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The Other Mother craves something new after all these years alone. Even with her toys this world was empty, spun sugar that dissolved at the slightest hint of water. No matter how many children she devoured they would never sate her, never free her from this prison.
So why not play the game a little longer? Why not bring the clever little girl into her world, show her the beautiful things she could create, convince her to stay. Not the usual ultimatum but a place where the fun never ended.
The Beldam would enjoy toying with her. Letting the cracks show just slightly, until it was too late, until she realized that her pretty little buttons kept her from ever fleeing from this barren world.
Coraline is entranced by all the Beldam gives her. All she could ever want and more, things she hadn’t even dreamed of. The attention is heady after so long of neglect. She watches as the girl stays longer and longer, fighting the yawns and rubbing her eyes. Coraline soon begins to abandon reality, relief on her face every time she crawled through the little tunnel. It had been weeks and the Other Mother found she wanted to play more. Wanted to keep her new little girl and never let her leave, not even to the darkness with the other ghosts. She wanted Coraline to stay. And when it was over, when she was done having her fun, then she would consume her whole. Nothing to remain, not a spirit to haunt the halls, but something satisfying.
But the Other Mother knows that fear sours the stomach and taints the meat, so… they play another game.
Mother will lead you, spin you round and round till you’re dizzy, and you’ll come and find me, she says. Coraline eagerly agrees, swaying and stumbling after she’s spun. The Other Mother dances around the room, snickering occasionally and laughing as Coraline tripped over the furniture.
They play and play and play.
Coraline hasn’t laughed like this since she was small, aches for more, so when her Other Mother says it will be more fun in the dark she listens. The walls glow and her shirt twinkles, so she’s not afraid, blinking a little faster but it’s fun. It’s just a game.
She doesn’t see the needle until it’s already sunken into her eye. It’s so foreign and unexpected, she can’t see, why is there a strange tug-
Coraline screams, and her Other Mother says, “Hush, just one more, and then we can play forever and ever. Won’t that be fun dear? You’ll look so darling, Coraline, little blue buttons to match your pretty blue hair-“
And the twinkling stars on her shirt catch the glint of a needle.
Coraline shrieks in terror, and before the Other Mother can catch her she flees. Crawling on hands and knees she whimpers and scurries away, all the while her Other Mother calls out.
“Oh, Coraline dear, I promise it will all be over soon! Be careful, sweetheart, you’ll hurt yourself!”
There’s blood running down her face, mixing with tears until her starry sleeves are soaked.
“Coraline, stop!” She shouts, edging from caring to commanding, and her blood soaked hands find the wall. Even here the wallpaper is textured, and it must be the same, she traces and traces until the patter of feet (too many, too thin, why did she sound so different, who was she?) send her scrambling forwards.
She can’t find the door. It’s gone, she can’t see and there’s so much blood, where is she, what happened-?!
Coraline shrieks as arms rise from the floor to catch her. All at once she thinks of moths on cork boards, pinned and displayed and helpless. The lights come back and she flinches at the brightness, at the crimson staining her arms and hands.
“Oh, Coraline. Look at the mess you’ve made.”
“Stop! Get away from me! You- you can’t-“ the words catch as pure panic sets in. “I don’t want the buttons, I don’t want them, I’m sorry, I don’t want the buttons!”
“It really isn’t as bad as it seems, darling. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I know how scary needles are. But you didn’t even feel it, did you? I’ll make it right Coraline,” she soothes, drawing closer, smiling and placating even as Coraline tries desperately to wrench herself from the binds. Bugs. Coraline hated bugs. Coraline hated bugs and she hated buttons and she hated everything, she wanted to go home to clothespin drapes and stewed cabbage and mother’s hazel eyes.
“Now, Coraline, you must relax. I wouldn’t want to hurt you. Why don’t we sing a song, dear? To take your mind off things?”
“LET ME GO!”
Her face sharpens and Coraline is afraid.
“Is that how we speak to our mother, Coraline?”
“I- I don’t want the buttons. Okay? I’m sorry. Please, just let me go, and we can go back to- to playing!”
