Chapter 1: The Doll in the Dark:"Some toys are not meant to be played with; some dolls are cursed to never rest."

The dim, flickering lights of Sathit Chao Phraya High School cast long, haunting shadows in the hallway. Praew's footsteps echoed against the worn-out tiles as she walked alone, the weight of her thoughts as heavy as the silence around her. She had always been the quiet one—an observer rather than a participant—but something felt different today. It was as if the very walls of the school were whispering secrets she wasn't meant to hear.

She had found it during the last cleanup shift of the day, tucked away behind a stack of forgotten gym mats. The doll. She had no idea why she picked it up—it was nothing more than a ragged, porcelain thing, its glassy eyes staring up at her with an unnerving intensity. But the moment her fingers brushed against its smooth, cold surface, an icy shiver raced down her spine. It felt…wrong, as though the doll had been waiting for her all this time.

"Praew, are you okay?" The voice of her best friend, Meen, snapped her from her reverie. Meen stood at the end of the hallway, her arms crossed, an inquisitive look on her face.

Praew's heart skipped a beat as she quickly tucked the doll into her bag, the smooth, cool porcelain brushing against her side like a cold secret. "Yeah, just... thinking," Praew replied, her voice steady, though her pulse raced like a drum in her ears.

Meen raised an eyebrow, her sharp gaze catching the subtle shift in Praew's demeanor. "You seem... off. Are you sure everything's fine?"

"Yeah," Praew lied, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."

But she wasn't fine. The doll in her bag felt alive, its presence pressing against her, demanding attention. It felt like it was breathing. *No, I'm just imagining things*, she tried to convince herself. But the weight of the porcelain figure was a constant reminder of something… darker.

That night, as Praew lay in bed, her mind wouldn't let go of the doll. It called to her in the silence of her room, urging her to look at it again. And so, she did.

Under the dim glow of her desk lamp, she pulled the doll from her bag. The moonlight from the window cast an eerie, silver glow across its porcelain skin, giving it an almost ethereal quality. But when Praew stared into its eyes, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was staring *back*.

A soft, almost inaudible whisper filled the air, as if the doll was speaking to her, its voice a mere breath against her ear. "Free me…" it whispered, a plea, a command, a curse.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the room grew colder, a chill that wasn't from the night air. The doll's eyes seemed to flicker, the once-dormant pupils shifting. *Was it really possible? Could a doll...*

Before she could finish the thought, the room plunged into darkness, and the whispering grew louder, more insistent. "Free me," the voice repeated, as if it had always been waiting for her to listen.

In the darkness, Praew's heart hammered against her chest, the only sound in the room as her hand reached out toward the doll, compelled by a force she didn't understand. As her fingers brushed its cold, lifeless form again, a low, menacing laugh echoed in her mind.

And in that moment, Praew knew. The doll wasn't just a toy. It was something far worse. Something that had been waiting for her. As she realised this, her eyes widened in despair. Was she really the one meant for it? Or was it a coincidence? That was a question that her herself couldn't answer.

Sathit Chao Phraya High School was hiding more than just memories within its walls—it was harboring a curse, and it had found its new vessel.

Praew was trapped.