Lily's Carousel
Kristen held the steering wheel tight in her hands as she focused every ounce of her attention on the road ahead. She had only had a few beers before leaving the party, yet it seemed to have a stronger effect on her than it normally did. She blinked the haze away as she glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until curfew. She pushed the car to a faster speed and the dirt road began to fly beneath the tires.
It happened in an instant. For one split second she looked down in an attempt to unwrap gum. In that same split second a tree branch, larger than the Mustang she was driving appeared on the road, and before she could swerve or stop, it was hitting the bumper with a ferocious thud and loudly scraped along the undercarriage. Kristen gasped and then cursed before laughing at the limbs scattered the road behind her. At least it was just a harmless branch and not a deer. She took a breath to calm her nerves; however, it soon became apparent that the branch was not as harmless as she had originally thought. The service engine light flashed on her dash, and within seconds the Mustang quietly died and rolled to a stop.
Kristen stared in bewilderment at the dashboard, unaware of what her next move should be. She gazed into the darkness beyond her windows before peering at the dash once more. She switched the key to the off position and then tried to turn the motor back on. It sputtered briefly before giving a click, indicating its resistance to comply. She let out a heavy frustrated sigh as she dug through her bag in search of her cell phone. At long last she felt it at the bottom
of the bag, buried underneath make-up, house keys, and a single pom-pom that was leftover from the pep-rally earlier that day. Her moment of victory was brief as she soon realized that her service was non-existent. Typical.
Kristen tried to turn the engine over one last time. Again, she was met only with the sound of a click and then silence. Seeing no other choice, she climbed out of the useless car and looked around for the nearest sign of light and life. There seemed to be nothing for miles. She tried to calculate how far back the party was five, ten miles at least. She decided her best bet would be to continue the way she had been going.
Much to her surprise, she only had to walk about hundred yards before the shroud of trees beside the road gave way to a small clearing with a little white house. Light streamed out the windows, and a single yellow bulb dangled over the porch. There was a garage to the right that housed an old blue truck and an even older black dog. The dog raised his head just slightly at the sight of Kristen before sinking back down into the dirt.
Despite the warmth that the house exuded, she hesitated at the end of the driveway. It was almost midnight, and though it was Friday, it still seemed late for a family to be awake. She opened her cell phone to find that she still lacked sufficient enough service to make a call or even send a text. There wasn’t any other option so she took a deep breath and stepped onto the driveway. A loud creak to her right made her jump, and she laughed nervously when she saw that it
was simply the loose hinge of a mailbox. She noted the three “fives” painted on the side.
She hurried through the yard and onto the porch where she knocked twice quickly on the wooden door. For a long minute nothing happened. Then the door slowly opened an inch and a tiny face peered out. Kristen smiled at the child as she wrapped her hands around her arms.
“Hi there, is your mommy and daddy home?” The blue eyes behind the door held curiosity for a moment before the little girl flung the door open excitedly.
“Are you here to play with me?” the girl’s white-blonde curls bounced on her head and her smile emphasized the red apple of her cheeks. She was wearing a long nightgown that grazed the floor, and as she spoke she twirled it just enough for it to sway around her toes. Inside the house, Kristen was surprised at the old shag carpet and the drab wallpaper. The living room was sparse, having only a couch and a wooden chair. On the floor in the corner the girl’s toys were scattered everywhere. As she admired her head of ringlets, Kristen laughed at the child’s enthusiasm.
“No sweetie, I need to use the phone. I had some car troubles,” Kristen fidgeted on the doorstep as she peered into the house looking for an adult.
“I want you to play with me!” the girl laughed and goose bumps ran rampant over Kristen’s arms. She fought hard to keep herself from shivering in the cold night air.
“Where are your parents? I really need to get home soon. It’s late,” she explained, but the child did not appear to be listening. Instead, she grabbed Kristen’s hand and with a force that seemed impossible for her small frame, she tugged Kristen into the house.
“Please, please, please, won’t you play with me?” The child pouted merrily and her eyes flashed. “I have my toys all set up and ready to play. All I need is a friend!” The girl giggled and the sound startled Kristen.
