The Doll
Authors: Harry_Voltigeur and Vova
PROLOGUE
Lisa sat by the window, holding a pencil and paper. On her lap lay a sketchbook, its pages filled with drawings of doll faces, dresses with frills, bows, and perfect little shoes. She was sure: if she were to create the perfect doll, it would have to look exactly like these pictures. The world outside was gray and cold, but in her little room, filled with warm light, dreams were alive.
PART I. BROKEN CHILDHOOD
Chapter 1. A House Without Love
Lisa was born in coldness. The house was not filled with shouting — it was filled with silence. Her mother rarely spoke, her father even less. All she remembered from childhood were closed doors, short orders, and indifference. She was hugged only in her dreams. Real tenderness existed only in her imagination, when she hugged a doll with a torn-off arm.
Chapter 2. At a Strange School
At school, Lisa was a shadow. Teachers didn’t notice her; classmates mocked her. She wore an old sweater and sat at the last desk, drawing in her notebooks. Sometimes someone tore her drawings, sometimes pushed her in the hallway. She remained silent. Dolls don’t complain.
Chapter 3. The First Crack
At twelve, Lisa was hit by her mother. For no reason. Just because she slammed the door too loudly. That night, Lisa realized she no longer wanted to live in this body. She wanted to be smooth, empty inside, invulnerable. Like porcelain.
Chapter 4. The Doll’s Diary
Lisa started keeping a diary. Every day she wrote stories about an imaginary country where everyone was a doll. In that country, no one shouted, no one touched you without permission. There was warm light and soft pillows. There, she was the porcelain princess.
PART II. FALL
Chapter 5. Unwanted
When she turned fifteen, a neighbor appeared — a grown man who often looked at her too much. Her mother said, “Don’t make things up.” Lisa fell silent. One day he touched her hand, and she felt herself crack from inside.
Chapter 6. Glass Eyes
After that, Lisa seemed to lose her sight. She ate less and stopped speaking. At school, people noticed her strange behavior but did nothing. Everyone was busy. She was only “that weird girl who draws a lot.”
Chapter 7. Shards
Lisa tried to run away for the first time. They found her at the train station — frightened, clutching her drawings. Her mother punished her with silence. Her father remained silent, as always. Lisa increasingly saw herself in dreams — a doll locked in a display case.
Chapter 8. Departure
At sixteen, she couldn’t take it anymore. One evening, when everyone in the house was asleep, she packed her sketchbook, diary, and one doll and stepped into the night. She walked without a plan. She was led by emptiness.
PART III. THE STREET
Chapter 9. The Illusion of Freedom
The first night was quiet. The stars seemed kinder than people. Lisa found a bench in the park and curled up, holding the doll to her chest. She was sure everything would change in the morning. But the morning brought cold.
Chapter 10. The Predatory City
The world was no better. Passersby didn’t look her in the eye. Someone gave her an apple. Someone took it away. She searched for food in trash cans, slept under balconies, hid from rain under newspapers. The doll began to tear.
Chapter 11. The Point of No Return
Two weeks passed. Lisa ate leftovers, drank from puddles. One day, she was beaten by teenagers. For fun. She didn’t scream. Inside her was only silence. Like a doll lost in an attic.
Chapter 12. Decay
She stopped speaking even in her mind. Lisa whispered to the doll. Sometimes she sang to it. Her voice cracked like porcelain. The world around her turned gray and rotten. She didn’t feel pain — her body refused to live.
PART IV. DISAPPEARANCE
Chapter 13. Almost Salvation
Once she met a woman who wanted to help. But Lisa ran away — she no longer trusted anyone. Maybe that woman could have changed everything. But Lisa was already too far gone.
Chapter 14. The Last Cold
Winter came. The wind tore at her clothes, snow soaked her shoes. Lisa lay under the stairs in an old house. The doll was beside her. Her hair fell out. Lisa didn’t cry. Dolls have no tears.
Chapter 15. A Ghostly Dream
On the last night, Lisa had a dream: she sat on a throne in a porcelain hall. Her face shone, her dresses were clean, her hair silky. In this dream, she was hugged. She was loved. No one touched her without love.
Chapter 16. Silence
Lisa did not wake up. Her body was found two days later. The doll lay beside her. Her story ended not with a fairy tale but with silence. But in her diary was the last line: “I almost became a doll.”
EPILOGUE
A week later, a volunteer found her notebook. He read all the pages. His heart clenched. He put the diary in a box and wrote: “A voice we did not hear.”
Lisa’s story is not fiction. She is the face of many. She is a reminder. We can no longer remain silent when someone near us dies in silence.
The author shed a tear.
