The Witch Doll

Chapter 1

Part 1 - Before

What kind of name is Cherry, you may ask? Well, it is the kind that your parents choose because they think it will be cute. Can you guess what my mom craved when she was pregnant with me? Yes, that’s right — cherries. I am sure they thought they were being original like some movie stars are with their kids’ names. It is not cute for me. I have been teased so badly. If you think having a unique name would be enough to get you bullied, try having disorganized limbs. I run like a newborn gazelle, with too long wobbly legs and arms flapping in the air. Let us be honest here, if I were trying to run away from a lion it would catch me in like three seconds.

But wait there is more, I have a hate relationship with math, there is no love involved here, none at all. Its official name is Dyscalculia. There are days I can add and subtract with absolutely no problem, and then there are days my brain goes, huh? Things do not look so good for me, right?

You would be correct in that I have another problem; a big problem and I do not know if I will get out of this situation alive. In order for you to understand what is going on, I must go back to the beginning, no not my birth, back to when I was eight almost nine.

I spotted the shadow out of the corner of my eye when walking with my mom in the playground. It was a black thing that was squatting in the tree, peering at me through slitted eyes that glowed a bright traffic light red. What first caught my attention was those red eyes. What shadow has eyes and red eyes? It was bigger than a cat but smaller than a bear. I knew it was studying me. I also knew that if you made eye contact, something horrible would happen. It was an instinct, like a predator and prey situation.

And I was the prey.

I kept my focus on the playground not daring to look at the shadow. This was not the first time I had seen it. In fact, I was seeing more of it and even started having nightmares about it. This shadow did not behave like actual shadows should. It did not move with a person. There was also the feeling of major danger. Once it looked like a large blob of slime, while other times it looked like odd shapes you could not identify. Sometimes it was whole, and sometimes it was like a group of shadows. One day, it looked like half a man and half a dog. It was always there, waiting and watching. I was sure this shadow behaved much like the game ‘red light - green light’, a popular game played at my elementary school, and I am absolutely rubbish at it. Co-ord, remember. Only, with this game, the rules are a little different.

First rule: Look at them, and the game begins. It was like an acknowledgment or acceptance of the challenge.

Second rule: Look away and they advance toward you.

Third rule: Look at them again and they stop.

I do not think there is any way of winning. Eventually, you will have to look away and by then it will pounce on you and more than likely gobble you up. While you are still alive!

Don’t look, I said to myself. It will go away if I ignore it. Well, that is what I thought.

The park’s playground had the most amazing castle, but its interior was too small for more than two children at a time. The paint was fading due to sun exposure, and it smelled like hot plastic. Once a child entered, they never left. It is the most prized piece of play equipment in the playground. If you did not get here early enough, you would never have gotten in.

Boys would hold sticks as swords and wage war on any intruder who attempted to breach the castle walls. Boys, at this age, did not need a princess for the castle. It was their fort that held untold treasures. Girls would just be in the way.

When the girls made it into the castle, it never lasted long, as the boys would gang up with their weapons and lay siege.

On that day we arrived early to meet with Michelle and Kisha, my absolute besties. Our