Free What a Doll! by P.J. Night Page B

already done more than enough. And what would be the point, anyway? After all, she had her best friend back.
    Emmy knew just what she was going to say when she returned the doll. She wouldn’t ask for a refund, especially given the condition of the doll, with its butchered hair and the mess of makeup all over its face. And the money didn’t matter. What mattered was getting that doll out of her house and out of her life. The doll clearly had supernatural powers and had to go directly back to where it came from. It also had to be reset. What happened to the doll could no longer also happen to Lizzy. Emmy didn’t care what happened after that.
    She would just tell the woman with the long white hair that she needed to return the doll to the place it had come from, and thank you very much, but she wouldn’t be needing it anymore. She had a feeling the woman would understand exactly what she meant. She rehearsed what she was going to say as she entered Zim Zam to the familiar jingle of the bells on the door.
    As usual, Zoom was there, as was Christine, who was busy ringing up some customers. Emmy knelt down to pet Zoom for a minute, but Zoom ran away hissing, so Emmy got up and headed over to the puppet display, looking for the door to the back room.
    There it was, behind the puppets. But as she went to turn the knob, she saw a giant metal bolt on the door.
    Emmy stood still for a moment, puzzled. Why was the room bolted closed? She approached Christine at the register. Christine was saying good-bye to the customers and thanking them, and Emmy patiently waited until Christine turned her attention to her.
    â€œHi, Emmy, what’s the matter?” Christine asked her. Was it that obvious how weirded out Emmy was? She supposed so.
    â€œUm, I was just trying to get into that special back room,” Emmy said. She suddenly felt very self-conscious.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Christine asked.
    â€œThe little back room I went into last time I was here,” Emmy explained, trying to sound normal. “It’s bolted shut today. But it had been open. I went in there.”
    Christine raised her eyebrows. “There’s no back room here, sweetie,” she said. “There’s just this little closet behind the cash register. That’s where I store all my things, like keys and office supplies.” Christine stepped aside and opened a small closet filled with stuff. It was nothing like the little back room with the woman and the incense and the dolls. Emmy stared at the closet, then stared back at Christine, not having any idea what to say next.
    â€œI was there last week,” she finally said. “A woman with long white hair sold me a doll and gave me a candle. A lavender candle,” she added, as if that would be of some help in solving this mystery.
    â€œMaybe it was a dream,” Christine said, trying to be helpful. “It sounds kind of like a dream.”
    Emmy’s heart skipped a beat. It was as if Christine was telling her that maybe black was white and up was down. Emmy knew it hadn’t been a dream. She had the doll to prove it.
    What else could Emmy do? She swung her backpack around, unzipped the front pocket, and pulled out the little doll. She put it on the counter in front of Christine as hard evidence.
    â€œThis is what I bought,” Emmy said, gesturing to the doll.
    â€œWhat’s this?” Christine said, picking it up. “We don’t sell anything like this.”
    â€œIt’s what I bought,” Emmy said again. “It cost four dollars and thirty-two cents. I remember because it’s exactly how much money I had in my wallet that day. And the room was in the back, near the puppets.”
    â€œOh, why didn’t you say so!” Christine exclaimed, her face lighting up with sudden understanding.
    Thank goodness I’m not going crazy, Emmy thought. Christine does know what I’m talking about. She’ll make everything