Caroline Adaptation

As she closed the large and heavy wooden door behind her, it was as if the sun had been blotted out, with only a single beam of light escaping its engulfing grasps. A door opened in the distance letting out a blinding light, and as she shielded her eyes, she could once again feel the soft, woolen rug beneath her feet and the warmth and welcoming of a house. Her bright shorts and t-shirt was the only barrier between her skin and the surrounding, chilling air. But as her thongs squeaked and the loose floorboards creaked, shivers ran down her spine as she recognized the carpet from her flat. This stubborn yet fascinated young woman was Coraline.

She crept into the identical flat with utmost curiosity and gazed at a wall. It had the same patterning of wallpaper and even the same picture of a tall, middle-aged man sitting on a chair. Her mind was spinning with all the new questions that had formed inside her, and as she pondered about the many possibilities, she could only conclude to one. She never left her home.

A distant call caught Coraline’s attention just as she was about to continue her journey of wonder. She cautiously approached another room, much of which was familiar to her, and stopped. Coraline was just about to shout “mum” and give her a great big hug, but something didn’t feel right. Although she was dressed like Coraline’s real mother with her dress and waist belt, this woman’s fingers were long, curled and very sharp like a tiger’s paw ready to swipe and could not stop moving, always touching something, scratching something, it was as if she had a million jobs to do with just her fingers. Coraline edged the door a little more to get a closer look, but the creak of the hitches caught the woman’s acute sense of hearing and then she croaked out to Coraline.

She pushed the door all the way through, knowing that her position was noticed and made herself aware. Then the woman flicked her head across her shoulder like an owl turning its head