Childhood is an interesting time. There are so many things that happen that easily slip your mind as you grow older. From your favorite toy to the episode of that show you'd watched so much you could quote it. But alongside the good things, there are bad memories that are best kept unremembered.
Do you ever have those times in your life where you feel the urge to do something spontaneous without a real reason as to why? This is exactly what was going on with me right now. I had just recently called up some of the friends I went to high school with, to ask them if they wanted to grab something to eat at Happy Harold's. They all agreed, as it happened to be their days off from work.
After heading over there, I thought it a little strange that we were the only customers in the building. Perhaps it was because it was so early. I checked my phone, it was nearly 10 a.m.
I saw my friends waving to me at a table in the back corner. It made me smile, all these years and they still want to sit with their backs turned to the rest of the world. I made my way over to them and dropped my purse on the chair beside me. My friends squealed with joy. They were clearly just as excited to see me as I was them. We went around the table, hugging each other at an awkward angle.
It had been about two years since we'd seen each other last. We parted ways not too long after graduation. We didn't exactly follow the same kind of career paths and went to different colleges. At least that was the plan.
As we were sitting around, catching up on life, it turns out they both ditched college after a few semesters. They wanted to change majors, but the school they were going to didn't offer what they wanted.
Not too long after our discussion with how our lives were going, we looked over to the funhouse area of the restaurant that they must have just recently put in. We all laughed at the idea of us going in there and playing, but we were also the only people in the building, who would be in there to judge us? My friends followed me inside.
We had a little fun climbing our way up the jungle gym that lead up to a slide. My friend, Veronica, slid down first, laughing all the way down. When she hit the bottom, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of her landing in the ball pit beneath us. I slid down next, followed by my friend, Ashley.
When I made it into the ball pit, I brought myself up just in time to get a foam ball to the face. I laughed and threw one right back at Veronica. We had some fun throwing the balls back and forth, until someone pointed out the little plastic house over in the corner. None of us remembered seeing it, but we got curious and made our way out of the pit and over to the house.
Veronica and I told Ashley to go in first to check it out. If it wasn't too bad inside, Veronica and I would follow her inside. So Ashley went in. We waited for a response from her. And waited. And waited. Silence.
We called to her, but there was no response. Veronica and I looked at each other and agreed, we'd both go in together. Perhaps Ashley was trying to scare us. We both squeezed through the small, plastic doorway and entered into a building that was much larger than it was on the outside. We all actually had room to freely move around. It was also very dark inside.
I felt around the wall for a light switch and flicked it on. I was in shock when I realized the house we were inside of was the house I grew up in as a little kid, long before I moved into this town. How did we get here?
Before us stood Ashley. She was unmoving and pointing at an object across from her on the floor. Veronica and I recognized it right away. It was the doll I had when I was a little girl. It had huge eyes and a small mouth that was twisted into an unnatural smile. The hair was brown and looked far to human like to be fake. It was dressed up in a white gown with little red hearts scattered across it. Tied around its waist was a red ribbon.
All three of us knew right away that we had grown up with it. We talked about it in high school. But we all hadn't seen it since we were little kids, what was it doing here?
"Hello there," the doll squealed in her familiar, joyful voice. "I want to play a game with you. The first person to find me makes it out of here alive."
We all looked at each other. I ran toward the door and gave it a jerk. It wouldn't open. We grabbed our phones. At least we tried to, they were still in our purses on the table outside.
The lights flickered for a moment and when we looked to where the doll sat, it was gone.
"Come find me!" her voice echoed through the house as we split up and frantically searched every room we could find in the building.
I searched the guest room while I heard someone practically tearing apart the bathroom next to me. I opened up the closet and saw a heap of clothes. Could it be in there?
I leaped on top of the pile and tossed back as many of the clothes I could grab. I dug and dug until I felt something hard. I pulled a few more shirts aside and there she was, my ticket out of there.
"Congratulations," the doll squealed, "you found me."
I began to feel dizzy as the room faded to black. Am I going to wake up outside?
I awoke in a dark room. Was I home? I tried to get up to turn the lights on when I realized I was unable to move. I saw my friends walk past me. They were so much bigger than I remember. I tried saying something to them but I was unable to speak.
I could hear Ashley crying. "How could she just leave us like that? She just looked at us and walked out without giving us the chance to follow her outside."
Veronica sat down next to her, hugging her. "Who knows, maybe that's why she brought us here in the first place."
I wanted so badly to tell them I was right here but I was completely stuck, motionless.
