I walk to the grocery store pretty much every day, passing the same antique shop on the way there. Every time I pass it, I always get the same, eerie feeling. I have the tendency to stare at the window in every building I pass, but there was just something weird about this shop.
Most stores had mannequins in their windows, usually innocent-looking ones wearing clothes and hats. But in the windows on the antique shop, they seemed to stare into my soul. Most mannequins have a plastic smile on their face, but this wasn’t plastic. The mouth was too real, and detailed. It was set like a normal smile, but at the ends of its wide grin were large stitches. The eyes glistened, but not with plastic or shellac. It was like tears were in the eyes, and around the area was red and puffy, like it had been crying for hours. Every time I looked at it, chills would run up my spine.
I was out for a while one night. The sky was pitch black. I was walking across the street, past the antique shop, as a small shiver trailed up my neck, causing me to turn and look at the window. I swore I saw the eyes move towards me. I took my flashlight out to make sure that the eyes were still where they were before, but the smile looked more forced than usual, like it wanted to frown. I ignored it, or tried to, and continued to walk home.
“I’m home!” I yelled out, to signal my parents. My mom was the only one to walk out. I was a bit confused, seeing that my mother was the only one up at this time. “Where’s dad?” I questioned my mother. A large grin spread across her face at that question.
“Your father isn’t feeling well,” she replied, hiding her hands behind her back. I looked over her shoulder, and decided to trail down the hallway into my parents’ bedroom. I walked in to see my father sitting on his bed. A large grin stretching from ear to ear, with two large stitches at both ends. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to say something. He couldn’t speak very well, but it was audible, enough for me to hear him say, “Behind you!”
I slowly turned to see my mother. A horrible grin spread across her face. In her hands were a needle and a ball of thread.
Credited to AlexAndAlfiesPastas