Suddenly Kristen felt uncomfortable. Why was this little girl awake at this hour? And where were her parents? The house was small, two bedrooms at the most, so there was no way they hadn’t heard the knock at the door or the voice of a stranger in their home.
Kneeling down to the child’s level, Kristen tried once more to figure out where the adults of the house were. “What’s your name? I really need to get some help before I get in trouble. My parents will be worried about me.” She wanted nothing more than to give up on the whole notion now. Something didn’t seem right about the situation. However, as much as she wanted to leave, Kristen wasn’t sure she could wrestle her hand out of the vise-like grip of the little girl.
As if reading her mind, the little girl squeezed tighter against Kristen’s hand. As she tried to pull away, the girl seemed to have more strength that a small child should.
“My name is Lily.” She loosened her hold on Kristen’s hand and glanced across the room at a white door.
“Hi Lily, I’m Kristen. I really need to be leaving now. I just needed to use the phone. Please Lily, can you tell me where your parents are?” Kristen was beginning to wonder if the child had parents; however, for the first time, Lily responded to the question.
Her eyes dropped to the floor and the rosy excitement left her face. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper. “Mommy’s in the bathtub. Daddy said she was very bad, like me.”
Kristen stood abruptly and tried to move to the door, thoroughly shaken by Lily’s words. However Lily maintained her grip on her hand, and before she could speak the door across the room opened and a tall man stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
“Lily let go of her!” The sudden command made Kristen jump in fear, and she began shaking uncontrollably. She had a feeling that she had made a mistake in coming here.
Lily quickly released her hand and hissed at her father as she began circling Kristen, and she stared in horror as the child transformed in front of her eyes.
“Leave her alone you evil little brat.” His voice was low and quiet, and despite his words his voice was not threatening. It seemed sadder than anything. Kristen glanced at him and noticed that his eyes were red rimmed, and tears appeared to be permanently settled onto the lower lid.
Lily laughed at him, a cold laugh that seemed too deep for a child. Kristen’s head was spinning and she wanted nothing more than to leave. Lily spun around the room, making her nightgown spin in circles around her ankles. When she stopped spinning she looked
at Kristen. Gone was the twinkling blue, instead her eyes were now unnaturally dark. She smiled slowly, but like her laugh, it was not that of a child. She stared at Kristen while speaking to her father.
“But Daddy,” her voice had taken an edge that resembled nothing of the little girl who had first answered the door. “She came to play with me.”
Kristen found herself horrified by her words. Never before had the word “play” sounded more ominous. Despite her initial shock over the father’s words, she found herself wondering if perhaps he was right.
For the first time since entering the room, the man looked at her. He didn’t seem surprised by her presence, or annoyed, and despite the eerie tone of the room Kristen didn’t fear this man, at least not nearly as much as she had begun to fear Lily.
“I- I was at a party, and I hit a branch as I was coming home. Now my car won’t start. I just needed to use a phone. I didn’t mean to intrude,” she stammered quickly in explanation.
“A phone?” he appeared confused, disoriented even. “We don’t have a phone.” He didn’t further inquire; instead, he glanced down
at Lily who had turned her attention to the toys on the floor. His eyebrows rose slightly, and his jaw dropped ever so discreetly. Kristen followed his gaze and felt her blood go cold.
In the middle of Lily’s toys there was carousal, or at least what used to be carousal. It had been stripped of its horses and carriages down to the revolving poles. On these poles Lily had tied her dolls by the neck with string. Their plastic eyes had been blackened with a pen, and their heads were bald from where she had sheared their hair. The music from the carousal played quietly as the dolls spun around and around on their ride. The black eyes made Kristen nauseous, and Lily turned to give her a smile. Her eyes, however, were now very dark, and the blond curls that had first appeared beautiful now resembled long white snakes across Lily’s back.
The man looked back at Kristen and his eyes held so much fear and sorrow that it was almost tangible. “Just give me a few minutes and I’ll come look at your car. I’m pretty good with my hands.” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared down at his fingers as if they would confirm his words.
Kristen looked down too and noticed that his hands were wet, as well as his shirt, and pants. His arms had long, deep, red scratches, beginning at the elbow and running to his wrist. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked at the door he had walked out of. She realized now that there was a vague sound of running water, and suddenly she was terrified.
