Story Collection

Garage sales are fun. The people who have them are always welcoming and always willing to cut you a deal on something you really, really want. For example, someone once sold me a fishnet leg lamp I gave to a friend a few years ago. I don’t know why anyone would want to give that away since it looked pretty new. Those people moved out of that house a couple months back.

Saturday was one of the most popular days for a sale. One, in particular, sparked my interest outside of the leg-lamp house. The new people were selling their new things:
“To start out our lives a little differently.” Conrad, a very gruff looking man, smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I nodded and smiled, glancing behind me as my daughter darted this way and that amongst various items. I heard her gasp excitedly as I continued speaking to Conrad, coming up with a negotiation for a small selection of cassette tapes.

“Don’t leave the yard, okay sweetie? Conrad is going to show me around inside.”
She nodded her head and continued to play gently with a few dolls on the table. Conrad stood and led me through his garage, his large frame hobbling in front of me.

As we stepped inside, I could smell the old wood of the house. The floor creaked beneath us as he led me to the living room, the hardwood turning into shabby carpeting.

“How long have you lived in this neighborhood?” He asked, lifting a large cardboard box from the corner.

“Uh, about five years? My daughter, Annie, is turning six next month.” I looked around at the family photos strewn across the walls. A girl holding a makeshift something in the middle of a picnic stood out to me.

“That’s my angel, Avery. She passed away last summer.” Conrad spoke softly as he sat on the couch, the box open next to him. I tore my gaze away from the picture and sat on the edge of the discolored cushion.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have started-”

“It’s alright. Now, have a peek and let me know which tapes you’d like to take. I’m going to use the restroom, won’t be gone long.” He gave me a warm, fatherly smile and walked down the hallway.

As I pulled out Talking Heads: 77, I heard something in the far corner of the room, near an older looking door. When I say older, I mean way older than the house. I brushed it off and turned back to the box, picking out a few more before pushing the box closed.

“Find anything you like?” Conrad asked from the hallway.

“A few! I hope you don’t mind.” I spread out five cassettes on the coffee table and handed him the money. Conrad led me back through the house, but one thing had caught my attention.
Another scuffle. A rattling coming from behind the door. I slowed down and looked at the door, noticing the four or five padlocks on it.

“You okay?” he asked, his jaw clenching. I nodded and scurried back up to him, barely squeezing past him to get outside.

“Sweetie, we’re leaving now!” I cradled the tapes in my arms as I walked towards the car, watching Annie pull herself away from the doll table. I placed the tapes into the passenger seat and buckled Annie into her seat. I closed the door and hopped in myself, pulling away from the curb.

I glanced into the rearview mirror once I had decided that we were far enough away from Conrad and his home, and noticed Annie holding something close to her chest.

“Honey, what is that?” I spoke slowly as I pulled up to a stop sign.

Annie smiled and held it closer, the clicking noises it made echoing in my head. It looked like it was made of coconut flakes, the baked kind you’d buy in a grocery store to sprinkle on a cake.

“Annie, where did you get that?” I tried to hide the slight nervousness in my voice.

“I took her,” she mumbled, staring down at the...thing. “She told me to take her.”

A chill went through my spine as the silence hung in the air. I turned the corner and pulled into our driveway, turning off the car.

“Who told you to take it?” I asked, swiveling in my seat to face Annie. She moved and the thing clicked against the buttons on her jacket.

“Her. She didn’t tell me her name, Mommy. She just wanted me to take her.” Annie ran her fingers over the doll and I sighed. We aren’t going back there, I knew that much.

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As the night wore on, I thought nothing of Annie and her coconut friend. The constant clicking grated on my nerves, sure, but whatever made her happy, I was okay with.

I tucked Annie into bed with her new addition and went downstairs. I had brought in an old stereo with cassette tape capabilities from the garage and placed it on the kitchen counter, the stack of new tapes next to it. I slid in a tape with no label and hit play, listening to the soft hissing before The Doors started playing through the speakers. I poured myself a glass of wine and snuggled on the couch with a book, eventually falling asleep.

The familiar clicking noises from earlier had started to bring me out of sleep, but the music is what made me fully awake.

People are strange,
When you’re a stranger

I stood up quickly and turned down the stereo, my heart racing. The clicking sounded closer and I froze, afraid to turn around.

“Mommy? Why are you still awake?” Annie’s sleepy voice gave me a sense of peace.

“I’m sorry honey, I hit the knob on accident.” I knelt down and smoothed her wild hair down. I glanced at the microwave clock and sighed, standing back up.

“No Mommy, Avery liked that song. Can we listen before we go to bed? It would make her happy.”

I stared at her, my mouth agape.

“W-who?”

“Avery, Mommy. She finally told me her name tonight!” Her smile seemed tired and I turned on a light. “Avery had a lot of siblings too, they were at the house! Can we go get them tomorrow?”

“You don’t need any more dolls, sweetie. I don’t think Mr. Conrad will be having another garage sale until the weekend.” My voice shook as I spoke.

“But Mommy, Avery said we can go to her house now. Her Daddy will be asleep and we can get them!” Annie seemed more awake now, the doll shaking as Annie jumped up and down.

“Are they real people, Annie?” I asked, resting my hands on her shoulders.

“No Momma, they’re like her. They’re in the room you wanted to see in Mr. Conrad’s house.”

I leaned back and took a deep breath. “How did you know-”

“Avery told me you were there and that the door you saw had them behind it! They’re noisy like her. The click she makes I mean.”

I looked at the doll in her hands and squinted. “Can I hold Avery, honey?” A tear ran down my cheek as she handed the doll to me.

“Don’t worry Mommy, she wants to protect me.”

The stereo popped back to full volume and I stared at the doll, made of human...fingernails.

“From you."

Annie is not the same as before. She holds the fingernails so close, scratches form on her neck and chest. She mumbles about Avery, and she always wants to listen to the same song, over and over.

Do I contact Conrad again? Do I call the police?

One thing is for sure, is that I don't go to garage sales anymore.