“Oh, but if you want to play you have to stay! And you can’t stay without your buttons, dear. I spent so long picking the perfect pair for you, Coraline. Everyone will be so thrilled-“
Her Other Mother pauses as a knock echoes from the doorway. Standing there is the Other Wybie, looking for all the world as terrified as Coraline felt.
“Wybie. I don’t believe I invited you in.”
He frowns, feet shuffling, but looks to Coraline. She tries to breathe even as fear tightens her chest like a vice. He turns to the Other Mother, and points to her.
“I know, but all will be fixed soon. Just a little slip of the needle - I’ll be done in no time, and then we can all have a lovely night at the theater. How does that sound?”
Wibey doesn’t look convinced, and his frown shifts into something forced and exaggerated. He points to it, then her, eyebrows tight and furrowed.
“Wybie. Wait outside, please.”
Coraline expects him to leave. He’s scared, just like she is, and suddenly she remembers how her other mother had fixed Wybie… but he stays. In fact he steps a little closer, shaking his head.
“Wybie. This is none of your concern. All children have to do unpleasant things, and once this is done we can have all the fun we like! Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Wybie shakes his head, pointing to her then hooking his fingers and twisting them. The Other Mother seems to glare a bit.
“It wasn’t supposed to hurt. If she had stayed still like a good girl, we would have been finished by now, playing tag or planting in the garden. But instead, we’re here with all this unpleasantness. So go wait-“
Wybie’s face turns into a scowl and he stomps his foot loudly. He points to her once more, shaking his head wildly.
“I don’t care for what you are insinuating, Wybie,” she says lowly.
“Leave him alone,” Coraline croaks. The adrenaline is fading fast and she feels so weak in the arms of the strange bugs.
“…mother,” a voice echoes from her right, where the blood and tears obscure everything. It sounds like Dad. “Doesn’t… want to play.”
“Of course she does. Every child wants to play.”
“Didn’t say yes, mother. She’s upset. You’ve upset her. Why?”
“I’m doing what’s best for her. Even if she doesn’t like it now, it’s what’s best.”
Her Other Father draws closer and he seems paler than before, weaker, as if he has the flu.
“Has to want it. You know. Has to say yes.”
There’s almost a snarl on her face and Coraline swallows. But slowly the bug arms retract, releasing her onto the floor. Wybie moves a little closer, watching the other mother carefully, but she allows it.
“I’m sorry I upset you, Coraline. I really was looking out for you. But you are almost a teenager, and I suppose that means it’s your decision. You may go play.”
Wybie takes her hand, pulling her to her feet even while her knees wobble, slowly leading her out of the house. She makes it to the garden before her legs give out and she collapses to the ground, only barely caught by Wybie.
“I’m… I’m so, tired. Can’t move. Can’t see. Don’t know-”
Coraline tries to make the words come, but the darkness swallows her before she can.
-
Coraline wakes to rumbling. Distantly she thinks of thunder, then the puttering of a cars engine, until the sound goes quiet and something shifts on her chest. Fumbling hands reach up and find the cat lying on top of her, mangey and thin but soft anyways.
“Feeling better, sleepy head?”
Coraline strokes his fur and tries not to panic again. It’s hard even when his rumbling purrs return.
“Wybie is here too, you know. He’s looking at you like you’ll fall apart. Will you?”
“I dunno,” she whispers. “You’re talking. That means I’m still here.”
“You never left. An unfortunate side effect of your… addition.”
“Am I stuck? Forever?”
He stretches and she can hear him yawn. She doesn’t have the courage to open her eyes yet.
“Maybe. Maybe not. No one has ever had one button before - I suppose we’ll have to find out.”
One hand keeps petting the car while the other reaches up, up and up until it’s tracing her face - someone grabs her wrist and she freezes.
“Wybie says don’t touch. It’s only just scabbed over, and it took an awfully long time to clean all the blood.”
Her head goes a little fuzzy and the cat seems to purr again, but she’s falling asleep before she can comment.
~
“Is it different for you? With the buttons?” She asks Wybie, hours later. It had taken three tries to finally stay awake, and he had eagerly shoved popcorn and cotton candy at her. It tasted a little funny, but that could be because she had thrown up a few times.
