A Voodoo Doll?

Alicia had her eyes strained to keep awake with all the pain that was caused through her body throughout the night with all the doings of Cecilia, or rather, the woman who once claimed to be Lily, the sweetest neighbor in her village who also happens to be a black magic performer.

After all the performings of the witch's black magic, Cecilia had her hand covered up with some kind of leaf and some natural ointments on the open cut.

Even after the rise of the sun, Alicia felt her hand burn with its pain. She could not move her hand. Not even an inch. One of the reasons was that she was still intact in the torture bed, and the other was due to the knife cut.

She didn't know where the witch was, though she had been awake all night. Her vision turned heavy, but she forced herself to keep up with her consciousness, muttering prayers.

If only she could turn her head, she'd be able to look around the room for any possible escape. Everything seemed so negative to her.

"Have I got no other ways to get out, dear lord?" She questioned herself as little teardrops slid sideways down her temples. The eerily silent atmosphere, along with the darkness, had her fearing to no end. Not once did she feel her heartbeat return to its normal pacing. She was fully alert.

"Tch! Tch! Tch! Poor thing you are, my dear."

Alicia's eyes widened as she heard the voice she never wanted to hear. At least not anytime soon. Her eyes moved to every possible side, trying to set them on the witch, and so there she was, standing at the edge of the torture bed. The dimly lit bulb created a scary image of the witch, along with the blurry vision of hers, struggling to make out everything.

'Damn, my vision!' She cursed in her mind.

"Did you really think you could escape from me, sweet little one?" Cecilia taunted, her voice dripping with malice as she chuckled loudly at the end, nearly bleeding Alicia's ears with its high pitch.

Alicia's heart pounded loudly as if it were about to come out.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Alicia felt herself on the verge of crying, her voice trembling. "What do you want from me?"

But her will to not show her vulnerable side was strong. She could not let the evil wrecked witch be satisfied with it.

Cecilia's eyes gleamed as she leaned in closer. "You, Alicia, possess a power," she whispered. "A power that I and my sisters have yearned for years. Those strange ears of yours are a mark, a sign of your connection to the ancient bloodline of magic."

"Ancient bloodline of magic?" Alicia was confused by her words. She frowned as she questioned Cecilia. "What are you spouting?" She demanded, not believing her words.

"Ha! Spouting, you say? Oh dear, I wonder when that old lady planned to confess you of your true self."

"Whom are you talking about, and what about my true self?"

"If not for Edith, who else?" She snickered as she took hold of a handful of Alicia's platinum blonde hair and held them up as if inspecting them in the light.

"So beautiful," she whispered as she observed the hair under the light.

Before Alicia could register what was on the other hand of the witch, the blade in her hand cropped the hair off, leaving the rest above it short on one of her sides. Alicia was frozen, wide-eyed.

"My h-hair..." came the low, disbelieving voice of hers, barely audible.

Cecilia took the hair and dropped it in a bowl that was on the side table with many other instruments.

"Right! Now, tell me, where were we, dear?" She questioned turning toward her and sitting down beside her.

"M-my mother?"

"Yep! But... How about I tell you a secret?" she questioned as she neared her. "I bet you'll thank me later," she said as if reassuring her.

Alicia could do nothing but stare at the witch.

"That woman you claim as your mother, would you believe if were to tell you that she isn't?"

"What nonsense are you uttering?" A fume of rage built up in her. "Of course, she's my mother. I've known her all my life," Alicia stated firmly, her eyes narrowing with determination. "I won't believe your lies."

Cecilia chuckled darkly as she looked at her, seemingly amused by her defiance. "Oh dear Alicia, you have no idea-"

"You're trying to deceive me, but I won't let you succeed," interrupted Alicia not letting the witch complete her words.

Cecilia turned furious at her words and raised her hand before casting a spell with her glowing eyes. Very soon, the cold choker around Alicia's neck tightened, blocking her breathing track and causing her to gasp for breath. Her whole body turned stiff and cold.

Cecilia smiled with a satisfied look. "Believe me or not, the truth remains the same," she stated. "I must say, Edith is one big liar, dear. She has been hiding your true origins from you. Know that the blood that flows in you is a special one and will only belong to me," she said with a warning, as if there was somebody else she knew was after her.

"Uh!"

The choker around her neck was biting her skin. She was finding it hard to breathe. Alicia felt her mind riddle up with turmoil. The conflicting emotions poked her heart. She loved her mother, trusted her more than anyone and the very mere suggestion that she could be keeping out a secret of hers shook her to her core.

This is not possible. Why should she trust someone who has been lying to them all for so long? She is a witch, and it is believed that witches are cunning when it comes to gaining any time type of advantage.

Cecilia gave a pity look, clicking her teeth as she turned toward the side table and slid one of the drawers open. She let the girl be for a while letting her ponder and sync in all that she had said. She took out a little box that had a silver long nail and a white thread ball with a stuffed little toy that had no hair. The witch took it out and inserted the thread into the needle, ready to finish the doll work.

"Do you know what this is?"

A hairless, brown, stuffed doll came into view.

Alicia just glanced at it uninterestingly for all that ran in her head was to get a release from the choker that was tightening every now and then. She was sure there was already a visible bruise etching on her skin.

"Give me just a minute, and I'll add the final touches," said Cecilia, and retracted her hand. She took out the needle and started to insert the platinum blonde hair into the doll's head one after another which was exactly Alicia's own chopped-off locks.

"Aha! And there we go. The doll's done."

A shiver went down Alicia's spine as Cecilia proclaimed the doll was finished. The consequences of what she had been considering now became all too real. Could she possibly be represented by this doll? A vessel for some sort of connection or control?