Lotus Dolls and Death Tricks

OCTOBER 18TH, 2006 

CALGARY 

          Ellis peeled the plastic packaging off the box of a doll, and placed it in his sister’s hands.

She was still, and had been for a very long time now.

          “Phoebe, look at what I brought you.” he said, softly, closing her fingers around the doll’s body. “It’s a doll.” He paused, studying her face for any signs of movement. “You like dolls, don’t you? Phoebe?” He had a quiet, soothing voice.

He prodded her gently, and when she still showed no signs of response, he tossed aside the girly doll into an ever growing pile of toys in the corner of her room.

          Ellis was good at cleaning. The house, although it gave of a feeling of being dilapidated and empty, was in reality meticulously maintained by him alone. 

          Phoebe had not opened her eyes for a very long time- 364 days exactly, he was counting- but she was not asleep, Ellis was sure of it. Her heartbeat, however faint, proved she was not dead either.

The quandary left for him to figure out was how to bring his little sister back from wherever she had gone. 

          Ellis cleared the table for himself, and lit the stove underneath a cold pot of water.

He opened his laptop, a dent in the cover from when he had dropped it while cleaning, and logged onto Mysforums.net. Ellis, or “Ageofeastnine” as he was known online, had decided to post a question about his sister’s condition here, and checked frequently for any useful replies.

A (3) on his profile indicated he had received some comments on that thread, and he eagerly clicked on them. 

Living alone with your comatose sister? Is this another pathetic light novel I haven’t read yet lol

nagisadolphinsfan

that sounds worrying. take her to the doctor instead of posting online…jeez ur useless xp

DaEtherBard

PM me please. I have some ideas

Z_hou1986

Ignoring the first comment and considering the second (but a certain history of unsavory deeds threatened to come to the surface if the situation of Ellis and Phoebe were to be examined under a microscope), Ellis decided to message “Z_hou1986”. 

it’s me from the sister thread, what do you know about this?

Ageofeastnine

A blip on his screen, and he had gotten an instant reply.

Your sister can’t move? She’s alive, right?

Z_hou1986

exactly like that. is she possessed? i’m seriously in over my head here so any help is appreciated

Ageofeastnine

Have you heard of the Lotus Complex? I named it myself so of course not lol (lol do you like the name)- it’s a condition where a soul hovers in between life and death. Tell me more info

Z_hou1986

ok sure cool name. but she’s been unmoving for almost a year now, her breathing is fine though i’ve tried waking her up but she never responds to anything

Ageofeastnine

Whatever you do don’t disturb her. Listen just dont, leave her alone, check up on her but don’t try to wake her up. I’m actually in college and I’m doing research on this (lol believe it if u want) (like not officially but still research ok.) You could disturb her soul. LEAVE THE SOUL ALONE! (super important)

Z_hou1986

Ellis’s water was beginning to boil.

wow i thought u were my age. ok sure i won’t do that anymore. how can i make her wake up though

Ageofeastnine

          He looked away from his laptop for a second to turn off the stove and pour his water into a teacup. Stained with tea, it had become discolored on the inside. Perfectly good to use, though, he thought.

          Checking his account again, Z_hou1986 still hadn’t replied to him, and it set loose a strand of frustration in him. Telling him what to do, and then disappearing on him. He made a note of what he said on the back of an electricity bill, and stirred his teacup.

          Not to mention, whispered the voice at the back of his head, you may have been making the situation worse.

Ellis felt himself getting uncharacteristically angry, something very rare (he prided himself on being calm). The frustration spread to his head, and he sucked in a breath. 

          Before he could let it out, the doorbell rang. Setting down his pen, Ellis realized he had crushed it in his hand, and the ink had splattered all over his hand. He would have to clean that up later, he thought.

Peering through the doorbell, a man stood at the door. Ellis didn’t recognize him.

He cracked the door open a smidge, and studied the man at his door. His hands were behind his back, and he gave you a warm, comfortable feeling, as if he was about to tell you some wonderful news. 

          “Hello, Ellis.” said the man, who looked as if he had been drenched in grease.

“Hello.” said Ellis warily.

“There’s no need to be afraid, Ellis. I just have a question for you.”

Ellis slammed the door shut.

“Your sister is sick, is she not?”

Ellis opened the door.

The man of grease (as Ellis was calling him in his head) stepped inside, and politely examined the house. 

