1993

“This is a bad idea,” Gaspar mumbled for maybe the millionth time as he flashed the flashlight into the darkness of the abandoned orphanage, the starless night a weighing canopy of dread above them. He heard Casparo’s boisterous laugh from behind him, his sixteen-year-dol twin brother approaching him from the darkness with the flashlight shining in his face.

“What’s the matter? Afriad lit...

If you grew up in my orphanage you would know my story. This is the story of an ancient dolly that was a friend to everyone. At night I was cozy company but at daylight, a hairdresser’s client. I had many different styles being installed daily by little girls. Updos, short hair, buns and even bald. I rocked all styles and the girls and I shared a special type of confidence. They complimented me as...

Finally, all the children at the orphanage were gone. Now, all that’s left is to get rid of the evidence....

I got a call to inspect my next sell. I drove up to the property and saw potential. I felt motivated as a real estate agent looking to sell this property. The property is beautiful. I walked through the door and could see the hospital looked band new. It’s going to sell fast. As I walked through the door I noticed how busy it was by the amount of moths smacking me as I walked inside. I’m not sure ...

Some of us left toys there, on our stacked cots, for the next kids. Part of me wishes Ebony is played with and cared for by another. A bigger part of me hopes there are no more kids to come through, that no one has to cradle Ebony in place of their friends, their family.

Not like I have.

Not as some of the kids were taken in the middle of the night. Not as I waited for them to come back. They ne...

Crawling. On my spine.

Nails on the chalkboard of my bones.

Running up and down

To my legs

Pins, needles, the lot

Vertebraes clicking

In and out of place

Can we just quicken up the pace

Of my dying?

I'm ready to go.

So ready in fact I think

The pain and the scratching

Are pure imagination

Simply rogue thoughts

Left to fester for too long

The electrical impulses

In my brain, taking a detour

...

“We shouldn’t be here…” She mutters, shaking her head. Row upon row of bunkbeds stare back at her, their only occupants layers of dust and dead-eyed dolls. The metal bars groan in protest as she presses against them, testing their weight. The sound sends a shiver down her spine, like nails on a chalkboard.

_You couldn’t pay me to stay here_, she decides. No amount of money could quell the crawli...

This is it.

This is where I killed the love of my life.

I was only a child then, trying to survive in a world where I was not wanted. The orphanage was dirty, the walls were molding, the food wasn’t edible, the beds were uncomfortable, and the nuns were cruel. They used to only lecture us when we misbehaved, but after the new nun arrived, Sister Chelsea, we were beaten to a bloody pulp for even ...

I can’t move.

I watch as they pick up the other dolls lying around and gruff away out the door.

Why can’t I move?

Panic begins to set in. Feeling extremely vulnerable and entirely at the mercy of whoever these people are, I try to assess my predicament.

I’m propped up against the corner of a bed frame with no mattress. A dirty tatted looking bed frame at that. I would try to look further but o...

“You think you can break me?” Zane laughs.

— The kidnappers stay silent —

”IMA FREAKING GOD, IVE KILLED MORE PEOPLE I CAN COUNT BECAUSE ITS FUN,” Zane screams, smiling like a hyena.

— One kidnapper starts to sweat and the stoned face one signals to move him —

”HAHA HA HAAAAA HAHA,” Zane cackles kicking his feet as the two masked kidnappers dressed as swats drag him through a white hallway into...