Wybie shrugs and she blinks back to the present. He points to his wrist as if he had a watch and then circles his finger in the air.
“You’ve always had them?”
He nods.
“So you were born with them?”
He shakes his head, and the cat speaks up from his place on her lap. He’s been treating her as his personal pillow.
“Not born. Made.” He says and Wybie nods.
“You… weren’t born?”
The cat shifts and blinks up at her with his wide eyes. “Everything you see here is merely what the Beldam created. Colorful and warm and tasty, but in the end… empty. You’ll see. Take a walk with us.”
She has to stand slowly, too afraid of toppling over, but Wybie holds her hand as they walk. He guides her and makes sure she didn’t trip on anything.
She could see out of the button, somehow, but it felt wrong. Like looking through a kaleidoscope. Shadows and lights and everything made her a little dizzy. Coraline feels nauseous again and tries to swallow the feeling, trying to look around even with this strange new lens.
They walk and walk until suddenly the ground disappears beneath their feet. But they don’t fall, and even though the sky goes empty it doesn’t seem gone, just… unfinished.
“What is this place?”
“The Other Mother only made things she knew would impress you. It’s all just set dressing, in a way. Why build an entire world if this little space will do? I mean, it’s not as if she’s ever kept any of you very long. Has she, Wybie?”
Her companion seems to flinch, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What do you mean?”
The Cat sits in the middle of the blinding void, pinning her with his gaze.
“You’ve been so focused on this world you’ve forgotten what’s outside. Your other Wybie is worried. He’s found a picture of his grandmothers sister, holding a little doll with button eyes. One who never came home. Where do you think she went?”
Coraline swallows again as the nausea swells. Reaches up and traces the button so expertly sewn into her eye.
Such a strange thing to be skilled at, unless she had done it before. Just how many kids had climbed through that little tunnel?
“She loves me,” Coraline whispers. The cat licks his paw, looking at Wybie as he wrung his hands anxiously.
“Maybe she just loves the chase.”
“I… need to go home.”
“Perhaps I should join you.”
“Not that one. I have questions. I want them answered.”
The cat stares at her again, eyes narrowing. He probably thinks she’s stupid, but even despite it all, Coraline craves what she’d been fed these past weeks. Craves it more than any bar of chocolate or slice of cake. More than a fire in a snowstorm.
“If you say so,” he shrugs, wandering forwards once again, she nearly protests, thinking the only way back home was backwards, but the further he trots the more she can see. And just like they had never left the trio is back in front of the house.
“How do you end up in the same place you just left?” She wonders aloud.
“Walk around the world,” he answers. Without another word he climbs on Wybie’s shoulders who waves sadly and wanders away. Part of her wants to beg him to stay, to protect her from the Other Mother. But she loved her, didn’t she? She only wanted what was best. That was certainly better than her real mother.
Was it really worth it?
Coraline wasn’t sure. And that scared her.
-
While Coraline goes back to the Beldam, Wybie begins making her an eyepatch from scraps the cat brought back. He didn’t want to use things from this world in case they vanished when she crossed the border, if she even could. Just in case.
Cat?
“Yes?”
Take… hair? Outside?
The cat blinked at him and rolled over lazily. “Later.”
Thanks.
It’s only the next day when Coraline yawns and looks begrudgingly at the house that the cat jumps onto her shoulders, taking a strand of hair. Coraline bats weakly at him and yelps. “What was that?!”
“Just testing a theory,” he says, climbing onto Wybie and doing the same. She rolls her eye (then sways a bit) and sighs.
“I’m going to go to bed. I guess I’ll, see you tomorrow, yeah?”
Wybie smiles and waves, wandering back up the path through the garden. She didn’t know where he slept, if this part of the world was blank then wasn’t his house blank too?
“You’d better get going. She’s impatient these days.” The cat says, still holding the hair in his teeth.
“Yeah. I guess.”
Her feet feel like lead, but she walks across the stone and up into the house. As she goes there’s a mirror down the hall, strange images flashing by and making her woozy, so she shook her head and kept going.
