Beauty is Painful

"Kill me first..." A whisper.


"Kill me once if you can, kill me twice if you can't...." A soft sweet voice now crooned.

 The doll's lips weren't moving, but I could hear her singing about. Her jet black buttons had been cut from her face long ago, and now all that remained were dangling strings. Her stitched mouth twitched up as she shambled forward.

Just minutes ago she had been a messy pile of cloth limbs in the shadowy corner. It was nighttime, and I lay silently in my bed. I couldn’t move, and the sheets were soaked. She moved like a puppet whose strings had been cut, a boneless sagging mess. Her steps were with abandon, flopping one foot forward then another, all while shaking like she was giggling.

Snip, snip. The scissors were in her ragged hand.

“You killed me once because you could…”

RUN, RUN, RUN! My mind was screaming crazily.

Snip, snip. I swear I didn’t know it would hurt her!

Snip, snip. It’s not like she needs them to see!

Snip, snip. I was just a kid, ok!?

“Kill me twice…” My scream would curdle blood as I threw myself up from my helpless stupor. Without a thought, I attacked the one that had been advancing towards my bed. I fell over her, expecting to wrestle her for the knife, to grapple and win my life from her. But instead of landing on top of her, I kept falling….and falling….and falling….down into the darkness below.

Snip, snip, snip, snip, snip, snip…..

I fell on to my back, the fall seemed an eternity and an instant. Gasping my sweet relief I laughed. The doll had vanished. She couldn’t hurt me, I wasn’t helpless! I killed her twice! I laughed and moved to push myself to sit up. Except I didn’t.

Wait.

My pajamas were gone. I was wearing a ragged old dress.

Snip….

My hair was a matted series of curls. My head wouldn’t move, neither would my arms.

Snip…

None of this was right.

Why were my arms made of felt!? I started to scream and cry, but the tears wouldn’t come, and the screams wouldn’t leave my mouth. I would lay here for an eternity, I thought, helpless in the dark.

A spread of warmth quieted my despair, just beneath my head. The warmth was coming from something soft and alive, and I felt relief for some reason. I knew that I was safe. I realized now I had been laying on a giant’s knee for some time now, like it was where I had landed.

I stared endlessly up into the darkness…the darkness of a laughing gaping mouth. No! This wasn’t right! That’s my face! Give it back!

The face above me laughed, and lifted a pair of long terrifying scissors. Snip, Snip.

“I’ll just fix that….” The scissors move down towards me.

No! Stop! I need those! Don’t do this to me!

AAAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!

“There.” The little girl lifted her rag doll and smiled at it. Strings hung uselessly from the doll’s face.

“Now that those buttons are gone, I can put some eye shadow up there.” She declared proudly.

Killed me twice….