Nicole Liu

English homework

Doll

Do you believe in ghosts? Well, I don’t. But sometimes you just have to admit there is always something that can happen supernaturally.

Like I said, I don’t believe in ghosts, but somehow, I can see them; I can feel them and even hear them. Don’t ask me how I can see those things, I wouldn’t have a clue; but I can tell you that’s the first thing I knew about myself when I was little. Today, there is a little story I want to share with you.

This is something happened when I was 24. First, I want to let you understanding about my job at that time. I was a part-time teacher, and a cook for my sister’s childcare center.

This childcare center is in an old apartment building that my parents bought more than 10 years ago, we used the first floor as a teaching area, and at the sixth floor, is where I normally cook and where all the kids eat. I don’t like this place, and nor do any my sisters and my little daughter Nicole; especially the stairs, we all hate it. I don’t understand why there is a place that always dark, even when it’s sunny out there; the path is always like that. Maybe those stairs are unnatural…just like this whole apartment. Ok, back to the story.

It was summer time in Taiwan, Taipei; with a temperature of 38c, I was about ready to go up stairs and get prepared for the lunches. Yes, by myself. It is hard for me to cook when I have to look after ten kids…even with my sister, that just impossible. It was a peaceful afternoon, as soon as I walked out of the class, everything suddenly went quiet, and you can even hear the noise from the main road which is about hundred meters away. I walked around the corner, and the front gate of apartment was there; I pulled out the key from my left pocket, put it into the keyhole and pushed the door open. Because this is a really old apartment, every time you open the door, it will make a loud noise; even when people are standing on sixth floor, you can still hear it clearly like the door is right next to you. This stairs are uneven. Some of them are higher than the normal, and some of them are like five centimeters short, if you don’t look carefully it is easy to trip over.

The paint on the wall is flaking. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but turning the corner on second floor, one of the walls has a little face that clearly shows up on the wall. A face with two unbalance eyes, and a ghastly, terrifying smile.

Every time my little daughter, Nicole walked past, she always looked down at the floor; once I asked her for reason.

“That eye…it’s staring at me…” that’s the answer she gave me.

And yes, sometime I could feel something around there. But that day, I can not feel anything. I kept on going up the stairs, and opened another gate between the forth and fifth floor. There is a painting, which is a present from my other sister’s husband and this painting had some stories behind it. I had to say, this painting is horrible. It is about an A3 size paper painting, half of it had the dark and cool colours, and the other half is warm colours. On the warm colours side of the painting, there is a little boy on there wearing a hat and is posed like he is running. I swore to god, I had seen the boy moving and blinking at me; and apparently, I am not the only one that had been through this. My sister-in-law, my friend, had also seen it at least once. I ignored the picture for once, and I kept on going up on till I reached the sixth floor. I opened the door and walked in. The room is so bright; everywhere is under the sun shine…except for one room. That room is the room for us to sleep, and that’s the only room there since we don’t come back here a lot. This room is nothing different to a normal room; it has a bed, a mirror, and little table next to the mirror. A doll, there is a doll that someone had placed on the table. It’s was a traditional Japanese doll; its hair is neatly cut to shoulder level, wearing a kimono with a red and white background; pure white skin like dead people, and her eyes…dark black, it looks like its always staring at you. This doll is a present from my second sister to Mum. Everyone said this doll is pretty, and her smile is peaceful that makes people clam, but I hated it…I really really hated it. I hate it, not only because I don’t like people shaped dolls, but also I can feel it stared at me…Yes…as soon as I walked into the house, I can feel someone staring at me. Especially when I walked past the door, that feeling had come stronger on me. I jogged away from the door without looking at the room, and finally I got to the safest place which has the most sun shine---the kitchen.

Soon as I got into kitchen, that vision that had come disappeared behind me. I began to cook, just like everyday I do, and the time went so fast that I couldn’t even feel its going past; the first and the last time I looked up at the clock, its 11:30. I divide all the food I cooked onto different plates, when I was just about to turn around and walked back to the dinning room, suddenly whispers and giggles filled my ears with fear. Just a second after, I heard the noise of someone jumping on the bed. I know…the noise is from the room that doll sits in. Because that’s the only place with the bed in is whole house.

“Who’s there?” I can hear my voice shaking

No one answered. I walked to the front, every thing was still in position, and nothing had changed compared to the time when I walked into the house. I picked up the phone with my shaking fingers and rang my sister who was down stairs teaching.

“In about ten minutes, you can bring the kids up for lunch.” I didn’t tell her anything about the vision that was staring at me and the giggle.

I walked back to the kitchen, and on my way there, I turned my eyes to the room, and I saw the doll there. Suddenly, my blood froze. That doll…That doll was facing the door way before!! But now…it’s facing to the mirror!! It turns around without any help! So that only means… That doll turned around itself!! I stood there; frozen. But not any longer, I heard the door open. I turned my head around to see the visitor--- My sister and the kids are here.

“Oh, what happen? You look a bit shocked.” my sister walked to me and asked.

“Er…” I really don’t think I should tell her the truth, “Nothing, just looking at the mirror.”

“Ok…” she doesn’t seem to believe my words, but she said nothing.

I am not brave enough to look back in there, so I shut the door. Lunch time went fast, only half hour, everyone had finished lunch. My sister went to do the dishes, so I cleaned up the mess they’d made. Exactly 1 o’clock, we finished everything and were about to send the kids back down stairs. I walked at the end of the line and locked the door. Just about to close the door, I heard that horrible whisper and giggle again…

“I…will…wait…for…you…to…come…back…”

It’s calling for me…

Again……

The End