Lily, a curious and adventurous young child, had recently moved with her parents to a charming farmhouse nestled in the heart of a quaint village. The farmland, stretching out behind the house, gently led to a serene stream. Just beyond it lay a small hill blanketed in a dense forest of towering trees. Despite the idyllic setting, a particular warning lingered in her ears: “Don’t go beyond the stream,” her mother repeatedly cautioned. During the rainy season, the stream swelled into a deep, rapid flow, making it a formidable barrier. However, with the arrival of summer, the once turbulent waters calmed. The rocks that usually lay hidden on the stream bed emerged, creating a pathway that made crossing it seem almost effortless.
One radiant and cloudless day, while wandering the expansive farmland, Lily found herself standing at the edge of the stream. As she gazed across to the wooded hill on the other side, an unsettling sound, a mournful cry, echoed from the heart of the thick woods. The warning to stay away from the forest rang in her mind, but the anguished cry piqued her curiosity, stirring an insatiable desire to uncover its source. Despite her mother’s cautionary words, the haunting sound pulled at her with an irresistible force. Lily’s heart raced with a blend of fear and a fervent need to investigate the mysterious cry.
She bravely crossed the stream and sought the mysterious cry in the woods. Amid her search, she spotted a troubling track, as though something had been dragged. She debated continuing, thinking it was daytime and she could turn back anytime. Following the trail deeper into the forest, the cry she sought disappeared, sending a shiver down her spine. Panic set in as she realized she was far from the safety of the coast. A disturbing sight awaited her—a blood-stained doll on the trail. Suddenly, a menacing growl erupted from the bush ahead. Terrified, she clutched the doll and sprinted back to the coast. The growl grew louder, and an ominous thud knocked her unconscious, lost in the dark heart of the woods.
She woke up not knowing how many hours it has been. She looked around and she was inside a house, dusty and old as if no one has lived there for decades. She looked around and the doll that she discovered in the forest was there on the floor. The only thought she had now was, “I want to go back home”. Then a sudden lightning came and an ear deafening thunder followed and it started raining. She frantically searched for an exit, but the creaking floorboards and the pin drop silence of the desolate rooms only amplified her fear. The windows were made of glass but were boarded shut, and the doors she tried were all firmly locked.
She dashed around the house, trying desperately to escape through any door or window, but the pounding rain and thunder outside added to her fear. Overwhelmed, she sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face.
Then, a creaking door made her freeze with terror, but a faint light upstairs caught her eye. Clutching a doll, she summoned the courage to investigate. Upstairs, a glimmer seeped from a partly open door. She cautiously approached and found a glowing mirror. As she peered into it, the reflection began to change, revealing scenes from her home where her family sought her. Inside Lily’s home, her mother clung to a cherished photo, tears streaking down her face while the neighbors offered heartfelt support. Lily’s father, and others were calling out her name amidst the dimming light. Each minute intensified his unease about his daughter’s whereabouts.
Filled with regret for not heeding her mother’s warnings, she felt a wave of sadness. The doll suddenly cried, startling her. When she threw it in front of the mirror, the reflections shifted, unveiling a terrifying sight—a hairy beast with red, ferocious eyes and a face reminiscent of a human, performing a ghastly ritual that turned a girl into the same doll she held. Lily was horrified as she recalled seeing the red eyes in the bushes before she blacked out.
She was gripped by terror, desperate to flee the house. Scampering from room to room, she stumbled upon a ladder. She ascended the ladder to the attic, and as her feet landed on the floor, an unsettling realization dawned upon her.
The room, once dimly lit, now revealed an eerie sight—a multitude of dolls strewn across the floor. Each doll bore a haunting resemblance to children, their lifeless eyes seemingly fixed on her as she tentatively navigated the sea of figurines. A shiver ran down her spine. She stumbled upon a window, its height making escape seem impossible. Echoes of the returning beast’s angry growls filled the air, sparking a chilling sense of urgency. The creature’s furious footsteps thundered through the house as it relentlessly searched for the missing girl. The beast’s rage culminated in a thunderous arrival at the attic, where a small noise indicated the girl’s presence.
Breaking the window in a fit of fury, the beast, desperate to find the girl, caught sight of a doll outside but failed to locate Lily. However, Lily, crafty and resourceful, had ingeniously concealed herself inside a china doll from the collection, rendering herself invisible to the raging beast. When the coast was clear, she carefully used the dolls as a cushion for her descent from the window, rushing into the ominous forest, her heart pounding with the desire to reach the safety of the coast.
The distant sound of water seemed within her grasp, but a horrifying turn of events led to the beast’s ferocious growls signaling its nearness. With every ounce of energy, she ran, but the beast’s relentless pursuit was unyielding. In a terrifying climax, the beast pounced on her, its claws sinking into her, before a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.
Abruptly, Lily jolted awake, the nightmare’s terror still clinging to her skin as she found herself back in her bedroom, drenched in sweat. Her mother, alerted by her cries, rushed to comfort her. Shaken and breathless, Lily reassured her mother that it was just a terrifying dream, finding solace in the realization that the haunting ordeal was merely a dream
