Play With Me
By: Amy and Seji
Once upon a time, there lived a young man named Henry, his pregnant wife, Isabelle and their dog, Jack. They lived on the outskirts ofNorth Dakota. On a laid back Saturday afternoon, Henry was sorting through his childhood belongings. He found a perfectly preserved glass porcelain doll, with lips as red as blood, and eyes as icy cold as a frozen pond. Something about her made him shiver; it’s like a forbidden memory, forever lost in time. Henry picked it up gently, and walked slowly over to his armchair. He inspected it carefully, and then walked away, leaving it on his chair, like a person.
As Henry sat in bed that night, he thought he heard a voice. “Play with me, Henry!” called the voice. If you ignore me, bad happenings will occur. Henry thought he was hallucinating, because of course, he lived out in the middle of nowhere! Nobody is out here except him and his wife, and they were fast asleep.
It was around two thirty-five; Henry woke up to frantic barking outside his house. He ran outside, because he knew that is where Jack stayed at night. When he arrived, the barking ceased abruptly. “Jack? Jack? Come here!” Henry called anxiously. Nobody came. He went over to Jack’s doghouse, and found Jack dead, without a foot. He started weeping, this was his best friend. It wasn’t until he check around, when he saw his childhood doll lying on the grass by the doghouse. “How did this get here?” he asked to no one in particular. “Play. Play.” The voice! He heard it again! This must be a dream, he thought. I better go back to bed. So, Henry went right asleep.
Sipping his morning coffee, Henry talked to his wife about the odd voice and the death of his dog in his dream. “Lets go check on Jack,” Isabelle said. “I haven’t heard him barking for a while now.” So Henry and Isabelle walked outside, and to their horror, there was Jack, just as Henry saw him in his dream, and the doll was there too. Both of them were frozen in shock, but also in pain. They dug out a grave next to a tall oak tree, and buried Jack in the peace and serenity of their backyard.
Henry climbed into bed that night, deep in thought. He was thinking about the voice. It said to play with it… what does that mean? He didn’t understand. As he drifted to
sleep, the voice called, Play with me, Play, Play, Play! He remembered now, that he heard the voice right before Jack died. A mere coincidence, he figured.
It was three thirty-five in the morning. Henry again awoke, to the repetitive voice, Play! Play now. Opening his eyes, he saw the icy-cold eyes of his porcelain doll, staring at him from the shelf. The cherry-red lips were saying to him, “Play with me, Henry! Please play with me? You don’t want another…incident now, do you?” Henry thought about his dog. He didn’t want that to happen. Henry chuckled at himself, for thinking a doll was talking to him. He quickly fell back to sleep, but was awake long enough to hear the voice, Laugh if you want, but you won’t be laughing long.
Henry woke up and kissed his wife goodbye as he headed off to work. He worked at the local sawmill, because that was the only work around. He walked into the facility, but sensed that something was wrong. “Hello boys!” he called to his co-workers. Henry made good progress that day, and felt very successful. Still, the doll”s words echoed in his mind. Laugh if you want, but you won’t be laughing long.
Henry drove home from work, anxious to see his wife and tell her of all the daily happenings. He pulled into the long driveway to his log home. “Isabelle, I’m home!” he called. “Hello!” Henry looked around the house for Isabelle, but she was no where to be found. Basement, The voice called, below the house, is your lovely spouse. Henry ran down to the basement, eager to meet up with his wife. But, as he opened the door, something was wrong, very wrong. He walked slowly down the steps, but he didn’t hear anyone. “Isabelle?” Henry called cautiously. He then saw her body, lying on the basement floor, her head nearby, and her stomach gorged out. Next to her, laid a baby’s foot, but the baby was no where to be found. The baby, he thought. I must save the baby if nobody else.
Now frantic, Henry rushed up the stairs. He looked down to see blood tracks, tracks of a dog, and one from an infant. He remembered that Jack’s foot had been cut off, and same with the baby. Now he was positive that he needed to follow these footsteps to save the baby’s life. He raced through the house, following the bloody trail. It lead him straight into a closet. Hesitantly, Henry opened the closed door. He stepped inside, and then saw that the footsteps
stopped. Right where they stopped, there was a glass porcelain doll, with a small drop of blood from its mouth, and Henry’s baby, dead, behind it. In front of the doll were building blocks with letters on them. More of Henry’s childhood toys. Henry glanced at the letters, horrified, reading the words: PLAY WITH ME.
Epilogue:
In a graveyard inBismarck,North Dakotathere was a brand new gravestone. It read:
Henry B. Herondale
Born October 1st, 1970
Died October 10th, 2005
4:35 AM
A few feet away two people were talking. “So how did he die, again,” the first one asked.
The second man answered, “He was murdered. His body was found, missing a foot and lying beside a glass porcelain doll.”