          “I never really understood the banality of human housing. It’s so drab.”

Ellis stayed on guard.

          “Everything here is either beige or off-white. Come up with some new colors already!”

A pause.

          “Can I see your sister?” said the man of grease.

He noticed how tall this man he had let into his house was, and then he noticed how short he, Ellis, was in comparison, and thought it best to let him in, further into the house.

“You do all the cleaning, Ellis? Very impressive. I’m not as half as hardworking as you.” said the man. 

Ellis gingerly opened the door to Phoebe’s room, and the man glided in. The sparkly P on her door was peeling off, and he would have to fix that later. His laptop dinged faintly from the kitchen, but he ignored it. 

Are you still there? Srry I had to call a friend. be careful whatever you do. i can barely find any examples of the Lotus Complex so its pretty rare, but nothing good… has come of the cases I’ve studied. Please message me back asap

Z_hou1986

Helloooooooo

Z_hou1986

You’re probably busy lol. Just don’t get yourself into any trouble (stay near your sister at all times) and avoid anything that looks supernatural. it probably wants to hurt you .. lol make that definitely :)

Z_hou1986

          The man’s gaze lingered on Phoebe.

“A beautiful girl. And such a valuable soul.” he muttered to himself.

Ellis stared at the both of them intently, trying to figure out what this man wanted. He decided he would start with a simple question. 

          “What’s your name?” asked Ellis.

“A name is such a meaningless thing. Death doesn’t need something silly like that.” Ellis’s heart jumped at the mention of it. He felt like a little boy again, being told off by an adult.

          “Death?” he squeaked out, hating how feckless he sounded. The man- no, Death, bent down and smiled warmly at him.

“That’s right. But, since we’re friends now, you can call me Cal.” D- no, Cal, stood back up, and Ellis, despite Cal’s friendly spirit, started to feel even smaller. He decided he would try with another question after the relative success of his first.

          “What do you want?” he asked, feeling more brave.

“Your sister, Penny-”

          “Phoebe”. His knees shook. Cal’s smile slipped off for a split second, and Ellis’s knees shook even more.

“You can’t let her suffer any longer.”

          Ellis was silent. The fluorescent bulb screwed in the ceiling cast a harsh light on the three of them.

“Phoebe, do you know what your brother is doing to you?” Cal turned to Phoebe. “He’s leaving you to suffer in the Sea of Death.”

Cal lifted up one of Phoebe’s delicate hands, and ran his fingers over her palm.

          “Get away from her.” Ellis found his voice, and it shook. Sea of Death? He didn’t know anything about that.

“Ellis, I’m trying to help you.” He massaged his temples, looking exasperated.

          “I don’t believe you, Mr. “Death”. You’re just a dirty con-man, aren’t you? Or a ghost sent to haunt me, or whatever the hell you think you are!” yelled Ellis. He was angry now, and backed away from the man.

          The room grew cold, and Cal flickered in front of him. The greasy skin melted away into a nightmarish vision, a monster dripping in matted fur, with two horns protruding from what used to be his head.

          And as soon as it was there, it was gone. Ellis felt vomit at the back of his throat as he stared at Cal, thinking about what he had just seen.

          “Do you believe me now, Ellis?” he said, voice soft and reassuring. In a moment of clarity, Ellis thought to ask him one more question. 

          “What’s your deal?” The warmth returned to the room.

          “You’re pretty smart for your age, Ellis. If your sister stays like this, it will torment her soul. A tainted soul like that can’t go to paradise.”

“You want to stop her suffering.”

          “Very good, Ellis. I’m just doing what I can. Her soul, if it’s left alone for any longer… You and me both will regret it.”

          Ellis, remembering what the person online had said, felt ice rush through his veins. Her soul, of course, this man wanted her soul, the one thing to leave intact.

“No, you can’t. Leave, now. I won't let you do anything to my sister.” He knew he was angry, but he couldn’t stop the vitriol from bleeding through his words. 

"Leave now. Please.” That was his attempt at being cordial. 

          Cal looked disappointed, but underneath that, Ellis could sense he was very angry.

I’ve made a terrible mistake, he thought, and now I’m going to die. 

          To his surprise, however, Death left through the door which he had come, and Ellis was not paid any visits for many months after that.

          Phoebe stayed unmoving, and the pile of toys was soon diligently cleared away.