when the old come out to play...

A sweet old lady gives you a doll!
What could possibly be so scary about that??? I'll tell you what is scary!
The first time this happened there were 3 old and ragged japanese dolls ,one with a twisted head. Months passed as I suspiciously eyed those dolls lying on the hallway. And then there was today, infact a moment ago! Just thought I need to blog this one fresh.

So its a rainy grey day, cold, dreary and gloomy with the ocassional thunderbolts n lightening to thrill. Our apartment door is wide open to let in some fresh air. I am making pasta on a typical lazy sunday evening when I hear the door bell. Before I cud pop my head out the kitchen to see who it is, right in walks the old lady with more old dolls lying lifeless and all collected on her apron. 'Shocked' is the only word I can think of right then. While I'm still managing to make indecipherable noises, she kneels herself down and starts arranging those dolls on the table..like properly arranging them so they all face one side in unison. I manage to retrive my voice and call out for aastha. She comes into the kitchen a while later, shocked to see an old lady doing things with ragged dusty dolls on our kitchen table. The old woman says that we make paper chits and decide among us three roomies who gets which doll... then walks out as hauntingly as she'd walked in.

Aastha n me were left staring at each other then the 13 or so dolls, then back to each other. I picked a doll and saw it was sort of in mourning or just dead as a ghost. The doll is dressed in black, death pale white face, large gaunt eyes, black long hair(think adams family). brrrrr...freaked me out,i tell ya!
Now it's just more number of dolls for me to suspiciously eye everytime I walk in and out the front door. Its just lying there coz I dont want to touch it or mess aroud with it. Later thinking of the possibilities, I ended up wondering if that sweet old strange woman was being paid by the goverment to tap conversations and bugged the doll to keep an eye out for "those gaijins". Nah, the possibility in that was zero to none. Maybe she is really lonely and just really sweet and wants to give us things..even if those are things lying undusted for decades on her mantle. It's so difficult to blindly trust people in todays world, its just so sad. I'll be sending a quiet prayer out for her...that old lonely woman who lives two doors down...