“Look at this,” I murmured to myself, holding up the knitted doll I found in the closet.

I was surprised to see how much it resembled me.

I snapped a photo and sent it to Ethan. He was at work, and I thought he’d find it cute.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with Ethan’s response.

“Oh no! You don’t know my mom… whatever you do, DON’T TOUCH IT, honey!” he texted. I was stunned.

It was too late. I had already touched the doll. I didn’t suspect anything at first, but then, as I re-read Ethan’s message, a wave of anxiety washed over me.

Lorraine never really liked me and had some weird tendencies. Could it… be a voodoo doll? I marched downstairs with the doll in my hand, determined to confront my mother-in-law.

As I reached the kitchen, I saw Lorraine stirring a pot of soup.

“Lorraine, what is this?” I demanded, holding the doll up for her to see.

She turned to look at me, and her face turned pale.

“OH NO! What have you done? NOW IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK!” she gasped. “PUT IT BACK OR…”

“Or what?” I interrupted, stepping closer. “What isn’t going to work? What’s going on, Lorraine?”

Lorraine’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “It’s none of your business. Just put it back where you found it!”

“No!” I said. “It is my business if it’s in the room we’re staying in. Why is this doll so important? Tell me!”

“You don’t need to know, girl!” she snapped, snatching it from my grasp.

She returned to her room with the strange doll, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

Later that evening, when I opened the closet, I found the doll there. Again! Of course, it was Lorraine’s doing.

Right then, Ethan entered our room and immediately saw the doll in my hand. His face turned red with anger.

“Mom! Mom!” He marched to the living room in anger, and I followed him, the doll still in my hand.

“Seriously? You’re doing it again?” he demanded, glaring at Lorraine.

Lorraine crossed her arms, looking defensive. “I’m acting in the family’s best interest, Ethan. You know that.”

Ethan marched over and snatched the doll from me. “This is weird, Mom. You’re weird,” he snapped, tossing the doll into the trash can.

I followed him, my heart pounding. “Ethan, what do you mean by ‘doing it again’? What is this about?”

Ethan shook his head, clearly irritated. “I don’t want to talk about it, Kayla. I’m just waiting to get back home. Let’s go to bed.”

I stared at him, frustrated. But I knew pushing him now wouldn’t get me any answers. So, we went to bed.

Little could I have guessed things would only get weirder.

The next morning, I woke up early, feeling uneasy. Ethan was in the shower, and I decided to check the closet again. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the doll back in its spot, slightly larger than before.

How did it get back here?

I decided to let it slide, not wanting to start another fight. We were staying over at Lorraine’s because our home was undergoing renovations. It wasn’t ideal, but we didn’t have many options.

As the day went on, I felt extremely tired, dragging myself through the motions. In the afternoon, I took a nap, hoping to shake off the exhaustion. When I woke up, something felt off.

I went to the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. A chill ran down my spine when I noticed a small piece of my hair was missing.

I reached up, touching the spot where the hair had been. What was happening? My mind raced, connecting the dots. The doll, exhaustion, missing hair — it couldn’t be a coincidence. This scared me more than I wanted to admit.

But then, I had no proof. I couldn’t accuse Lorraine, and I couldn’t discuss it with Ethan either. I decided it would all be over in a week anyway, as we would return home.

I was wrong.

The next morning, I woke up feeling more awful. My stomach churned, and I barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting. Sitting on the cool tile floor, I tried to steady my breathing. What was wrong with me?

I couldn’t even look at food all day. Ethan noticed my pale face and worried eyes but didn’t say much. Lorraine acted like nothing was wrong, but I felt her eyes on me.

The next day, I woke up to find my face swollen. My reflection in the mirror showed puffiness around my eyes and cheeks, making me feel even more upset about the whole situation.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Lorraine was behind this. The doll, the strange symptoms — it all pointed to her.

Desperate for answers, I spent hours on my phone, googling everything about voodoo dolls.

But nothing useful came up. The more I read, the more anxious I became. Every little symptom felt like another sign that I wasn’t welcome here.