-
The Cat brings Wybie a single strand of blue hair, intact. He points to himself and the cat shakes his head. His sigh is disappointed but not surprised.
“Would you leave? If you could?”
Wybie (always Wybie, never Wyborne or William or Kiddo. Always Wybie. Whatever form he took he was never the real thing, just another toy for the Beldam to play with) lies back and looks at the sky.
Stars the same? Different?
The Cat glances up and his tail begins to flick and sway.
“They’re dimmer out there. Further away. You know, I heard the television say once that the stars in the sky are actually long dead. It takes so long for their light to reach us that they’ve burned up by the time we can see them. All the stars in the sky are already gone - besides these of course. But these don’t quite count.”
Wybie tilts his head.
Burned up?
“They’re gas. So hot and massive that you can see them billions of miles away. Deeper than a thousand wells. The sun she talks about, that’s a star. Just one so close that it’s still alive and burning, not yet run out of fuel. It’s warm, painful to look at but it lights everything. It’s what makes the moon glow.”
Beldam made the moon.
“She made this moon. But outside this little world is a much bigger one, it’s where she gets all her ideas. Bit unoriginal if you ask me. Taking only the good, only the sweet… I find things are tastier if they’re a little sour. Less sickening.”
Wybie takes off his gloves and inspects the stitches that hold his fingers together. Coraline didn’t have stitches. Smooth palms with lines and creases and scars. All he had was the holes of past sewing or stains from other lives. Each as someone different but just the same.
He thinks he likes Wybie the best. It feels more honest to say nothing at all than to parrot her lies.
“You know, if the girl succeeds, this will be the end of your game with her. Whether you disintegrate in the tunnel or she tears to you pieces that will be it.”
Wybie doesn’t move, simply staring up at the empty stars. No heat or life or shine. Just endless twinkling with none of the wonder Coraline talks about.
It was good, this time. I helped. Really helped. I think I’ll be okay with it. I don’t want to hurt another kid. I don’t want to be remade.
The Cat lies on his chest and begins to purr. It’s one of Wybie’s favorite sounds and feelings, rumbling through his hollow chest and shaking his bones.
The Beldam will come for him he knows. But for now he’s a bargaining chip in her game with Coraline, and he has the Cat who purrs on his chest. So Wybie stares up at the sky and makes peace with all that is and isn’t.
-
His final gift to her is the eyepatch. They’re at the circus upstairs, and he points to her real eye.
“You… want me to cover this one?” She asks, hesitation clear. He smiles and nods. The Beldam will be happy, will think he’s only following orders in trying to sway her. But this way she’ll see the parts of this world that are stolen. And maybe she’ll find the part that was stolen from her.
It fits perfectly and Wybie tries not to think about how he knew the size of her head. Tries not to think about where he began and the Beldam ended.
“Wow,” she whispers, watching the mice.
To Wybie it looked the same as it always had. Feral rats full of sand jumping and spinning. Choreographed but horrifying. Everything here was. Everything was coated with sugar but inside just rotting wood or creaking carapaces. She looked spooked and Wybie knew she could see it as it really was now.
“They’re still so amazing,” she lies, smiling at Wybie even as her face screams fear. He smiles and nods and grips her hand tightly. He feels a seam pop as she squeezes back even tighter but his smile doesn’t waver.
She can fight now. She can run and not look back and be free from the Beldam. From the nightmare dressed as a dream.
Wybie despite it all lets himself enjoy the show. In the way Coraline is here, holding his hand, as if they were two normal kids at the circus. He pretended they were surrounded by people, not puppets, cheering and whispering and clapping.
This time tomorrow he would be taken apart seam by seam, stitch by stitch. But today he enjoyed this last fleeting moment of awe. He knew deep in his hollow chest that she would make it out. She could see through the Beldam now, and she had the courage to fight. The Cat would protect her too.
For Wybie, who had never really had anything, that was enough.
-
Coraline lets her gaze wander at dinner. It’s rich shepherds pie with fruit on the side cut into funny shapes and a mango milkshake with extra whipped cream. Despite her nervousness she devours it all, smiling at her Other Mother and Other Father.
