My Daughters a Doll?

"She is missing, Kerry."

Kerry felt the words on the back of his neck. He looked up to watch Nichole adjust her heavy grey coat and clutch at her red pocketbook. Kerry Wheeler asked, "What do you want me to do? We can't call the police unless she is missing for forty-eight hours."

"That's a myth. You can call the police if you feel distressed and I feel distressed, now call them."

Kerry heard her tone deepen. But, Nichole wasn't anger, until her nostrils flared, and they flared like a boar's. "Okay," said Kerry, "I'm calling. Find me a payphone."

"Forget it," said Nichole. She stamped towards an officer across the street. "Officer," she waved her arms erratically. "Officer, please help."

Kerry waited for a blue Monarch to pass before chasing after his wife.

The officer asks, "What seems to be the trouble?"

Nichole glared at Kerry and jerked her head to talk with the officer.

"Okay," said Kerry. He rubbed his brow to ward off a coming headache. He flicks upwards. Looks back down at the badge to read Officer Davis, Willoughby, Nevada Police Department. Kerry said, "This may seem like an obvious question, but you see, our daughter seems to be missing."

"Missing," said the officer, "Where did you say you last saw of her?"

Nichole's arm cut in-between them to point towards the dense woods and said, "Over there."

"Umm, yes dear, the Massive Hickory Wilds trailhead," said Kerry. He grabs at Nichole's arm to hug it close to his chest.

The officer asked in a slower, lower tone, "Are you sure in there?"

Kerry hugging his wife, said matter-a-factly, "Yes, we needed to stretch our legs so, I thought a short walk would be nice. You see, we are not from around here and--."

But, Kerry was cut off. The officer, now in a higher, half-yell tone, said into his radio, "This is Officer 123 reporting a missing child in the MHW. Requesting search party immediately."

"A search party?" asked Nichole.

Kerry asked, "A search party? Come on, is that really necessary?"

Over the radio, an excited voice said, "Shit, again. Okay, I'm calling it in, over."

Thirty-three minutes later.

"What's the daughter's name again?"

"Damnit, Paul, listen it's, Maryann Leah Wheeler. Get it right. The parents are right over there."

Paul tips his black hat over his eyes and mumbled something.

The other officer crushed leaves to walk back to the couple.

"MARYANN," screamed Nichole.

The officer screamed for Maryann too.

"Oh, thank you, Officer Davis," said Nichole. "Do you think we will find her?"

"Don't talk like that, Nichole," said Kerry. He rubbed both of Nichole's arms as he did this; a puff of her strawberry-scented hair escaped and calmed him. The strawberry taste was a palate cleanser to this dead woods air.

Officer Davis said, "He's right, don't talk like that. We will find her. But?"

"But, what officer," said a now aggressive Kerry.

"These woods," said Davis. His eyes turn down and away like an owl finding something moving under the heavy leaves. He continued, "I would like to prepare you two for what we will find in these woods."

"FOUND IT," screamed from deep in the woods.

Kerry couldn't see where the scream came from through the thick, dark woods.

Officer Davis struggles to turn in the crushing leaves. His two-way beep to life and said, "We found it. And in the same place as last time."

He clicks on his radio. Officer Davis asked, "Are you sure?"

The parents asked, "What is he talking about? Has this happened before?"

Davis smashes leaves to turn to face them and said, "Let's simply go to see what they have found, okay?"

A short walk, far from the man-made trailhead, they come to a small clearing. What looks to be the center of the clearing is a boulder of limestone. The fieldstone seems to be cut into a geometric shape of some kind. Two officers hover over the stone bickering as to which one will touch it.

Kerry overheard the officers saying the doll a the same tag as the last one too, a green goblin head.

Kerry still held on to Nichole by the arms. As they arrived to hear the two officers calling Maryanne it, Nichole jumped out of his hands and stomping a path in the leaves like snow.

Nichole said, "Don't call my daughter it how dare you to call her it; I will have your badge numbers..." Both her voice and energy trailed off as Nichole looked over the short boulder.

"Does the doll look like her, Ms. Wheeler," asked Davis.

Kerry glared at Officer Davis and said, "Doll?" He felt overheated and shrugged his arms.

"Yes," said Nichole inaudible. She turned, slapping leaves with her dark heels to walk back to Kerry. "See. Look, honey, the doll." Nichole held it up to Kerry.

Kerry couldn't believe his eyes. This doll makes you think of an elusive unicorn. She has beady black eyes that are like two pieces of obsidian. Her precise, straight, gray hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a Shark Eye seashell. Her graceful build down to her stubby-fingered hands and, the doll, wore an elegant brown and yellow dress.

A splitting image of Maryann Leah Wheeler.

"The doll has a pull-string in the back," said Nichole.

She pulled, the doll spoke in a sweet Maryanne tone, "Mommy, Daddy, what's happened to me?"

Nichole drops the doll.

Kerry covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

Officer Paul said, "Well, welcome to Willoughby."

THE END.