The first night, her head was tilted differently. Small changes-just enough to make me question my memory. Then the faint tapping started, porcelain clicking gently against wood.
Too soft to be sure of, but too distinct to dismiss. One morning, she was sitting on my windowsill instead of the shelf, facing outward like she was waiting for someone. The next time, she was on my desk. Then at the foot of my bed. I finally asked my mother if she knew where the doll came from.
She didn't, but she remembered something my aunt had told her long ago-something she hadn't repeated because it made her uncomfortable. The house my aunt bought the doll from had a history. A little girl once lived there, but somewhere along the line, she was left behind. Her family moved unexpectedly-no one knew why-and the girl somehow never went with them.Neighbors assumed she had gone too. For three years, the house sat silent. People passed it every day without thinking twice. When someone finally entered-they found the girl.
And though it was clear she'd been dead for a long time, no one could say for exactly how long. The only object found near her, propped carefully beside where she must have slept, was a porcelain doll with red eyes. The same doll my aunt brought home. The same doll sitting in my room.
After learning that, Cosette's behavior made a different kind of sense. Always drifting back to where I was, as if the idea of being left by herself again was something she couldn't bear. Even now, she never stays where I put her. And when I wake in the night and see her sitting somewhere new-closer, quieter, waiting-it doesn't feel like a haunting.
It feels like she remembers what it was like to be forgotten. I hope she finds a home that brings her the sense of peace and belonging she longs for.