Chapter 3: Unsettling Signs
A few
nights later, things began to change.
Ruby had
started to notice small, almost unremarkable details that seemed… off. She would
come home from school and find the doll sitting at a slightly different angle
than she’d left it. Its dress, which she had carefully arranged, would be a
little wrinkled, or its hair would have a stray curl out of place. At first,
she thought it was her imagination, or that her mom had been moving it while
tidying up her room.
But then
came the whispers.
It
started as a faint noise, barely there, like the rustling of leaves on a windy
day. Ruby would lie in bed, half asleep, and think she heard someone calling
her name—a soft, insistent voice, like a child’s whisper. It always seemed to
come from the direction of the rocking chair.
One
night, she sat up suddenly, convinced she had heard it clearly.
“Ruby…”
Her heart
pounded as she stared into the darkness, her eyes fixed on the doll. It was
just a trick of the mind, she told herself, a mixture of shadows and the quiet
creaks of the old house. For a long moment, she didn’t move, barely breathing,
waiting for the voice to come again. But the room remained silent, except for
the faint ticking of her bedside clock.
She
reached out with trembling fingers and turned on her lamp. The light flooded
the room, and Ruby felt a wave of relief wash over her. The doll sat exactly as
it always did—completely still, its glassy eyes shining in the sudden
brightness.
Maybe it
was just nerves. She was still getting used to the doll, and it was, after all,
a bit creepy in the dark. Trying to shake off the feeling, Ruby forced herself
to lie back down. She turned off the lamp and closed her eyes, determined to
ignore the irrational fear that seemed to cling to her.
But just
as she was about to fall asleep, she heard it again.
“Ruby…
come play with me…”
The voice
was unmistakable, clear as a bell, and this time, it sounded right beside her
ear. She shot upright, gasping, but there was nothing there—just the empty room
and the doll, sitting peacefully in its chair.
Ruby didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
