Chapter 1

Adalia was a pale, raven-haired little girl, who lived alone in a large house with her grandmother - they were quite comfortable and lived together happily until Adalia asked what happened to her parents. She avoided telling her the full truth until one day, when she decided she could lie no more. It turned out they'd just left, driven off leaving all their belongings and Adalia to be cared for by her father's mother.

"I'd always thought your mother was quite nasty," she told her firmly. "But not evil."

Her father had not wanted to leave Adalia behind but her mother had refused to take her with them.

"I still do not know why she wouldn't take you," she sighed, "but I promised your father to look after you."

Adalia was not shocked, for somehow she had always known. Still, determined to find out more, Adalia started sneaking around the huge house for clues to the past. She had noticed that there was one room in particular that was always locked and she had never seen her grandmother go in, or actually near it. But she knew where the key might be - and one night, she quietly retrieved it, unlocked the door and went in.

Inside was the prettiest room she had ever seen - even though there was a thick layer of dust on everything. The walls were decorated in soft pinks and lemon and the shelves were filled with toys, which, despite the dust, looked rather new. Excited and curious, Adalia quietly closed the door behind her and carefully wandered over to the main bookshelf, her emerald eyes gleaming with wonder scanned the neat arrangement of toys and books. She picked up a cheerful looking teddy bear that was sitting on the middle shelf, and brushed off the layer of grey covering it's velvety brown fur. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as something sharp scratched her hand and noticed a price tag still attached to his left ear. Adalia explored the rest of the bookshelves contents for awhile and was about to retrieve a small snowy coloured dog with brown ears, when a small clang from above made her jump. Cautiously, she glanced upwards. Adalia gasped.

A pale, thin, fleshy coloured object was hanging over the edge of the top shelf. Adalia took a step back and narrowed her eyes. Without much hesitation, she grabbed the chair nearby and positioned it directly below it. She paused momentarily before climbing onto the chair and raising herself to the level of the highest ledge.
"Oh!"
She could now see that the object was infact a dolls arm. Placing her pale hands, which now felt quite cold, onto the shelf, she carefully pulled herself onto her tiptoes. The shelf was incredibly dark for such a light room, but she could see the doll fully now. She blinked silently at its hanging arm that had bent backwards into a very odd pose, perhaps when it had fallen over. Adalia could see why it had been put out of plain sight - the doll was quite scary looking.

It's short blue hair was quite straight, though there was some curling at the ends but on one side of the head it had been savagely cut leaving short, rough clumps of hair strands so she was almost bald. The face was even stranger - on one side there appeared to be a white mask, with a solid black oval where an eyehole might have been. It was harsh contrast to the left side that had the general appearance of a normal doll, but with a peculiar, sad expression. Her lips were blue and curled into a depressed frown and there was a ring of watery blue around her deep sapphire coloured eye which ran down her face - it seemed like she was crying. Adalia wanted to pick her up but felt strangely repelled, like someone was watching her. She looked up, directly in front of her and the blue doll and sucked in her breath. There was someone watching her.

A single, scarlet painted eye stared out at her from the shadowy shelf. Adalia froze. But peering into the blackness, she could see a faint outline around the eye. It was another doll. Gingerly, she reached forward and grasped the body. Pulling it into the light, she saw that this one was like a reverse of the sad doll - this one had longer hair, but a vivid red and again one side was nearly bald but it was on the opposite side, as was the white mask. Her lips matched her fiery eye and her appearance seemed somewhat malicious...

After putting the chair back into it's original place, Adalia slipped back out of the room, locking the door behind her her head buzzing with the excitement of her find. Her free arm firmly gripping the two dolls, she crept back to her room with the intent of returning the key later. Maybe when she'd explored a little more...

Chapter 2

Click

The dull gold coloured handle turned slowly and swung inwards as it was pushed open. A soft stream of light flooded into the dark corridor behind, which was silently swallowed up again as the door swung shut.
A long relieved sigh escaped through Adalia’s lips as she turned the key to lock herself in the abandoned nursery. She glanced nervously around the room, her eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the dim light and tip-toed forward to sit on the lone chair by the side of her old but shiny, white cot. It was shiny because ever since Adalia had discovered the room three days earlier, she had been in whenever she could, cleaning and dusting.
She wanted the room to be… hers.
Really hers.

