Miss Emily

“Paige, wake up!”

“Hey… what happened?”

“I think you fainted. How are you holding up?”

I had no recollection of what happened, save for finding the doll, then magically ending up on the living room couch. Aside from that, everything appeared normal. Then I saw it. Sitting at the end of the couch was the doll.

“Ah! Get this thing away from me!”

I nearly swatted it with the back of my hand before Maple restrained my arm.

“Don’t be so mean to Miss Emily!”

“Huh!? What do you mean by ‘miss’?”

“There, there—she just didn’t understand,” Maple whispered while comforting the doll against her cheeks. “Miss Emily, would you like to now introduce yourself to Paige?”

Gleaming with elation, the doll spoke. “Yep, my name is Miss Emily!” I was blown away by how human-like the voice was, almost as if before me was a living girl in the flesh. “And before you ask, yes, I’m the same spirit that you talked to yesterday.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Wait, were you also the one who created the arrangement in the kitchen?”

“Mhm, that was me! But I didn’t touch your camera things, as you call them.”

Given the timbre Emily used when saying camera, it struck me that she may have been too young to understand what a camera was. Alternatively, she could have been on the other end of the age spectrum, predating the existence of cameras by who knows how many years.

“Emily, can I ask you a question?”

“That’s Miss Emily to you, Paige! But yes, you may ask… if you address me properly!”

“Sorry!” Never would I have imagined being bossed around by a possessed toy. Not wanting to invoke her wrath, I mentally recited her name before speaking any further.

“Miss Emily, how old are you?”

“Does it matter? How would you feel if I asked you the same question, hm? How old are you, Paige?”

“I’m 18.”

“Oh—well, that was a lot easier for you to say than I expected.”

“I told you mine, so will you tell me yours?”

“No, why would I? I’m Miss Emily, not Miss Answer-Any-Question.”

“But didn’t you agree to?”

“No, I said that you could ask me a question, not that I had to answer it.”

“But—”

“Paige, Miss Emily is right. Besides, haven’t you heard the saying to not ask a woman her age?” Maple chimed in. “Isn’t that right, Miss Emily?”

“You know it!” Jumping onto Maple’s hand, Miss Emily danced about, waving her little arms in the air. Uncannily, her stitched mouth cycled through different emotions as she celebrated. Just what sort of connection did they share?

Thinking back to yesterday, was it really as simple as Maple being more “funny”? Maybe it was best I let her handle the negotiations? Wait—this was my investigation and my responsibility. I couldn’t just leave all the work to Maple. But having seen Miss Emily’s personality, I was now somewhat afraid of speaking with her.

I crossed my fingers and prayed for the best. “Miss Emily, do you want to be freed from that doll?”

“Free me? What, do you think it’s a prison or something?” Miss Emily replied, looking as if I had asked the dumbest question in the world. “You got it all wrong; you actually saved me from eternal boredom!”

“But from what I understand, spirits that remain on Earth do so because of unfulfilled needs. In that case, wouldn’t it make sense to help you cross over to the other side?”

“What kind of nonsense is that!? I’m finally released from my cardboard jail, only for my savior to be an absolute imbecile! Maple, how do you tolerate this person?”

Maple sheepishly scratched her cheek as she struggled to explain our relationship. While she did, my mind was fraught with confusion. Everything I knew about the paranormal was crashing down. All the books, shows, and movies I’ve consumed; none of them made sense anymore. Or… perhaps it was an isolated case with Miss Emily? If so, then I had to dig deeper for the answers.

“Miss Emily, are there other spirits present in the house?”

“What’s it to ya?” Hopping off Maple’s hand, Miss Emily fell onto the top of the couch before walking over to my face. “If you want me to help with your investigation, then you’re gonna have to cough up!”

“Cough up what? What do you require?”

“It’s a secret, stupid. Go find it like a treasure hunt! Until then, I’m tuning out! Later!”

In an instant, the doll collapsed, falling backward onto the floor. I picked it up, only to discover it was now nothing more than a plain old toy. She grated my nerves with every sentence, but for the sake of the investigation, we had to follow every lead possible. But before Maple and I could search for the answer, we decided to take a break to eat the sandwiches she had prepared earlier.

“Maple, what do you make of her? Be honest.”

“Hmm, I don’t think we should be talking behind her back, assuming she can’t hear us right now. But if there’s one thing to mention, it would be the grilling she gave you.”

“I don’t think having a laugh at someone’s expense is funny.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let her know if she’s crossed the line.” Putting her sandwich down, Maple held her pinky up. “Why don’t we pinky promise?”

“A pinky promise? If it helps…”

“Great, then let’s do it!”

As our fingers intertwined, the contrast of my cold hands compared to the warmth of hers provoked an involuntary reaction.

“Gaah! That tickled!”

“Hehe, did it, Paige?” A giant grin shot across her face. “Looks like I found your weakness, hmm?”

“W—Weakness? What are you talking about? This is nothing but—”

My stomach!? God, what was going on! Sure enough, we were both on the floor now with Maple on top of me, giving me a full tickle assault. I couldn’t suppress my laughter, and I soon began to cry nonstop.

“Maple, wha—wha—what are you—hahaha!”

“Time for the finale!” Shifting from the stomach to my sides, Maple gave it her all.

We exhausted every fiber of our being, unable to laugh anymore. For a while, we lay on the floor, side-by-side.

“That was too much, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I just thought that you would enjoy it. Then it just… happened.”

“I never said I didn’t like it.”

“Huh? You’re telling me, you, Paige—the sternest person I know—aren’t upset at me?” For once, she was on the receiving end of awkwardness.

“Ok, maybe I was at the start, but then I couldn’t help but laugh alongside you.”

“Paige…” It was the softest I ever heard her—so faint, it was almost inaudible.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, yep! I totally am! C’mon, let’s go find Miss Emily’s secret!” Maple shouted while pulling me up.

And so we trekked on, ready for whatever Miss Emily had in store for us.