Like Father Like Daughter

   The rain misted over my threadbare coat, wind making my black hair flap around wildly. My destination, I was almost there. Just a few more blocks, she had promised to meet me in just a few more blocks. Of course, I would be disappointed if she didn't show up... But what did I have to lose, besides time? My last pocket full of change jinkled in my jacket pocket, a reminder as to why I was meeting this woman. Oh, how I wished time was a currency. I would be absolutely rich.

   I turned a corner, reaching a dead end, the dirty, graffitied wall meeting me. I smiled to myself, and looked to see if even the smallest soul was around. How crazy would I look doing this?, I thought slyly. I pulled off my glove as I reached the bricks, seeming blocking my way. With a smirk, I rapped on the 6th brick up, 4 blocks to left of the right corner. I remembered the phrase the woman had told me to speak. "Aperatur secreta," I whispered, recalling what had happened yesterday.

   I sat, shivering in the cold air of New York, damp from the previous rain. The few dollars left in my pocket, they were becoming increasingly wet, and more importantly, easier to ruin. I leaned my head back against the stone wall, baring my face to the sky. A greasy, black strand of fringe fell in my eye, but I didn't bother to move it out of the way. I pulled the hems of my dirty jeans down, hoping to cover at least a little more skin. It didn't work.

   I closed my eyes, energy waning. After this nap, maybe I would grab a cheap snack. I deserved it, I had been waiting too long to get a bite of food. My mind drifted away, to my current predicament, to my growling stomach, to everything. Sleep eventually approached my mind, and I began to warm up, a light happiness clouding my mind

   "Miss? Excuse me..,"  I bolted up, sleep having been interrupted. I almost glared at the foul woman, but my mind cleared, and I saw her in a more positive light. She was holding out a light, slightly frayed jacket. Her warm steely gray eyes peirced mine, her blackish blue hair shining even in the nonexistent light the sun was giving off. I hesitantly accepted the jacket, shrugging it on. It warmed my body, and I relaxed into it.

   "I am holding a meeting tomorrow... It's rather secret though, I wouldn't be too happy if you went around shouting about it. It's for homeless people living on the streets... with nothing to lose. Are you able to come?" I almost said no right away, but something in her eyes made me nod excitedly. She was so pretty... she looked trustworthy. How could I say no to a face like that? "Great!," she said, a grin lighting up her face. "Go to the alley way up north of Main Street. It's the first one on the right. You will go to the end of it, and though it is seemingly a dead end, I will tell you how to get in. Tap on the 6th brick up from the bottom, the 4th left from the right end of the wall. After this, I need you to say 'Aperatur Secreta'... It's like a password of sorts, if you want to think about it like that. We will let you in shortly... Also, make sure no one is watching. Like I said before, it's rather secret. Besides, do you want someone watching you knock and talk to a wall? When our session is done, I will reward you with money and some new clothes." She chuckled. "I'll see you there at any time. Goodbye," Her large grin made her eyes crinkle. Several minutes later, just a few after she had left, I looked up at the now raining sky.

   "Goodbye," I whispered.

   And so here I was, waiting for the youthful lady to let me in. I had been standing not for a minute when a brick slid out of the wall away from me. A pair of gray eyes looked into mine, and I could tell she was smiling by the way her eyes shined. She opened the bricks (much to my confusion) like a door, and waved my in hurriedly. She slammed it shut, and she looked at me. "I suppose now would be a good time to tell you why I had chosen you in particular. I am a self proclaimed doctor, with an extremely high intelligence, and I need someone to test my theories on. Of course, you will be payed, and I have your other rewards in the back." Taking my hand, she led me to a table, wrapped with a thin white paper. "You will sit here while I get the supplies." She left, heeled boots clacking against the floor. I looked around to what seemed to be her home, and I sighed, impatiently waiting. A figure in the far left person caught my attention. I looked at it closely for a second, and it looked.. real. Like a real person, full of life. But as the seconds passed by, I realized the person wasn't moving. They hadn't blinked, hadn't moved, hadn't even breathed. They... were dolls. 

   "I'm back sweety." The woman smiled at me. My breathing increased as I realized what she was doing, or at least what she was going to do. I calmed myself, and looked her in the eye. "Those dolls... they're so realistic! How could you have made them?" 

She laughed as she filled a syringe with liquid. "Oh, my father was an expert at it. He taught me everything he knew. He died almost a year ago though, so I've taken up his hobby for him." She nodded towards the center of her living room, a room of which I had a clear view of. "I was really sad for a while, so I made a doll that looked like him. I need something to represent him, just so I could remember everything he taught me." A cold sweat had broken out along the back of my neck. 

"You're so pretty..," She said quietly. "So healthy... For a homeless person, you really keep yourself up... Such beautiful eyes..." She trailed off, and she stabbed a vein in my arm. "I'm going to do some harmless experiments on you, but they might hurt a little. I'll have to numb you up and put you to sleep." The medicine worked immediatley. I swayed, and collapsed on the cushioned table. I might have been numb, but I wasn't asleep yet, and I shuddered as I heard what she said next.

"Father... You would have made her such a gorgeous doll. I will make her just as beautiful as you would have. I never thought I would turn out like you, for I used to think you a monster for doing something so cruel. Hell, you even wanted me to be a doll." She looked straight at me. "But... you know what they say. Like father like daughter."