For Adalia was now convinced it was meant to be hers as a baby, but when her parents had left abandoned her, the same thing had happened to this room. This was strange, as surely she would have lived here with her grandmother anyway. But it seems this wasn’t the case…

After scouring everything that was in clear view, including shelves, boxes and cupboards, it was time to investigate the not so obvious. Ducking down beside the bed, Adalia peered underneath, staring intensely into the blackness. She caught sight of a light shape, and staring harder she could make out the form of something large but flat – a book, maybe. Curiosity getting the better of her, she scrambled underneath – since her short arms wouldn’t reach far enough. Nearing the shrouded object, she could now see it was a tatty looking photo album. It was a rusty red colour and most of the gold lettering had been roughly scratched off so the words were impossible to make out. Adalia brought it out into the soft light of the nursery, which illuminated the aging album cover. It was a sharp contrast to the clean and new-looking room.

Her heart was now beating much faster than before as her fingertips carefully slid over the remaining flakes of lettering. Clearly this wasn’t something for anyone to see… especially not herself. She paused momentarily, wondering this was a good idea after all. If there was something in here that she…or anyone …really wasn’t meant to see…
No, she thought. Not now I’ve come this far.
Sucking in her breath slightly, she lifted the edge of the book, her eyes widening in anticipation. Seconds later, a bright, white page was revealed, which when compared with the old-looking cover, quite surprised Adalia. The page was so white in fact; she had to narrow her eyes but when she did so, she noticed some tiny black lettering right in the bottom corner. Adalia slowly bent her head forward to read it.

“When the time is right,
Tomorrow or tonight,
We shall come and fright.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What the…?” She sat there, staring intently at the words and pondering what on earth they could mean.

Eeeeeeeee…k.

“Oh!”
Adalia’s head swung around in the direction of the noise and quickly ducked behind the bed. Soft light seeped under the closed door of the nursery and as her eyes peered around from her hiding place, she could see the shadows of someone’s feet right outside the door.

Did I lock the door? Please tell me I locked the door…

Not daring to even blink, Adalia watched with bated breath as the doorknob started to turn slowly… then rattled wildly. Scared incase she was discovered, she squeezed her eyes shut. Then as soon as the rattling had started, it suddenly stopped. A sinister silence fell. Adalia bite her lip and gazed at the motionless shadows still by the door. Unsure of what to do, she glanced around and her eyes fell to the red book by her side. Bizarrely, the page had turned over and what was now shown was a drawing.
A drawing of two dolls.
Dolls with masks covering half of their faces.

They look like the same dolls from the shelf !

Curiosity getting the better of her, Adalia stared at the image, promptly noticing the words scribbled below it.

‘Jira and Marja.’

“Hmm…”

Realising she had made a sound, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth - remembered the person behind the door. She turned sideways slowly, eyes wide, dreading what she might see…

But the shadows had disappeared.

Chapter 3

It took a long time before Adalia dared leave the nursery. And after that little escapade, she vowed not to go in again ever if she didn’t have to. Her findings were too important to be found and taken away from her.
For Adalia loved dolls. Her grandmother wasn’t sure why, as she didn’t actually play with them. But to collect them seemed to give her a fulfillment she couldn’t really explain. And for these particular new dolls, there certainly would be no explanation…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, eat your vegetables.”

“I am.”

Adalia did her best to stay on her grandmothers’ good side because tonight she was going out, leaving Adalia on her own. Well not entirely on her own, there was going to be a babysitter. But for what Adalia wanted to do it was perfect, because the babysitter wouldn’t know what she wasn’t supposed to have.

“I won’t be gone too long, just a few hours Adalia.”

