The Fireplace

by Abby
(USA)

A long time ago.. farther back than anyone can remember, there was a small family that moved into a very old house. It was large, made of brick. It's rooms were spacious and warm, and it was always sunny inside. But they decided their favorite part was the beautiful stone fireplace in the family room.

The house's appearance was deceiving, though. As something not so nice happened there.

The family, of a mother, father, and two children, didn't believe any of the stories the locals told about their dream house. As far as they were concerned, it was just perfect for a family their size. So they moved in anyway.

On the sixth night of the family's stay, their daughter, Isabelle, had trouble sleeping. She felt like something was watching her. So, she slowly crept over to her older brother's room. As she tiptoed across the hall, she heard a moan, coming from the living room. "Isabelle, won't you come out here and play?" Isabelle gasped. Were her ears playing tricks on her? She decided that was, indeed, the most logical answer. But as she reached for the doorknob, she heard it again. "Please, Isabelle. Tell me you'll come and play with me?" She paused. "PLEASE ISABELLE! I'M BEGGING YOU. Please play with me."

Now the girl was truly frightened, so she ran into her brother, Thomas's room, and woke him up. She told him what she had heard. Thomas was brave, so he decided to go into the living room and see what this mysterious voice was.

"Oh, Thomas! You'll play with me instead! Thank you, Thank you.. I'm terribly glad." The voice said. Thomas heard it was coming from the wonderful fireplace. He came towards it. He looked into it, and saw a horribly disfigured girl; who looked like an old fashioned doll, in her raggedy, old fashioned clothes. The doll opened her mouth:

"Now, I'm going to teach you my favorite game."