Gloria

Amy knew she wanted it the moment she set her eyes on it. The doll came in a very attractive looking box. Its name was written in big, floral colours – Gloria. Amy let go of her mother’s index finger and picked up the box from one of the shelves of the famous Grisby Toy Shop. She loved dolls and she especially loved her mom when she took her to the toy shop. “Oh, isn’t that doll adorable?” her mother Julianne exclaimed, “I wish I had one of those during my childhood”. Little did Julianne know that that rather beautiful doll with golden locks and curly hair was one of its kind. The box did not carry the label of its maker. On the back, the box had the following description:

“Gloria is the daughter of your dreams. She loves you very much and will proclaim so when whenever you make her stand on her feet. Gloria is a talking doll. Have fun with her. And she loves milk and cookies! One AA battery included in the box.”

Indeed, as Amy found out, whenever Gloria stood on her tiny feet wearing those lovely buckled shoes, she would say “I love you mommy!” in her squeaky electronic voice. Amy fell in love with Gloria. She took really good care of her – combing her hair, brushing her floral frock, feeding her cookies and milk and reading her bedtime stories. Before sleeping, she would kiss her goodnight and Gloria would say, “I love you mommy!”

Amy’s parents, Julianne and her husband Tom Sanders loved her too though Tom found it odd that the box did not mention the name of the manufacturer. Nevertheless, he did not bother too much about it. Amy was happy. Her doll had found a place among her jungle of soft furry creatures in her bedroom.

Life went well in the Sanders family. Julianne would hug her husband every time he came back home from work. Tom would then grab his daughter from behind and pick her up on his shoulders, Gloria tightly grasped in her small, gentle hand. She was Amy’s loving daughter after all. Her five year old mommy was really proud of her!

On September 4, 1992, five months after Gloria’s arrival, a strange incident took place in the Sanders family. Late at night, when Mrs. Sanders was fast asleep next to her husband, a wailing sound woke Tom up. Tom got up with his eyes half closed. Then he realized that his daughter next door was weeping. “What on Earth…?” Amy always had a smile on her lips. She was loved and adored by all the grownups and all her friends. She had never thrown tantrums in the past. Nobody had seen her cry since she was two. Tom tiptoed to his daughter’s room. Julianne had a long day and he didn’t want to wake her up. When he entered he saw Amy sitting up on her bed with her lamp on. “I c-c-can’t find Gloria daddy! Where is she? She was lying next to me but now she’s gone! I think someone has k-kidnapped her”, she sobbed. “Hang on sweetie, I am sure she is here somewhere”. Tom looked under the bed and amongst the crowd of soft, cuddly toys, all asleep. Amy always kept the doll next to her when she slept. Where could she be? After a fruitless search, Tom decided to wake Julianne up. He went back to his room. Julianne was fast asleep, her back towards him. As he hurried to her side, a strange sight greeted him. Julianne was merrily asleep, with Gloria clutched tightly between her arms.

Julianne could not explain how she ended up with Gloria. She had no idea why she would snatch her daughter’s precious toy. The couple could not make head or tail of the situation. Amy found it disturbing too. But she told her mom, “Mommy, you can let Gloria sleep in your room too. I won’t mind”. Julianne gave a wry smile.

Julianne was doing the dishes next morning when the phone rang. Amy was in school and Tom was busy in office. School was the only place Gloria could not give Amy company. It lay happily in Robin’s strong arms because Amy had decided that it was time Gloria had a boyfriend. While Julianne was speaking over the phone, a soft thud from Amy’s room took Julianne by surprise. A slight chill went through her spine. There was nobody else in the house. She disconnected the call and slowly moved towards her daughter’s room. Was she hallucinating? She had to admit to herself that the previous night’s event was a little unnerving. She pushed her left ear against the door for more noises. She heard nothing. She was just a little rattled, that’s all! To prove her hypothesis to herself, she casually opened her daughter’s room.

A dark shadow from the farthest corner of the ceiling shrieked and stared at her. Gloria was on its knees and elbows. It looked as if it wanted to crawl its way to the centre of the ceiling. Julianne wanted to let out a frightened yelp but she could not. Her eyes did not blink. She bore the expression of a prisoner breathing his last just as the round fired by the firing squad was about to splatter his brain. Gloria sprang from the ceiling and hurled itself towards Julianne. Its eyes were pale white, its gaping maw exposing its pointed teeth…

Amy came back home to find that her mother wasn’t at home. This had never happened before. Her mother was always there when she came back home. She went to her room to find that Gloria was still in Robin’s arms. “Have you seen your granny, Gloria?” she asked. “I love you mommy!” was all Gloria could say. But something attracted Amy’s attention. She was surprised that she had not noticed it before. Gloria’s eyes, why, they looked just like her mom’s!