She nodded in reply, her mouth full of food, increasingly eager for 6 o’clock to come. Her mind was buzzing with excitement. But as she was clearing her plate, she noticed she was being watched suspiciously.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? No…” Adalia replied, trying not to look away.

Oh no…does she know?

“It’s just…” her grandmother peered at her. “You’ve been acting …funny, lately.” She shook her head and got up, clearing the table. “Never mind.”

Looking somewhat worried, Adalia went to her room and sat on her bed. She glanced at the clock.

5:53pm. Not long now.

It had been a struggle the past few days. She had not wanted to risk reading another page of the book incase she was found out, so had hid it away until she was sure she could read it without the worry of her grandmother walking in.

…Tick, tock, tick, tock.

“Adalia!”

Her grandmother peered around the door. “The babysitter is here dear,” she paused, seemingly bemused by her grandchild’s expression, “well…come and introduce yourself.”

Wanting to get this over with, she promptly jumped up and followed her grandmother out of the room. As they headed down the hallway, Adalia saw a girl of around seventeen hanging her coat up. She beamed as she noticed the two approaching.

“Hi, May!” She chirped. She dropped a red bag at her feet and pulled out a small notebook, handing it to May, who hurried scribbled something down.

“Erin, this is Adalia. Adalia, this is Erin.”

Adalia observed Erin closely. She wore a lemon coloured top with a few pretty ribbons decorating the neckline. Her light blue jeans covered much of her trainers and her long dark hair was tied back loosely with a scrunchy to match her top. Judging by her voice and cheery hello, she seemed to be rather bubbly but as she gave her a warm smile, Adalia only received a fleeting look in return.

Beeeeeeeep!

“Oh! Taxi is here,” she passed the notebook back to Erin. “Be good Adalia!” And without waiting for a reply, she left.

There was a stony silence after the door clicked shut, as the mood suddenly seemed to cool. Erin bent down and picked up her bag, putting the notebook back in.

“Well… I have homework to do.” She walked towards the kitchen, obviously knowing her way around the house. “Do you need anything?” She asked without looking back.

“Um, no thanks.”

After a few minutes thought, Adalia decided to follow her. If her evenings plan was to work, she needed to know where exactly Erin would be and how long she had to hide the book if need be.

Erin was already sat at the kitchen table and writing speedily, many books spread out in front of her. A shiny white lamp bathed her and the tabletop in front of her with soft light, making her seem almost angelic. But that obviously wasn’t the case, as she noticed Adalia immediately but only glanced up at her and without saying a word, continued writing. Not particularly bothered by this however, Adalia went back out and headed for her room.

Closing the door behind her, she went over to a bright green toy trunk in the corner of her room and lifted the lid. Beneath the many colourful stuffed toys was the something Adalia had been longing to look at, but had had to wait for the right time. Hesitantly, she pulled the deep red book from its hiding place and sat down on the soft carpet, her back to the door.
The cover of the book still puzzled her; its gold lettering had obviously meant something at one time but with only fragments of letters here and there it would be impossible…
She peered closely at the space where the words should have been, tilting it in the light to see if it gave any clues. It didn’t - but gasping suddenly, Adalia spotted something that she hadn’t before; towards the bottom of the cover were a number of slight indents making up various shapes. She eagerly ran her fingers over them to make sure she wasn’t imagining them and then lifted the book up further into the light. Narrowing her eyes, she could clearly make out two rows of symbols; a central heart, on the left of that another heart but this one had a knife piercing it and on the far right two wavy lines which Adalia thought could mean waves or water.

“What is this all about…?”

Lost in her thoughts, Adalia didn’t hear the almost silent footsteps creeping up to her door.
Neither did she hear the doorknob turn and the door open slightly.

A cold draft of air entered the room and breezed past Adalia in silence, moving a piece of her dark hair to the front of her face.
Adalia froze.

Someone’s here.

Chapter 4

“Hey!”

Her eyes wide in shock, Adalia stared into space while her mind raced in alarm. A deathly hush fell on the room.

“What do you want to eat?”

Adalia, her mouth gaping slightly, turned slowly until her fixed gaze met Erin’s. Adalia finally managed to blink.

