The Doll

"Sammy Jo stop following us!"1

"Yeah Sammy Jo, go play with your dolls and leave us alone."2

With her brothers words and taunts ringing in her ears, nine year old Sammy Jo ran into the house and up the stairs to her room. Slamming the door behind her, she threw herself upon her bed, burying her head into her pillows crying. How she hated this new town. After only being here a week, her brothers had all kinds of friends and were always running off to play leaving her behind. The other little girls would have nothing to do with her, they only wanted to play house with their dolls and claimed she was too babyish to play with them. 3

Wiping her eyes, she got up off the bed, turned on her radio and went to her closet to find her dancing dress. She always felt better dressing up and dancing to music. While rummaging through the clothes she had piled up on the closet floor, she hated hanging them, her hands brushed against something stringy and soft at the back of the closet. Grasping it, she pulled it out. It was a doll, but it wasn't one of hers and she had never seen it before.4

What she had first felt was the doll's hair. Long and blond with waves. The doll looked old, but was in good condition. 5

Taking a hairbrush from her vanity, Sammy Jo took the doll and went back to her bed. Sitting in the middle of the bed she started brushing the doll's hair while telling it all of her woes. When her mother called her down to dinner, she placed the doll in the center of her pillows and decided to name her Mary Ann.6

The next day was Saturday and her brothers again took off to play with their new friends, leaving her alone. She went to the playground with Mary Ann and tried to join the other girls as they were jumping rope. After a few tries and twisting her feet in the rope several times, the other girls started laughing and teasing her, making her leave them alone. Grabbing Mary Ann, Sammy Jo went to the edge of the woods and sat in the shade, talking to her doll and brushing the tears away. This was when Sammy Jo learned the magic of her new found friend.7

Mary Ann seemed to take on a glow as Sammy Jo talked to her. Without making a sound, it was as if Mary Ann was talking to her and she could hear every word and knew what Mary Ann wanted her to do.8

The following Monday during recess, Sammy Jo went over to Kali, one of the girls from the playground Saturday, and asked her if she wanted to come to her party after school. Kali agreed and they planned on meeting in the small woods behind the school.9

After the school bell rang, announcing the end of the day, Sammy Jo took her time gathering her school work and placing it into her backbag. WAlking slowly, she left the building and once outdoors, she took Mary Ann from her bag and  held her close as she headed to the woods. 10

Just outside the woods and out of sight of anyone that might be lingering behind at the school, Sammy Jo unzipped her bag once again and removed her mothers butcher knife. Moving quietly, she entered the woods, careful where she stepped so as not to alarm Kali of her presence, Sammy Jo made her way to the meeting place.11

The next day at school, everyone was talking about Kali and how her parents and the police were looking for her, how she seemed to have disappeared yesterday after school. 12

During lunch, Sammy Jo approached Susie, another girl from the playground Saturday and also in her and Kali's class, asking her if she would help her hunt for Kali after school, saying that her brothers knew of several hiding places and she was scared to go alone. 13

Susie agreed and once again Sammy Jo arranged to meet the other girl in the woods. She swored Susie to secrecy telling her that the grown ups wouldn't let them go if they knew, they would claim it was too dangerous, and that if any of the other kids knew where they were going that they would try to come with them and that if Kali was just hiding, she would hear them and run away where she wouldn't be found.14

After the dismissal bell rang, Sammy Jo grabbed Mary Ann from her backpack, and waited till the last child was out of the building before leaving to meet Susie at the designated place in the woods. Reaching the outskirts of the woods. she again took the knife from her bag before entering.15

Friday afternoon, the school was abuzzed about the four little girls that had disappeared that week. The police was questioning everyone about anything that might have been seen by anyone. Parents were scared to let their kids out to play and would take and pick up their children at school. The whole town was in shock.16

That night after dinner, Sammy Jo's brothers were teasing her, telling her that is she didn't behave and leave them alone, that she would be the next little girl to disappear. Without crying, Sammy Jo left the living room where her brothers had settled to play a video game, and went to her room. Closing her door, she joined Mary Ann on the bed. Hugging her only friend tight to her, she could feel the knife that she had hidden in the back of Mary Ann's dress. Let her brothers tease her all they want, she knew she wouldn't be the next one to disappear. Besides, she agree with Mary Ann, the girls were too easy to get rid of, it would be a challenge to get rid of boys, and Sammy Jo felt ready to take on the challenge, so yes let her brothers tease her....... 17

for now.18