The Odd Family's Book of Bedtime Stories

The Counting Doll

Luna loved dolls. She had lost count of how many she had. It was enough that her mother had refused to buy her anymore. Instead, Luna saved up her allowance and bought the dolls for herself. To her, the dolls were like her children. She had a name and a story for each one of them and took good care of them.

One day, while out with her grandmother, Luna spotted a doll she just had to have. She pointed to the window and her grandmother took her inside to have a look. There were a lot of strange things in the shop but Luna paid no mind to them. She only wanted to see the doll. This particular one had a porcelain face and body with curly, dark hair and huge blue eyes. It wore a black pin striped gown and held up one finger. Its tag said only 'counting doll'.

"I think I'll name her Jacklyn." Luna decided. She didn't have a Jacklyn yet. With that, they were off. Luna played with her doll for the rest of the day, despite the sour look on her mother's face.

The next day, Luna decided she was done playing with Jacklyn for a while. She didn't want to ignore her other dolls. She put Jacklyn down on the couch and went upstairs to find another doll to play with while she waited for her parents to come back from the store. She was so invested in her game that she almost didn't notice the voice calling her name. Immediately, Luna knew it wasn't her mother's.

"Luna," the voice called, "come play with me."

The voice sounded like it had come from inside one of her dolls but Luna knew none of them knew her name.

"Luna!" The voice shrieked. It seemed angry. Something told Luna to run or to hide. She clutched the doll in her hands to her chest, trembling. "Luna," the voice called out again, "I want to play with you!" Luna slammed the door to her bedroom and locked it.

"Go away!" She yelled.

"I'm at the bottom of the steps, Luna." The voice replied. "I am on the first step." Then a few moments later, it came again. "I am on the second step, Luna. I want to play with you." It continued to count the steps until it reached the top. "I am in the hallway, Luna. I am coming to play with you." Luna stumbled back from the door. There was a tiny tapping on the wood, like a bird pecking it.

"It's Jacklyn, Luna." the voice said, "open the door! I just want to play."

When Luna's parents returned home, they found their daughter's body laying in the middle of her bedroom. All around her, unblinking dolls splattered with blood stared down from their shelves. On the bed was Jacklyn, her blue dress clean and pressed, her hand now holding up two fingers.