“Please,” his voice broke quietly, and with this one word he expressed more fear and pleading than his eyes ever could. “You need to leave. It’s not safe here.” He glanced quickly down at Lily to find her staring at him, eyes dark and angry. The scowl that covered her features had taken the last childlike traces from her face and transformed it into something sinister.
He stared at his daughter and tears were now streaming down his face. His voice was ragged, as if he were in pain, as he spoke to Kristen. “Try your car again, maybe it’ll work this time.”
Kristen had all she could take. She backed up slowly until she had crossed the threshold of the house.
“Yeah, maybe that’s all it needs.” The man and Lily were locked in a single gaze, and Kristen knew that neither had heard her. As she turned to flee the house, the man spoke quietly, his tears and sorrow even more evident.
“It’s time for your bath Lily.”
Kristen ran down the porch steps, through the yard, and down the driveway. She ran until her feet hit the gravel of the road, and even then she kept running. She ran until she was at her car, and within a second she was sliding safely inside. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her heart and her mind was spinning with all that had elapsed in the past five minutes. She put the key in the ignition, and to her relief and surprise, the engine roared to life. She dreaded driving past
the house again; she didn’t want to see the lights or the child. She put the car in gear and resolved to speed past it as fast as she could.
However, when the clearing with the little house came into view, what she saw made her slam on her brakes, and the tires slide on the gravel.
The dog was no longer under the truck because there was no truck. Nor were there lights. The house which had mere moments ago been bright, lit-up, and inhabited, was now clearly and obviously long abandoned. Against her better judgment, Kristen turned into the driveway, her confusion and bafflement greater than her fear. She stared disbelieving as her headlights pierced through the shadows that hovered over the windows and settled around the dilapidated roof. The windows were broken out, and the shutters had all but fallen off. The porch roof had fallen in over the porch, and through the debris the front door stood wide open, revealing the looming emptiness inside the house. The garage was empty and missing one wall. Everything within the clearing had long since been decaying and abandoned.
She put the car in reverse and sped to the road. Impossible, she must have the wrong house; she must be confused. However the black mailbox stood leaning heavily to the left still held the faint outline of three fives, the same three fives that she had seen not more than twenty minutes ago.
Kristen stared at the house once more, not able to comprehend what was happening. She was shaking as she put the car in drive; however, once again the vehicle was not responding to her command. She pressed the gas pedal but there was nothing. Her dashboard was bright and every warning and signal was flashing, blinking, and dancing for her attention. She turned the ignition off, waited a minute, and then frantically tried to turn it back on. She was met with nothing but the same metallic click as the engine failed to engage.
She glanced at the house as small vestiges of panic began searing her mind, and her blood pounded her ears as a small golden glow of light appeared in the broken out window. She stared at it, fixated by the tiny flame, too afraid to look away. She tried to start the car again, never breaking her gaze from the pinprick of light that was gradually growing closer. It appeared to be hovering in the darkness, with nothing holding it and nothing sustaining it. It passed through the door, over the porch, and slowly yet steadily drew nearer to
Kristen where she sat helpless in the road. It flickered in the wind, yet it didn’t go out. Kristen’s heart was racing, and her hands were sweating. She was terrified to tear her eyes away from the strange sight, and she willed it to go away. Her attempts to restart the car were as furious and frequent as her prayers; however both were met with only the same unyielding click, click, click.
The flame was now a mere twenty feet away, and it flickered violently as the wind moaned and rushed through the clearing and wrapped around the car. Between the sound of the engine clicking and the racing of her own heart, Kristen heard a sound in the wind, so quiet and faint that at first she believed it to be nothing but the sound of her own imagination. However, as the wind grew stronger it rocked against the car and the house itself seemed to sway sadly in its grip. The worlds of the child now sailed free like the dead leaves that swirled through the cold night air.
“Won’t you come play with me?” The question had barely registered in her mind before the sound of the engine firing up drowned it out. The flame twirled wildly in the wind and reflected off the blackened eye of the bound doll as it scraped along the gravel behind the Mustang. Then the flame was completely extinguished and gone in the night.