As I lay in bed that night, feeling unwelcome and on edge, my mind raced. What if Lorraine really did make a voodoo doll out of hate for me? The thought terrified me. I needed to find a logical explanation for what was happening.

That’s when it hit me. What if I was pregnant? The thought had crossed my mind a few times lately. Missing a period, feeling nauseous, and strange tiredness all lined up with what I knew about early pregnancy symptoms.

The following morning, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I needed to know if there was another reason for my symptoms.

As soon as Ethan left for work, I went to the nearest pharmacy and bought a test.

The anxiety gnawed at me as I waited for the results.

Standing in the bathroom, I held the test in my shaking hands. My heart pounded as I watched the little window on the test. This could change everything.

Would a positive test explain everything or make things even more complicated?

As I exited the bathroom, I heard Lorraine’s voice drifting from the kitchen. She was on the phone with a friend, muttering about “family traditions” while stuffing the doll’s belly. My stomach turned as I watched her from the doorway. What was she doing?

Feeling worse by the minute, I kept my distance, but my curiosity grew. I decided to stay quiet for now and returned to the guest room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took deep breaths, trying to calm my racing thoughts. How would Ethan react once he discovered the pregnancy result? And what about Lorraine? Was she into black magic?

That evening, as Ethan saw me, he quickly sensed my unease.

“You okay, Kayla? You look stressed,” he said.

I forced a smile. “Just tired, Ethan. It’s been a long day.”

He nodded, clearly worried, but didn’t press further. I appreciated his concern but knew I had to handle this on my own for now.

As night fell, I found myself unable to sleep.

The doll, Lorraine’s mutterings, and my symptoms swirled in my mind. I had to confront her again. I needed answers.

The next evening, I gathered my courage and went to find Lorraine. She was setting the table for dinner. My grip on the pregnancy test in my hand tightened. Ethan and I sat down to eat, and I took a deep breath.

When the test came out positive, I was over the moon. I couldn’t wait to share the good news with Ethan. I had not expected the timing to be so strange.

“Ethan, Lorraine, I have some news,” I started. “I… am pregnant!”

Ethan’s face lit up with joy, but Lorraine jumped from her seat, screaming, “IT WORKED!” And both Ethan and I stared at her in shock.

“What do you mean, ‘it worked’?” I asked, perplexed.

Lorraine beamed, clearly thrilled.

“The tradition!” she said excitedly. “If someone wants to have a baby, they make a doll of themselves, keep it in the bedroom, and stuff the belly more each day. All the symptoms you experienced were just pregnancy symptoms, Kayla. I wanted to be a grandma so badly!”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked furiously. “Why all the secrecy?”

“I didn’t want to scare you or seem crazy,” she said, sighing. “I thought it might work better if you didn’t know.”

“Mom, you can’t just do things like this!” Ethan shook his head, clearly frustrated. “It’s invasive and wrong!”

“Exactly,” I added. “Lorraine, I appreciate your excitement about becoming a grandma, but this whole thing with the doll and not telling me — it wasn’t right. And the missing hair… that wasn’t just pregnancy symptoms!”

Lorraine’s face fell. “I… I didn’t think it would hurt anything. I just wanted to help.”

“But we don’t feel safe here, Lorraine,” I announced. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

Ethan nodded in agreement. “We are,” he added. “I didn’t tell Kayla about your… traditions because I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily. After the doll incident, I thought you wouldn’t do anything weird again. But now, we don’t want our baby to become a part of whatever you’re up to.”

Lorraine looked devastated, but I knew this was the right decision. We needed to protect our family.

That night, I packed our bags. We were starting a new chapter, and while it was painful to leave under these circumstances, I knew it was the best choice for us and our baby.

Do you think what we did was right?

If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one: Everly loves her mother-in-law and offers a substantial loan when Victoria loses her job. But when Everly and her husband need the loan back, Victoria refuses, so Everly decides it’s time for her to learn a lesson.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.