Veronica looked over at me and picked me up. 'Yes,' I thought, 'it's me!'
She threw me across the room as hard as she could.
Do you ever have those times in your life where you feel the urge to do something spontaneous without a real reason as to why? This is exactly what was going on with me right now. I had just recently called up some of the friends I went to high school with, to ask them if they wanted to grab something to eat at Happy Harold's. They all agreed, as it happened to be their days off from work.
After heading over there, I thought it a little strange that we were the only customers in the building. Perhaps it was because it was so early. I checked my phone, it was nearly 10 a.m.
I saw my friends waving to me at a table in the back corner. It made me smile, all these years and they still want to sit with their backs turned to the rest of the world. I made my way over to them and dropped my purse on the chair beside me. My friends squealed with joy. They were clearly just as excited to see me as I was them. We went around the table, hugging each other at an awkward angle.
It had been about two years since we'd seen each other last. We parted ways not too long after graduation. We didn't exactly follow the same kind of career paths and went to different colleges. At least that was the plan.
As we were sitting around, catching up on life, it turns out they both ditched college after a few semesters. They wanted to change majors, but the school they were going to didn't offer what they wanted.
Not too long after our discussion with how our lives were going, we looked over to the funhouse area of the restaurant that they must have just recently put in. We all laughed at the idea of us going in there and playing, but we were also the only people in the building, who would be in there to judge us? My friends followed me inside.
We had a little fun climbing our way up the jungle gym that lead up to a slide. My friend, Veronica, slid down first, laughing all the way down. When she hit the bottom, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of her landing in the ball pit beneath us. I slid down next, followed by my friend, Ashley.
When I made it into the ball pit, I brought myself up just in time to get a foam ball to the face. I laughed and threw one right back at Veronica. We had some fun throwing the balls back and forth, until someone pointed out the little plastic house over in the corner. None of us remembered seeing it, but we got curious and made our way out of the pit and over to the house.
Veronica and I told Ashley to go in first to check it out. If it wasn't too bad inside, Veronica and I would follow her inside. So Ashley went in. We waited for a response from her. And waited. And waited. Silence.
We called to her, but there was no response. Veronica and I looked at each other and agreed, we'd both go in together. Perhaps Ashley was trying to scare us. We both squeezed through the small, plastic doorway and entered into a building that was much larger than it was on the outside. We all actually had room to freely move around. It was also very dark inside.
I felt around the wall for a light switch and flicked it on. I was in shock when I realized the house we were inside of was the house I grew up in as a little kid, long before I moved into this town. How did we get here?
Before us stood Ashley. She was unmoving and pointing at an object across from her on the floor. Veronica and I recognized it right away. It was the doll I had when I was a little girl. It had huge eyes and a small mouth that was twisted into an unnatural smile. The hair was brown and looked far to human like to be fake. It was dressed up in a white gown with little red hearts scattered across it. Tied around its waist was a red ribbon.
All three of us knew right away that we had grown up with it. We talked about it in high school. But we all hadn't seen it since we were little kids, what was it doing here?
"Hello there," the doll squealed in her familiar, joyful voice. "I want to play a game with you. The first person to find me makes it out of here alive."
We all looked at each other. I ran toward the door and gave it a jerk. It wouldn't open. We grabbed our phones. At least we tried to, they were still in our purses on the table outside.
The lights flickered for a moment and when we looked to where the doll sat, it was gone.
"Come find me!" her voice echoed through the house as we split up and frantically searched every room we could find in the building.
I searched the guest room while I heard someone practically tearing apart the bathroom next to me. I opened up the closet and saw a heap of clothes. Could it be in there?
I leaped on top of the pile and tossed back as many of the clothes I could grab. I dug and dug until I felt something hard. I pulled a few more shirts aside and there she was, my ticket out of there.
"Congratulations," the doll squealed, "you found me."
I began to feel dizzy as the room faded to black. Am I going to wake up outside?
I awoke in a dark room. Was I home? I tried to get up to turn the lights on when I realized I was unable to move. I saw my friends walk past me. They were so much bigger than I remember. I tried saying something to them but I was unable to speak.
I could hear Ashley crying. "How could she just leave us like that? She just looked at us and walked out without giving us the chance to follow her outside."
Veronica sat down next to her, hugging her. "Who knows, maybe that's why she brought us here in the first place."
I wanted so badly to tell them I was right here but I was completely stuck, motionless.
Veronica looked over at me and picked me up. 'Yes,' I thought, 'it's me!'
She threw me across the room as hard as she could.
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