lucie-Doll sat, looking completely normal. Her little song was playing and her head was nodding back and forth to the tune. I was terrified, I could almost feel the evil coming from her. But I loved my family, I had to either kill the doll, or let them be killed. I swallowed the large lump in my throat and braced myself as I stretched my arms out to her. Just as my fingers were about to make contact with the doll, she was gone. Completely gone. She had disappeared and was no longer sitting on the banister in front of me. I glanced around to see if she was still in the hallway, but she wasn't. I listened for the tune, it was still playing, but it was coming from my parents room. More panic. I creaked open the door to my parents room and peered inside. Both Mother and Father were sleeping soundly in they're beds, but sitting on Mother's night stand was Lucie-Doll, and what I saw next practically petrified me. Lucie-Doll was MOVING! Her little arms were reaching towards my mothers arm which was hanging over the bed, as she picked up my Mother's hand she reached into her sewing basket with the other, a wicked smile spread across Lucie-Doll's fake little face as she pulled a very large, rusty sewing needle with black thread attached. She reached over to my Mother's hand very slowly with the needle, the point coming closer to her delicate hand, Lucie-Doll was going to sew my Mother into a blanket and then burn her in the fire!
Screams. Loud, blood curdling, horrible, deafening screams filled the air around me. It took me a few seconds to even realize the screams were coming from me. I was screaming, screaming the loudest I've ever screamed, even louder then when Adrianne made me hold Lucie-Doll. I was screaming so loud the effort caused me to close my eyes. Mother and Father jumped out of their slumber in a panic. Father flicked on his lamp and both him and Mother came over to me.
"Tatiana, what's the matter?!" Father said, and he put his arm around my shoulder, trying to comfort me.
"Did you have a bad dream?" I heard Mother say, that's what got me to stop screaming, Mother talking to me and rubbing my back. She was alive, I thought for sure she was a goner. I looked at their faces, both filled with concern.
"Yes, I think so, just a bad dream." I said, hoping they were right, but they weren't.
I looked down at Mother's hand, there was a small prick on her knuckle that was bleeding, a needle prick.
"M-Mother, L-look" I said, almost unable to speak as fear grabbed at my throat.
"What?" She looked at her hand, and then back at me, confused. " I don't see anything, there's nothing wrong with my hand darling." She said.
She couldn't see it. Only I could. Quickly, I glanced over at Mother's night stand. Sitting there, looking as normal as ever, was Lucie-Doll.
"the-the-th-th-the" I stammered, then pointed at the night stand. Both Mother and Father looked over at it
"Well how did that get there?" Mother asked
"Tatiana, you must have brought it in by accident while you were sleep walking, after all how else could you have ended up in here." Father said.
Both Mother and Father told me it was just a dream and I had nothing to worry about. They put Lucie-Doll in a different room for the night so I wouldn't be afraid then sent me off back to my own bed.
I trudged into my room, not trying to be quiet, expecting my sister to wake up and ask me what had happened. But when I glanced over at her, she hadn't moved. Then I remembered, before I went after Lucie-Doll, I saw something wet on my sister's covers. It was still there but it was still too dark to see what it was, I thought maybe she wet the bed, I hoped.
I went over to our night lamp and flicked it on. I still couldn't see all of what it was, so I flipped the switch of the over head light. My jaw unhinged. Anastasia's covers were soaked in blood, dark red sticky liquid. And Anastasia wasn't moving, her chest wasn't even moving up and down from breathing.
I ripped the covers off my sister and I almost fainted. My sister's whole bed was covered in blood, and so was she. Her eyes were actually missing, the only thing left were dark red holes in her skull, her lips were sewn shut, her nose was chopped off, and sharp wooden stakes were shoved in her ears. The rest of her body was mutilated, there was so much red, I couldn't even make out which was blood and which was her body. Once again, I screamed. I thought I had screamed as loud as I could in my parents room, but I was wrong, I screamed so loud that my head was dizzy and I fainted. But I could still hear.
My parents rushed in, they saw Anastasia, they both screamed as well, then my mother sobbed, "Anastasia, my baby! My little girl! How could this happen!" She cried more things that were incoherent, then my Father rushed out of the room, first to puke, then to call and ambulance. After that everything was gone.

--To Be Continued--