3
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1 spent a whole night in my old room,
sketching out a plan. On the fourth day, I took
a thick book of prayers that I had written to
the temple.
I got a nice red cloth and a brand new trunk
for them.
I hired a pair of bodyguards, then went to the
cemetery. They buried it in front of Lily’s
grave.
While they were distracted, I took the things I had ordered, and hid them somewhere safe.
Mom greeted me when I got home, still carrying the doll. She grabbed my hand and
said, “I’m so glad I have you, sweetie. Let’s go
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see your room!“.
The curtains were open, so the room was
bright. Too bad the sunlight couldn’t reach
inside.
The doll had her own wooden bed, decked
out with expensive silk sheets.
It was big enough for an adult.
There was a crystal chandelier hanging from
the ceiling, and matching lamps with flower-
shaped shades. At the end of the bed were a
pair of floor lamps.
If you took away the toys, pictures, and other
decorations, the lamps looked like they were
sitting down.. The doll’s bed was sideways,
facing mine…
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Last time, I had been too blinded by the fancy
decorations to notice.
Now, I saw it all.
“Those lights are pretty dim, darling. Don’t
worry about running up the electric bill,
okay?”
“Lily said girls love cute rooms. If you want
anything else, just let me know, okay?”
“Thank you, Mom. It’s fine just the way it is.”
The nightstand was full of expensive
aromatherapy, all of them light orange.
She grabbed a bottle and held it out for me. “I
know you haven’t been sleeping well, so I got
you a special one for sleep.”
Mom took a sniff, and said, “It smells like
honeysuckle. You should light one every night,
and you’ll start sleeping like a baby again.”
I forced myself to swallow the bile in my
throat and acted grateful.
“You’re the best, Mom!”
Mom touched the doll’s hair, put her in bed,
and tucked her in.
“She’ll keep you safe from now on.”
“I’ll bring some new clothes over tomorrow,
and you can change her,”
I blinked.
“Do you need to change dolls every day? We
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can do it every now and then. That way you
aren’t wasting your time.”
She said flatly, “She needs to be changed,
and washed every two days. She’ll be with
you all the time, and we don’t want her
getting dirty.”
I rolled my eyes on the inside. As if I was the
one who was dirty.
After she left, I locked the door and sat on
the bed. Then I started muttering loud enough.
to hear.
“I can’t stand how ugly this doll is! It’s creepy
as hell.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the doll’s
eyes move.
L
I grinned.
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