The Attic

Day 23 of StoryADay September.

The Prompt:

Before she knew it, she was just another set of eyes in a dusty attic, waiting for the stairs to creak.

Before she knew it, she was just another set of eyes in a dusty attic, waiting for the stair to creak. She didn’t expect the day to end like this. But, that’s what they all say, isn’t it?

He was cute. He was holding a puppy, letting the little ball of blonde fur lick his face. Her first thought was a wish that she were the puppy. The thought caught her off guard, making her blush. She had waited for the blush to fade, then walked over to say hello.

His smile was bright, so large it lit up his eyes when he turned to answer her hello with his own. His voice was deep, tinged with an accent she couldn’t quite place. The sound rolled from him, smooth, like silk sheets sliding over her thigh. She blushed again. Where did that thought come from? He saw the pink graze her cheeks. He had her already.

He let her hold the wriggling puppy as he told her stories about the puppy’s antics at his house. The puppy fell asleep in her arms, one paw resting on her chest. He feel silent, both of them staring at the paw, rising and falling with her breath.

Eventually he broke the silence, asking her if she would like to see his house. She stared into his eyes, seeing nothing alarming in their depths. The puppy trusted him. She trusted him. She said yes.

She carried the still sleeping pup, the man’s hand on her arm guiding her steps to his house. It stood on the front half of a large lot, carefully manicured lawns spread both front and back. Butter yellow, it stood looking out at the street through two stories of large windows. Cedar shingles climbed to the roofline, broken by a small hexagonal window in the attic. She thought the house looked just as nice as the man and his dog.

She walked up the stairs and through the door without an ounce of hesitation. This was her third mistake, the one that sealed her fate.

Across the threshold he closed the door and took the puppy from her hands, nestling it in a bed near the front door. He filled her hands with his own and leaned in to kiss her, the spell upon his lips.

She felt her knees get weak and leaned further into the kiss. She felt him curve around her but did not realize the reason. She was shrinking, forcing him to bend to maintain the contact until she lay on the floor, asleep.

Her eyes opened here. At first she saw only dust floating in the shaft of sunlight pouring through the small window. She tried to turn her head, but could not. She pushed her eyes to the periphery, catching glimpses of the other dolls with wide-eyes stares that surrounded her, waiting for the man to come for a visit.