Episode 6: The Final Choice
413 Words
Thomas froze at the doorstep, Lily trembling in his arms. The question hung in the air, pressing into his chest like a stone.
Where’s Mommy?
Elaine.
She had been waiting for them. She had pleaded with him not to go. And now, the house behind them was dark, the curtains drawn.
Something was wrong.
Thomas pushed open the door.
“Elaine?” His voice cracked.
Silence.
The house felt empty, like something vital had been drained from it. The air was cold, stale. Lily clung to his shirt, her small fingers digging into the fabric.
Thomas moved through the house, checking every room, his stomach twisting tighter with every empty space.
Then, in their bedroom, he saw it.
A doll.
It sat in the middle of the bed, small and brittle, its face eerily familiar.
Elaine’s eyes.
Her lips, frozen in a silent scream.
Thomas staggered back, bile rising in his throat.
“No.” He rushed forward, grabbing the tiny form, shaking it. “Elaine?”
The doll’s limbs were stiff, its head lolling to the side.
Then—
A breath.
So faint he almost missed it.
“…Thomas?”
He nearly dropped it.
Lily whimpered behind him. “Mommy?”
The doll twitched.
“…Cold… dark…”
Thomas gripped it tighter, his vision blurring.
No. No, no, no.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
The Hollow Mother had taken something.
It wasn’t him.
It was Elaine.
He turned, his mind racing. He could go back. He could try to make another bargain. But what would the Hollow Mother demand this time?
Another life?
Would he risk Lily all over again?
His heart pounded.
Lily looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “Daddy… bring her back.”
He clenched his jaw.
Then, slowly, he wrapped the doll in a blanket and pulled Lily close.
“We’ll fix this,” he whispered.
But deep in the woods, beneath the hollow tree, the shadows shifted.
And the Hollow Mother waited.
- Writer
