[Heartwarming Tales] Three Guesses

Merida sat by the fireplace, staring at the dying flames that flickered in the ashes. She sighed, the sound echoing around the vast, silent house. Presents were stacked up in small mountains of toys and games, and wrapping paper hung off of every visible surface like strands of confetti after a lively party. The moon outside fought to be seen between the clouds, the blanket of snow on the ground reflecting the cold light wildly as the wind gusted writhing trails of powdery ice through the air.

Meridia had liked the cold before, but now it was lonely. She watched the flames burning ever lower, her mind trailing to the many gifts her parents had given her. She had torn through them, hoping for only one thing, and been disappointed. Her parents hadn't even noticed her sadness; they'd been halfway out the door for their Christmas party before she'd even finished opening the last box.

She had hoped beyond everything else that her parents would have remembered, that they would have gone and searched as she had done so many times. But it seemed like she would have to accept that what she wanted wasn't ever coming back.

As if in response to her thoughts, Merida heard the crunch of footsteps through the snow. She perked up, going over to the window to peer outside. All she saw was the billowing snow. She was about to look again in confusion, when the doorbell rang.

Cautiously, Meridia walked to the door. Grabbing the handle, she used it to pull herself up onto her tiptoes until she could just barely see through the glass designs higher up on the door.

Nothing was there. Confused, Meridia backed away from the door. She watched it for a moment, eventually shrugging. Her focus returning to her thoughts, she turned around.

A sudden pressure on her neck stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked up sharply, coming face to face with a distorted ghost. Its eyes glowed manically, its mouth sealed with a zipper. One of its half-formed hands toyed with the many bows in what Meridia thought was its hair, and the other was held against Meridia's neck. its body was covered in a torn, faded dress, the lace around the trim trailing behind it like a tail. The ghost smiled gruesomely, its hand leaving its hair to unzip its mouth.

"I'll give you three guesses as to who I am and why I'm here." The disfigured ghost rasped, glaring intently at Meridia.

Meridia gaped at the ghost, confusion and fear fighting for control of her thoughts.

"I... I don't know you." She finally stammered.

The ghost recoiled as if Meridia had slapped it, its eyes widening in a pained expression. It only lasted for a moment, as the ghost snarled in rage, pushing Meridia back against the door.

"You know me." It growled viciously, tears forming at the edges of its eyes. "You know me. You better remember me right now!"

Meridia flinched back further, looking the ghost in the eyes. Her gaze flew wildly around its twisted figure, her mind trying to piece together the strange feeling of familiarity about the ghost.

"Please, I don't..." She started, but she trailed off immediately as she saw the last bow in the ghost's hair. It was a little gold bow, torn and almost unrecognizable. Though it was stained and ragged, there were still words legible on the side of the bow.

From Meridia, to Dolly the Shuppet.

Meridia gasped, looking slowly back at the ghost before her. All of the bows in its hair, every patch on the faded dress it wore, the lace that had never quite stayed on right trailing behind it, they all screamed out into Meridia's memory. She looked straight into the eyes of what she had been wanting to find most, tears distorting her vision.

"Dolly." She whispered. "You came back."

Dolly's glare faltered, but the banette forced herself to continue. "No thanks to you. You left me." She hissed.

Meridia shook her head fiercely. "I tried to find you." She whispered, her voice cracking. "I looked everywhere. I spent months searching for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"You should have looked harder!" Dolly yelled, her hands shaking. "You should have never given up! You should never have let me be alone for so long, alone on Christmas."

The banette's voice cracked, and she returned to glaring. "Now tell my why I'm here." She growled softly. "Tell me what I want. I want to hear you say it."

Meridia looked Dolly dead in the eyes, her fear gone. She knew the stories of banette, how their desire for revenge drove them. But when she looked in the eyes of her oldest friend, she didn't believe them.

Meridia stepped closer to Dolly, and wrapped the banette in a hug.

"You want to not be lonely anymore." She said. "And so do I."

Meridia felt the banette sob slightly, before Dolly returned the hug. Meridia shivered slightly at the ghost's cold touch, but she really didn't mind. She liked the cold when it was no longer lonely.





So I tried something different for heartwarming. More like, sad-heartwarming? I dunno. I hope you liked it, and I hope this qualifies as heartwarming enough!

Also, I'm fine with a public review. Go wild! XD