The clock struck five and Hollie Boyer slumped onto her bed and sighed. Her mother had demanded that she clean out all of the junk that was in her room, and that included her closet. It was a curse for Hollie, her closet was huge, and it stretched across the full way of the room. She had been clearing it out all day and had literally no energy left whatsoever, she let out a big yawn and stretched out her arms. She rolled over and looked over at her nearly empty closet. A big pile of damp and soggy cardboard boxes were stacked up at the back and Hollie sighed as she realised that she would later have to clear them all out. She stared at the boxes for another few minutes, and gradually fell asleep.
Hollie woke up a few hours later, no longer did the sun shine through her window and illuminate her room. Now a thin strip of moonlight cut across the room through the small gap between the curtains. The silvery line reached up to the open closet where all of boxers were stacked up. Hollie rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn. She could still see the boxes, and the silver line, much like a trail at this point, was making something glow in the dark. Hollie squinted her eyes at it but couldn't make out what it was. She climbed off her bed and slowly approached the closet. As she got closer, the glowing object didn't seem to get any clearer; it was just trapped between the boxes, illuminated in silver light. Hollie stepped into the closet and grabbed hold of the mysterious object. She could feel a rough cloth between her fingers, she tried to pull it out, but it was tightly wedged between the boxes. With her curiosity high, she quickly threw the boxes aside and pulled up the cloth. She looked on in horror as she was holding her in her hands again. After such a long time, the feeling of holding her was unreal; it was like a dream, a very bad dream.
After staring at her for at least five minutes, Hollie finally came to her senses and threw her to the back of closet. She stared at her one last time then slammed the door shut. Hollie realised that it was kind of silly being afraid of something like her but she had always been afraid of her. Those eyes, and that mouth, and the way she stared through Hollie and appeared to be watching her all day long. Hollie sighed with relief and finally realised that yes, it was very stupid to be afraid of a stupid, little, rag doll. She just put it to the back of her mind and went to have a quick shower before getting into bed.
The next morning, Hollie awoke, feeling energized and full of vitality. It was a shame that she had to face yet another day of cleaning. She turned over and wrapped her duvet around her like a cocoon. Hollie stayed like this for another twenty-five minutes before finally getting up.
"Hollie, breakfast is ready!" Shouted her mother from downstairs; Hollie shouted back and proceeded out of the door. Just before she walked out into the hallway, she felt all of the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, she had a strange compulsion to check the closet, just to see if she was still there. She attempted to shake it off but the compulsion was too strong, she had to be sure. Without a second thought, Hollie walked over to her closet doors, and grasped the handle. Fearing the worst, she took a deep breath and pulled it sharply open. Looking inside, she couldn't see the doll, but on a second glance, she could see its small white hand sticking out from behind a box. Hollie didn't remember throwing it behind the box; she put this to the back of her mind and went downstairs for breakfast,
Once she was finished, she went back upstairs and into her room. She looked at the closet door, the compulsion still with her, but just naturally shook it off. She then sat down at her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a total mess. Still looking into the mirror, she reached into a drawer and fumbled around for a hair brush. After a minute or two, she pulled her hand out, but instead of finding herself holding a brush, she was holding her. Hollie found herself staring into its penetrating, black button eyes. She screamed and threw it onto the floor. How did she get there? She thought, wondering if after all this time, after finally locking her in the closet all of those years ago, would she finally get revenge?
Hollie just stared at her, or Button-Eyes as her aunty had called her. Button-Eyes just seemed to lay there, motionless. Hollie began to wonder if she was going crazy, but at that moment, Button-Eyes' hand twitched. Hollie was frozen with fear, wondering if that what she had just witnessed was really happening. She stood up and slowly approached Button-Eyes. As Hollie crouched down to pick Button-Eyes up, her sister Chantelle burst into the room. Hollie screamed and Chantelle let out a very high-pitched giggle.
"Oh! What's that?" Chantelle asked, jumping up and down in anticipation.
"It's a really old doll that Aunty Sheila gave me" Hollie replied, trembling slightly.
"She's cute" Chantelle said, still jumping up and down.
"No she isn't!" Hollie spat.
"Can I have her?" Chantelle asked, jumping with even more excitement now. Hollie thought for a moment, should she let her little sister have this doll? Or should she burn it? The answer then came to her,
"Sure" She said confidently. Chantelle snatched up the doll and skipped back to her bedroom. Hollie sighed with relief that Button-Eyes was finally gone.
Later that day, Hollie was sat downstairs watching T.V when her mother asked her to shout for Chantelle and inform her that her dinner was ready. Hollie nodded her head and did as she was told. She stood at the bottom of the staircase and shouted,
"Chantelle, dinner is ready!" There was no answer, just silence.
"Chantelle!" She shouted once again. Still no answer, Hollie was beginning to get annoyed.
"Chantelle, get down here now, dinner is ready!" She bellowed, but one again, there was nothing but silence. Hollie then went upstairs and burst into Chantelle's bedroom. She was greeted by the most horrific sight; her little sister was lying on the bed, covered in blood, with her eyes cut out. Hollie clasped her hand to her mouth to avoid vomiting. She then looked down at the floor and saw Button-Eyes, with a sharp object, caked with blood lying next to her. Hollie stood there in shock, and Button-Eyes stared straight through Hollie, just like she used to…
Oh my Dolly dearest,
With your hair so long and bright,
How do I ever know?
What you do at night…
"Button-Eyes" The Second Short Story By Divine-Insanity