“Uh… what?”

Erin was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed but in a strangely relaxed manner – especially compared to how much Adalia’s heart was beating.

“I said…”

Erin stopped mid-sentence, suddenly noticing the book. Her eyes widened – but in horror or awe, Adalia wasn’t completely sure.

“Uh…I…I said…” Erin’s gaze had not moved, but her poise had clearly changed and Adalia was sure she’d turned at least one shade paler. After what felt like an eternity, she eventually seemed to snap out of it. “I’ll go make you a sandwich. Peanut butter okay?”
Before Adalia could give an answer, Erin had gone. She listened intently, making sure she had really gone and then furrowing her brow in both bewilderment and annoyance; Adalia glanced back down at the book.

Oddly, Erin neglected to come back with the sandwich or even shout for Adalia to come get them. So now, feeling a bit hungry, Adalia decided to go find out where she’d got. She went to her open doorway and looked down the corridor. It was incredibly dark and she felt claustrophobic just looking into it, but on the left a bright stream of light spilled out from the kitchen.

…”No! I swear it was!”

As she neared the kitchen, Erin’s fretful but hushed voice could be heard. Surprised, Adalias’ heart skipped a beat but she purposely kept quiet and paused by the open doorway, listening carefully.

“YES…really. I know, I can’t quite believe it myself…what? Huh? No…I, I couldn’t.”

Adalia held her breath, not wanting to miss a word but a sudden bang back down the corridor made her jump.

“…Wait….”

A light knock of the kitchen phone being put down and then quiet but deliberate footsteps were heard coming towards the doorway. Thinking quickly, Adalia hurriedly took a few steps back down the corridor and turned to walk back up. Erin’s startled face greeted her but Adalia just peered up at her innocently, noting that she looked even paler than before.

“I’m hungry.”

She spoke quietly and tried to remain as expressionless as she could, but Erin didn’t seem to register the words and curiously peeked around Adalia as if expecting something to be hiding behind her.

“Oh. Right.”

Erin stepped back, her pale coloured eyes watching Adalia somewhat cautiously and swiftly grabbed an apple from a nearby fruit bowl. She passed it to Adalia, her eyes firmly fixed on the small girl still stood in the doorway.

“No sandwiches?”

After a moments pause, Erin shook her head slightly. Becoming increasingly frustrated, Adalia strode into the room, her face a mixture of contorted emotion. Her eyes looked dangerously wild and Erin was sure she saw a flash of something…unnatural.

“What is wrong with you?” She demanded in a tiny, but stern voice. Erin didn’t move or speak but her eyes flittered to the side and Adalia knew without looking exactly what she glanced at. “Who are you talking to?”

Erin stepped backwards, showing she was clearly afraid of something. Afraid of Adalia?
No…she can’t be, Adalia decided. Why would she be scared of a 12 year old girl? But she decided she might as well get to the point.
“What’s scaring you?” Adalia cocked a brow. “Or should it be …what is it about me that’s scaring you?

Erin seemed to momentarily hold her breath but she opened her mouth slightly as if she was about to reply. A muffled voice distracted her attention – it came from the telephone that was lying behind her.

“Oh…! Shit…” Erin quickly glanced at Adalia; giving a weak smile in apology, then turned to the side counter and picked up the phone she had hastily abandoned minutes earlier.

“Hey…sorry about that. I gotta go. Talk to you later.” She slowly replaced the receiver. Adalia, watching carefully, could clearly imagine the cogs turning in her head as she turned back to face her.

“Who was that?”

“Just …a friend.” Erin replied swiftly. Adalia was certain a slight blush had just coloured Erins’ cheeks. Adalia smirked.
Erin noticed and blushed even more but soon became alert again and hastily changed the subject, stopping Adalia in her tracks.

“Adalia. What happened to your mum and dad?”

Adalias’ face froze for two reasons. The first reason was that very few people actually call her by her first name. Some people even seemed to deliberately avoid her eyes. The second was that no one had ever asked about her parents, even though it was obvious they weren’t around. It was if… nobody wanted to know.

