It was a Sunday afternoon. Emily and her father had just moved into their new home—a small one-story house on the outskirts of town. They instantly fell in love with the new place, from the pastel colors of her room to the beautiful rose garden in the backyard. But what she loved the most was the dollhouse the previous owners had left in the attic.

She spent day and night playing with it whenever her father, John, wasn’t pestering her about homework. There was something peculiar about that house, however, that evoked a strange sense of familiarity. It wasn’t until much later that she found out it was modeled after the one they were living in, except for a secret room hidden underneath hers.

Emily searched for a door leading to it, looking around every nook and cranny, every closet, every compartment she could find, but alas, there was nothing. Her sole finding was a weird-looking doll, with human-like features and silk black hair, separated into two braids. She placed it inside the doll house and went to sleep, her eyelids growing heavy from the long search. She stared at the lights hanging around her bed frame, wondering if she would ever find that secret room. Then a flicker caught her eye. It stopped before she could shift her attention to it, and then there was a faint titter. It was coming from the dollhouse.

The little girl flinched, pulling her blankets closer as she tried to convince herself it was just the wind, but then she heard it again. Louder.

She slid into her slippers, holding her bed lamp in both hands, ready to strike any boogeyman man coming her way. The sound didn’t stop. It kept getting louder and louder. She trembled, taking a step back, upon which she noticed there was a creak. One of the floorboards moved under her foot. It wasn’t nailed down like the others.

She removed it slowly and with caution. There it was – the secret room. It was dark, exuding an odd smell, but her curiosity was stronger than fear, and so she plunged in, carrying Mr. Teddybear as her little guardian. She descended the stairs and plunged into an endless void, her footsteps echoing in the darkness. She wanted to turn back, she wanted to leave the eerie place and all its emptiness, but something was beckoning her – a voice.

Her will wasn’t hers anymore, and so she continued, walking and walking for as long as her legs could carry her. The whispers began echoing louder; they pierced through her very soul, heavy, sinister, but she had no choice but to follow them. She walked for what seemed like hours, and then there was silence.

Emily collapsed on the cold ground, face covered in suds. Her trance had ended. She was now surrounded by eternal nothingness, a new dimension. A single ray of moonlight shone behind the entity whose voice was beckoning her. It was the doll, taking the form of a woman. Emily recognized her by her murky silhouette.

“Where am I?” She asked timidly, the last semblance of strength leaving her breath.

There was no answer. The entity tilted her head, observing the small human who trespassed the confines of her realm by some strange coincidence.

“What a finding. How curious…” the doll tittered with a wicked grin. “You might find this dimension quite delirious.”

Her tone was sweet, yet filled with notes of something otherworldly. As she walked closer to Emily, the little girl trembled, her eyes filling with tears. Each step sent chills down her spine. She used what little stamina she had to crawl away from the entity.

“Who are you?” Emily asked, hugging her stuffed toy as if it were going to save her from the impending doom.

“I’m known by many names, dear child. I used to live in your realm, but then I was exiled.”

“W-what are you?” The girl stuttered. Exhaustion made her weary. In no time, she was going to fall into slumber without knowing if she was going to wake up from it.

“I am a witch, I am a God, I am taboo,” the thing snickered, her white eyes beaming with pale light like two moons obscured by clouds. “I am Fear, and soon you’ll be one too.”