Tale #13: Dolls need Love

In the streets of the winter cold London, in the alleyways covered in snow, stood a shop that looks vintage and old. Its design originating from the Victorian era: walls with irregular shapes, turned posts, and a mini porch at the entrance; yet it's well maintained. Upon nearing the shop, you can hear a music box playing a very familiar yet very eerie tune— it's like you've heard it somewhere, but can't remember when and where.

The shop has a big glass window featuring the goods inside. And in that glass window, the shop's name is marked in an elegant font: Love, Dolls. Beneath the shop's name was a line of pretty dolls in many kinds: porcelain, china doll, ball- jointed doll, ragdoll, Parian doll, and matryoshka doll. All of them were dressed beautifully, it's like their hosting a fashion show instead of displaying their products. The dolls were so pretty and cute that you'll stop and look and go inside the store just to see them up- close.

When you open the door, a soft jingle from the bells above will ring through the whole place in which no one is in there, but you. The door closes by itself and the bells will make another soft jingles. Once you take three steps inside, you will realize that the place is warm despite the cold outside; but lacks a fireplace, no visible heater either. The whole room is pretty dark, only dim lights that shone upon the dolls lit the whole place. Some dust can be seen from the shelves and cobwebs on top of it. And yet you may not notice it, as you're affixed to a doll displayed at the center of the room.

The doll is the most beautiful of all of them. It seems to be a perfect doll from its body, face, and dress, and it looks just like you. Only, it's the perfect version of you. It has everything you wished to have physically: a gorgeous face, slim body, your preferred skin tone, and even the clothes you really liked. As I said, it's the perfect version of you. You may feel like you just want to stare at it forever, admiring the things you can't have. Or you may want to touch it, or take it home or wish that you could just be like the doll in front of you.

You may not notice it but, every doll inside the store was moving, slowly and quietly, while looking at you. All of them are staring at you right now, but you won't notice it as you're focused on your doll. Their gaze will get intense the longer they look at you and you will feel a mild discomfort albeit; you won't mind, you'll be staring at your doll the whole time. The dolls who have movable mouth will start to open and release a soft cry, mumbles and pleas. However, it won't be enough for you to hear, or should I say, you're ignoring it because you're too engrossed on your doll.

The soft cries will be joined by whimpers from those dolls who don't have the luxury of having a movable mouth. Their soft cries, mumbles, whimpers and please will be joined by the continuous playing of the music box, making it sound like a song meant just for you. It will just increase your fascination to your doll until, you're pulled out of your world because of walking sounds that surround you. Thousands of footsteps can be heard but there's no trembles or whatsoever. Only footsteps inching closer to you.

And when you look up, the dolls were gone from their shelves. They're all on the ground, circling you and your doll. All eyes staring at you but their mouths are now closed. You can now hear the whimpers and quiet pleas of every doll. You thought that you should be frightened or panicked right now, yet, you're not. Their whimpers and pleas joined with the music from the music box sounded like a song to you, calming you down.

You'll just find yourself humming a tune created by the dolls from their whimpers and pleas. That's when everything starts to go down. You see, the shop was named Love, Dolls because its main purpose was to find a doll an owner who will love the doll and only the doll. They're very strict when it comes to a customer wanting a doll. They'll ask some questions and when their satisfied, they will sold the doll; and if not, then it's a no.

The dolls... are not normal dolls. They were made like that— wanting love. They were made to look like someone from this world, dead or not. And when you pay attention to just one of them when you're not really going to buy it, the dolls will be enraged. The dolls don't like people who play favorites. They hate those people, and they punish them if they stumble upon one. Usually, the owner of the shop will stop it from happening but, she's not here.

The dolls will start to move towards you; walking, then crawling up to you, until they covered the whole of you. You can't move now because they made you froze in fear. All you can do right now is to pan your eyes everywhere and swallow your screams; as they make you one of them. Sewing your mouth shut, cutting your hair, clawing your face and wounding your body. Once you can't move and is already losing life, they will dress you up in rags and you will notice that you're the same size as them now: a little ugly doll to be thrown at the darkest corner of the shop, deprived of light and attention of everyone.

You'll be that doll unworthy of love, unlike the doll whose the perfect you, the perfect you who is now showered with love by all the dolls and every customer who came by and bought a doll. You'll be that petty old ugly doll that the owner never notices, just lying at the corner, never moving and slowly dying.

And one day, you'll want love, just like the other dolls.