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 Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 10:58 am
Prompt You receive a mysterious package in the mail. It has your name on it, but no return address. Inside is an extremely creepy doll. Realistically it seems well made and well maintained, but there’s something off about it. If you choose to keep it, it seems to always have its eyes on you. Sometimes it seems to have moved from where you left it—and, since you received it, sometimes you hear a strange, echoing laughter. What do you do?
It went without fail that when she'd finally had a guest over to her house, the doorbell rang.
Honestly, it was really rather funny. Jules hardly had guests over and hardly ever had anyone bothering with her doorbell (or door, for that matter) so for the coincidence to happen that both occurred at the same time... well, it was funny in its own way, excusing the slight frustration of having to pardon herself from her guest to answer said doorbell.
Rory had been over for some much needed catch-up time. Jules had been thrilled to see her in a better mood than when they'd last met - perhaps the boy she'd found at the Gala had turned into a decent sort of fellow, after all?
So, sandwiches, lemonade and gossip were put on pause as she opened the door... to nothing. Huh.
There was no one there as she looked around, eyes finally settling in on the box at her feet. The address was scribbled on the surface along with her name, but no sender information... at all. No name, no address.
Peculiar.
"It seems like today's full of wonders," she mused aloud as she brought the package inside, setting it on the kitchen table along with their lunch. "Shall we see what's inside?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:22 am
When it came to boys, Rory didn't have any girlfriends to meet up with and talk about them with. She also didn't have a mother she could confide in and her pops and Akio kept getting off on the wrong foot. The dinner had gone well, but it was clear that Pops was still pretty displeased about the way Akio had brought her home past curfew and slept over more than once. She had very few friends, of which included, her two cats, a youma who vamped, her boyfriend, and a few strictly co-worker friends.
And then, there was Jules.
Rory had met the woman through the shared acquaintance of General Obsidian, but she had bonded with the woman unexpectedly. As a young girl with no maternal influences in her life it hadn't taken her long to latch onto the older woman and for her to turn to her when she needed help and advice that she didn't feel comfortable going to her father about.
She couldn't have imagined asking her dad about birth control, not when his opinion of he boyfriend was already so low.
"Were you expecting a package?" Rory asked, looking up from her sandwich when the woman returned.
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:43 am
"I hadn't ordered anything?" Blue eyes stared at the worn out box curiously. "And it seems too early to be anything for Christmas time, right?"
Scissors found their way towards the overly-taped up sides, Jules mindful not to push too deep in case there was something resting at the top of the parcel. The first thing she noticed when she peeled back the flaps were wads upon wads of old, yellowish newspapers. The paper was aged and looked as though it could crumble at the slightest touch, but the paper wasn't her concern.
No, the rotten, horrible putrid smell omitting from the box was enough to make her momentarily queasy, thoughts of sandwiches and lunch flying out the window.
What in the world...?
Grabbing the rubber gloves from under the sink, curiosity got the better of her and she brushed back the old paper. The smell wafted up and made her gag, but within a few moments, seemed to ease up.
"I don't know if I did something to piss someone off or if this is some sort of a cruel prank," she mumbled to no one in particular, eyebrows furrowing as her fingers made contact with something solid. Yanking it up, she held her breath in concern of what was to appear when.... a beautiful porcelain baby doll, all dressed in curls and frills, popped out from among the vile.
"What on Earth..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 11:52 am
"We haven't even made it through hallow--" Rory cut off as a gagging noise overtook her words. The girl was recoiling, sliding off of her stool with her sandwich abandoned permanently, and she had her arm up over her nose trying to better protect herself from the smell.
"What in the--- eugh." Jade eyes squeezed shut and she tried not to shudder as she backed further away from the box and the retched smell. "M-maybe it was one of the patient's you tended to?" People got so angry over nonsensical things and several failed to be adults about things, which baffled the teenager who felt like she had her life pretty well put together for someone who was only seventeen.
But some people...
She let one eye peek open at Jules' exclamation and slowly her arms lowered, brow crinkling as she inched forward, tentatively reaching out to touch the thing. "That's--" She didn't know what that was, except strange and a little concerning. "Why would someone send you a doll?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:43 pm
"I don't...."
No patient should have access to her information, but that didn't mean it wasn't completely out of the question.
Jules tentatively brought the doll up to her nose and took a small sniff, her expression turning even more puzzled at the mingled scent of moth balls and rose petals. Digging around in the box produced nothing else but worn newspaper...so where had the smell come from? And why had it disappeared so fast?
The thought that maybe her ex was playing a trick on her flickered across her mind but why would...no, Jack wouldn't bother doing something so childish.
.....would he?
"It's pretty....even if it's a little bizarre," she offered, brushing out the wrinkles in the doll's dress. "I don't...."
Something about the doll made her uneasy and Julianne Payne didn't do uneasy. It was far too pretty to throw away but putting it on her shelf was...no. It was out of the question.
She looked to Aurora. "Would you want it?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:39 pm
Rory was just as puzzled as her companion and as the smell dissipated, she inched closer hesitantly. "What a weird thing to get in the mail." Lips pursed and she leaned in with some reservations. As Jules sniffed the doll the teen examined the box looking for any sort of sender information. There was nothing to be found and she frowned at the box, then at the doll.
Even just looking at it made her uneasy like there was something inherently wrong with it. It wasn't like the dolls at the store, the ones made for little girls to play with. This was something that looked like it sat on the shelves of houses that belong to old women who lived in a time where most things were handmade and a well made doll was a rare find or a truly special gift from an absent father to his doting daughter.
"Oh," Rory licked her lips, trying to determine the best way to politely decline. "I'm afraid my cats would just mutilate it. Maybe we can donate it somewhere?" There had to be a child that would love such a pretty doll, wouldn't there?
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 1:41 pm
"That sounds like a splendid idea, Rory!"
Her enthusiasm was a little forced, but Jules nodded her head as she took both box and doll, removing them swiftly from the table. "Be a sweetheart and wipe down the counter, will you? I'll go stick this someplace by my car so I won't forget to do just that. I'm sure it'll make some little girl happy, somewhere."
As she made her way out into the garage, the older woman quietly opened the garbage bin and promptly dumped both box and doll into the empty container. If she and Rory both were feeling this uneasy about an inanimate object... well, it was probably best that no one lay their hands on such an unnerving little doll.
Closing the lid, she automatically moved to wipe her hands on her pants before returning to the kitchen - and, hopefully to resume some long-overdue gossip.
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