Erin had sat down by the breakfast counter, clearly trying to relax herself. She glanced at Adalia and nodded toward the stool opposite.

“Sit.”

Adalia obeyed. She stared silently at the counter for a while before looking at Erin again.

“I don’t know.”

Erin blinked and then rested her chin on her palm. “Don’t know… anything?”

“Only that they left me here,” she replied frowning. “Why? What’s it to you?”

“Well, I…” she clenched her hands together. “I knew them. And you, when I was younger…”

Close up, Adalia could see Erin’s eyes were more a turquoise-blue colour and despite their prettiness, there was a definite tinge of sadness in them when she spoke that last sentence. However, Adalia said nothing, waiting.

“My younger sister and I used to come around when you were about four but after awhile we were stopped from visiting – we were never told why exactly… but it was hinted that it was your mother’s doing. But that probably is no surprise…”

Adalia shook her head. She never really knew her mother but from what little she’d already heard from her grandmother, it was certainly no bombshell.

“The next we knew,” Erin continued, “your parents had gone. No idea how or why …but there were many rumours.” She shook her head in frustration. “Even then we still couldn’t visit, we didn’t understand it, least of all my sister. You were her best friend.” Erin’s eyes lost that coolness and element of sorrow as a smile warmed her whole face.
Adalia hardly noticed though, as she was deep in thought.

…I had a best friend?

“…Jinelle.” She murmured, her eyes appeared to have a soft glaze over them.

Erin looked stunned. “You remember her?”

“I… no. Not really. That name just came to me.” Her eyes flickered. “Rumours?”

“Huh?”

“You said there were rumours about my parents. What kind of rumours?”

“Oh. Umm… maybe your grandmother should tell you.”

“No!” Adalia snapped. “She won’t tell me. And anyway, you started this.”

“Alright, alright…” Erin said in a low voice. She leaned forward and folded her arms, resting her elbows on the counter top. Her eyes now appeared more intense, with peculiar glint in them that Adalia couldn’t quite work out.

“The rumours were generally the same – that they’d just left without saying where they went. Some even went as far to say they were dead.” Erin glanced at the doorway, as she last word seemed to linger longer than it should have done. “But there were a few very odd rumours …ones that sounded ridiculous.” Erin took a breath. “It was said that your parents were driven away. By some sort of …supernatural force.”

Adalia stared, then her expression turned to puzzlement.

“You mean ghosts?”

“No. I don't think so… something else. Some other ‘being’.” Erin shook her head. “I know – it’s stupid but that’s not all. Some even said it was your fault. And that was why they didn’t take you with them.”

Adalia remained blank for a second before screwing her face up. “What rubbish.”

Erin shrugged, appearing not to be surprised by her reaction, “well now you know.”

Maybe she doesn’t really believe all that either, Adalia thought.

To break the eerie silence that had remained for far too long, Adalia stood up.

“I have homework to do.”

Erin smiled, evidently more relaxed after her revelation. “Need any help?”

“Ah…” She thought a moment. “Sure, I’ll just go get it.” Adalia headed for her room, her face a changing palette of emotions – one second she felt relief of finally finding out something about her past, the next she was in disbelief and total confusion about some of the rumours about her parents.

Other ‘beings?’ Nonsense. Total nonsense.

As she approached her room, she stopped abruptly. In the bright light that shone from under the door, a small but dark shadow had appeared.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Adalias’ heart felt like it was going to jump out of her mouth and she noticed her hands felt cold and clammy and the hair on the back of her neck had risen.

You’re just being paranoid…

Convincing herself it was just the conversation with Erin about ghosts that were making her jumpy; Adalia squeezed her eyes shut, grasped the door handle and pushed.

Chapter 5

“…Ooof!”

Adalia lost her breath as she fell against the door. It wouldn’t open. She muttered and wiggled the doorknob to see if that made any difference. The small shadow hadn’t moved… maybe something had fallen and was blocking the doorway? Adalia hesitated for a few seconds before crouching down and putting her head to the floor, her line of vision leading directly under the door.

