dollface | melanie martinez

𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

an evening in late autumn;

the golden hour,

sunset.

clara stood by the window, face dappled in light,
chin propped up against her fist on the windowsill,

thinking.

voicing thoughts.

"why do you love me, crybaby?
why do you love me when nobody else does?"

crybaby stood up;

walking towards her friend,

lacing arms around her small frame.

soft,
protective arms.

"well,
you see

dollface

i only love the things i can break."

arms tightening

strong,
binding arms.

darkness.

✦ ✦ ✦

clara woke,

gasping desperately for air.

she felt as though she had just been drowning.

she sat up,
and looked around the room she found herself to be in;

a small, pastel room

with a rug,
small and brightly coloured wooden table and chairs,
a fridge,
a clock,
a cupboard,
and a few shelves balancing jarred ingredients

as well as a kitchen counter and oven.

clara stood up uncertainly to test the door, her shoulders slumping in defeat when she felt how securely locked it was. there was no crybaby in this room; she was alone.

she began to walk idly around the room, searching for clues as to why she was here. had the wolfman put her in here? why?

clara answered her own question as she noticed a small, hastily scribbled note on pastel stationery lying on the table;

make me milk and cookies
by 6
i'll be watching

clara looked around the room again in confusion, blinking in understanding when she noticed a security camera in on the farthest wall, opposite the door, flashing red light angrily at her.

clara knew how to make cookies. she could recall the recipe easily, and likely could bake them with her eyes closed, after the countless times that she and crybaby had sneaked downstairs late at night and baked together in the kitchens.

she began to search through the fridge, checking that everything was needed before proceeding to scan the shelves. she hovered uncertainly by the cupboard before opening it cautiously,

blinking in surprise when she saw a large tub staring back at her, labelled arsenic.

her mind began to race as she tried to recall what it was. it was bad, she knew; the maids at home would always hide it from her, for she was never to go near it. they would use it to-

oh, to poison rats.

maybe, if she used enough of it in the cookie batter, it would work on the wolfman too-

assuming he was going to actually eat them, of course.

still, it was the only escape idea she had.

making sure her back was to the security camera, she heaved the tub of poison over to the counter before concealing it behind a large mixing bowl. she proceeded to make cookies as she normally would, except just before she put them in the oven, she added as much arsenic as she safely could without being caught-

handfuls and handfuls-

before slicing up some of the soap bar by the sink and slipping it in too,

just to be sure.

clara put the cookies in the oven and proceeded to wash her hands as thoroughly as she could, several times over, before washing up all the utensils she'd used.

when the cookies came out the oven they were perfect, and clara had to remind herself not to eat them. she still had plenty of time left over, and so began to ice them in pretty pastel colours, even sprinkling more poison into the icing.

after clara had finished, she sat back and waited;

the moment the clock hit twelve, the door was flung open and the wolfman marched in. he slammed something he was holding in his hands down on the table, which quickly revealed itself to be clara's crybaby doll.
without thinking, the little girl scooped up her best friend in her arms, dizzy with relief that crybaby was okay.

"these?" growled the wolfman, pointing at the tray of iced cookies. his voice was barely a voice, and it came out as more of a snarl.

clara nodded nervously, and watched as he proceeded to consume the whole tray like the animal he was.

when he was finished, he just sat there for a few moments.

then he began to froth at the mouth.

he was choking, clara realised, on his own spit;

bubbles began to shoot out of his mouth and nostrils as he fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering and retching desperately. clara stood, frozen in horror, unable to tear her gaze from the scene.

she stumbled back as her crybaby doll became human again, and lunged towards the wolfman, kicking him over and over. the sound of splintering ribs was enough to make clara want to throw up too.

the wolfman's whimpers grew quieter and quieter until they just stopped;

crybaby, still possessed by something wild, moved towards the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle of milk, pouring it all over the wolfman's still weakly writhing body.

"there's the fucking milk you asked for," crybaby hissed, her eyes glinting with something clara hadn't seen in her before. the little girl remembered her nightmare from earlier, and for the first time since she'd met crybaby, felt a tendril of fear snake up from the pit of her stomach.

"w- what was that, crybaby?" clara asked quietly.

crybaby sat down on one of the small wooden chairs with a sigh. "this wolfman did the same to me as he just did to you, a long time ago. i'm so, so proud of you for outsmarting him though, baby. come here."
she held out her arms, for a hug.

clara hesitated, her dream still in the forefront of her mind.

crybaby frowned. "what's wrong?"

"is... is it true that you only love me because you're... bigger and stronger and better than me?" she asked quietly. "in my dream you said you only love things you can break."

"i love you because you're clara, my dollface, and you're my best friend," crybaby said immediately. "i would never break you, clara, i hope you know that."

clara nodded; this was good enough for her.

she ran into crybaby's arms,

and the two of them left the wolfman's house forever.