The baby doll fell silent, and so did the live chat. Even the sky seemed to clear up.
Then, the live chat exploded with screams.
“My god! Didn’t Aria unleash her ULTI?”
“This idiot actually has some brains. Did she know others could read her mind and think that on purpose?”
“At first, I thought she was frozen with fear but turns out she’s a clever fool!”
I didn’t know how excited the viewers were in the chat. All I felt was a small hand grab mine.
“Mommy, I want candy!”
The baby doll’s head had returned to normal. The terrifying monster from moments ago had turned into a cute little girl.
My mind went blank. In a daze, I reached for my money, only to find the vendor had disappeared.
I grabbed a skewer and started up the cotton candy machine.
I knew how to make cotton candy because I had a younger sister, Bella Wallace. Well, I was supposed to have a sister.
My grandmother, Libby Bates, wanted a grandson, but our family was too poor to raise so many kids. So, Bella had to die. She was only three when that happened.
Later, my mother, Giselle Tillman, got pregnant. It gave me a reason to live.
That reason was to take care of my younger brother, Noel Wallace.
As I spun the cotton candy, I cried like a child. When I handed the candy to the baby doll, she smiled at me.
Bella had been around the same age when she passed. She was so adorable, and she loved sweets.
“Girl, do you have a name?”
“I’m Aria!” She licked the cotton candy and then turned to me with a smile. “Thank you, Mommy!”
“Just call me Heidi,” I replied. “I can be your sister, not your mom.”
Aria’s face suddenly darkened, and blood began seeping from her eyes again. “I only need Mommy, not a sis—”
Before she could say more, I pulled her into an embrace.
I wasn’t sure if it was because I had imagined her as Bella at that moment, but I didn’t feel scared at all.
I gently wiped her face with a tissue. “Don’t do that, okay? You won’t be pretty if you get your face dirty.”
Aria froze. This time, what flowed from her eyes was tears.
“Oh, she’s so cute! I wish she were my sister,” I thought to myself, but Aria suddenly stared at me in confusion.
Finally, she murmured, “She’s different. She’s different from all my previous Mommies. Why?”