“Oh!”

The dark shadow came from that of the blue doll, Marja. Her sad face looked straight at Adalia’s surprised but relieved one. She studied the dolls funny pose; it was half curled up – almost like it was protecting itself. Adalia let out a choked gasp. As she gazed at the doll she could have sworn it quivered ever so slightly. Determined to prove herself right she remained motionless, still watching intently and clearly not noticing the figure that appeared behind her.

“What are you doing?”

Adalia yelped and spun around. A confused looking Erin met her startled face. Adalia got to her feet.

“Uh, well…”

“I thought you were getting your homework.”

“I was.” Adalia answered defiantly. “But… I can’t get in.” She took a fleeting look back towards the door.

Erin looked perplexed. “Can’t get in your room?”

Adalia shook her head. “I don’t know, it’s stuck or something.”

Erin tried the door herself and when that failed, she squatted to look under the door, just as Adalia did.

“Well I don’t see anything blo--” she stopped mid-sentence. “What is that?”

“…What?”

“That ugly thing with the blue hair!”

“She’s not ugly,” Adalia hissed. “And she’s a doll.”

“She?” There was a note of amusement in her voice.

Adalia said nothing but glared hard at Erin, her jaw locked. Erin quickly detected the tension in the air and tried the door again, the loud rattle breaking the awkward silence.

“Well I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to leave your homework ‘til later.” She turned and headed back down the hall. Adalia turned to follow but waited and then decided to try the door one last time.

Click

The door slowly creaked ajar and a faint beam of light spilled into the pitch-dark hallway. Adalia blinked, quite stunned and looked back down the corridor. She contemplated calling for Erin but instead crept forward and peered through the gap. The bright light that had earlier bathed the room had dimmed considerably and various suspicious looking shadows were lightly cast on the walls.
Despite the unease that swamped the atmosphere and the fear crowding her mind, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open a little more while stepping inside.

The first thing that caught her eye was Marja, still behind the door. She was facing the same way but her pose was different – she was no longer curled up.

“…Odd…” Adalia murmured, who then bent down and picked her up. She felt a slight jolt of panic, as her mind cast back to the ghost conversation, before concluding it was probably just the angle she saw her under the door. Turning to examine the rear of the door, her eyes swept it from top to bottom to see what had possibly blocked the door earlier, however she couldn’t see anything obvious. It suddenly dawned on Adalia that there was no reason for Marja to be on the floor in full view of anyone who happened to walk in the room – she’d hid both dolls out of sight in the toy trunk. Hadn’t she?
But she didn’t have time to think about this.

Adalia turned slightly with her ears pricked, acting the same way as a small animal pauses to listen for prey. Or an enemy. She was certain someone had just come in the front door.

Click

Yes. That was the door being shut again.

Silently, Adalia moved to the corner of the room and placed Marja in the trunk. The doll, so miserable and creepy looking, was completely out of place compared to the soft, brightly coloured toys surrounding her. It reminded her of a nasty creepy-crawly sitting on a pretty flower, the delicate petals encircling it in a halo of quiet affection. Adalia placed a plush polar bear to hide her and was about to close the lid again, when she realised something was missing.
The painted scarlet eye.
The red doll.
Jira.

But she had no time to search the trunk now and replaced the lid, tiptoeing to the door. She peered through the small gap, her eyes skimming as much of the hallway as she could see.
No one.

Maybe it was just some salesman who came to the door. Or a pizza guy. Or a neighbour.

Adalia snorted as she thought that last sentence, and clasped her hand to her mouth realising how loud she must have been. Anyone in the hall would easily have heard that. She held her breath, waiting.
Nothing.
Her sense of dread quickly diminished, as it appeared there was no one hiding in the hall, waiting to burst in on her secret. But she had to make sure.
Her small, now slightly sweaty fingers clutched the edge of the door tightly and gently eased it further ajar.

And a pair of huge bulging eyes and a large toothy grin greeted her startled face.