“Anything exciting today? Me and Wybie saw the circus again, they had a trapeze act this time!”
Her Other Father (who isn’t as pale today) launches into a story about his piano teaching him a new sonnet, that then began to tickle him until he nearly fell over. She giggles and lets herself be distracted, even as her gaze slides all around the walls.
The Cat had said there was something the Other Mother had stolen. Something she would need before she ran. Was it her eye? Could she be free of this button if only she found it?
“What do you think, mud-pie, up for some Twister before bed? Your old man needs to stretch his legs after tickling all those ivory’s!”
“Oh, yeah! I love twister!”
It’s easy to get excited about game she knew. Something she could expect without the fear of a hidden needle and thread.
It was hard to sleep without a light anymore. So she kept the curtains open and stared at the moon until she drifted off, and woke to the same sight.
“How about I spin the board and you both go first?” Mother proposes, and her other Father cheers in delight. She whoops alongside him and takes her place, staring at the colorful dots. Soon they find themselves in a tangled knot of arms and legs, huffing as she tried to keep her balance.
“Right foot to… green!”
“Agh! It’s so far!” She shouts, stretching further and further, until her hand finally slipped. All at once they both came crashing down, landing roughly on her back until she gazed upside down at the fireplace. So many snow globes, just like the other house, but-
Her vision swam as she looked through the button and saw something real. Not the strange creations of her Other Mother but a snow globe she had grown up staring at, shaking the snow with chubby hands and wide eyes.
Standing inside the glass were her mother and father. Hazel eyes blinking at her with shock and fear, hands pressed against the glass.
“You alright honey-bun?”
Coraline blew her hair from her face and forced herself to stand.
“Sorry! Knocked my head a little and didn’t want to fall again. One more round?”
“I think it’s time someone went to bed. I promise, I’ll keep it all out so we can play after breakfast,” her other mother said, gently guiding her to the stairs. “No need to overdo it, especially if you might hurt yourself!”
“Yeah, you’re right, who wants to deal with a concussion?” She laughs.
They tuck her in as Coraline pastes a fake smile on her face, waiting for them to leave so she could open the curtains and panic in peace.
Outside, across the garden, the cat sat on the little bridge and stared at her. She uses the signal Wybie had used for her other mother and father, thumb poking her chin and forehead. Then she points to her real eye.
The cat nods once, then slinks out of sight.
Coraline doesn’t sleep for hours.
Not when she thinks about what’s hidden in the snow globe downstairs.
It isn’t her eye that the Other Mother stole. It’s her real parents.
And she couldn’t leave without them.
—-
She wakes later than usual.
The moon (flatter than she remembers, its craters look more like shadows) is already nearly at half rise. A soft knock echoes from her door and she sits up to find her Other Father waving hello.
“Morning, sleepyhead! Ready for some grub?”
“Yeah! Sorry for the wait. Guess I needed the sleep,”
He merely laughs and guides her down the stairs. Sweet syrup and salty bacon fills her nose and she sits at the table eagerly. As if by magic the Other Mother flips pancakes through the air and onto her plate. Rather than let her mind wander Coraline digs in, desperate to keep her appetite while it was still there. She’d need it.
“So, any ideas on what you’d like to do today? We’re all ears,” the Other Mother asks. Coraline swings her feet in her chair and looks out the window, surprisedcto see fog clinging to the ground. It’s dense and covers nearly the entire outside and Coraline knows it could be useful.
“Could Wybie and I go looking for slugs? They’re fun to take pictures with and they could be great for eating the bugs in the garden!”
Something in the Other Mothers face twitches but her placid smile remains.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea. And if you see any good herbs lying around be sure to fetch some for me - I’m planning some rosemary pork tonight,”
“Awesome! I can’t wait. See you guys later!”
She breaks into a run as soon as she’s out of the door, panic finally swallowing her whole once she escaped the house. It doesn’t take long to find Wybie and the Cat lurking by the tree line.
The girl whispers plans to them under the cover of fog. Wybie watches her with rapt attention but the Cat scans the horizon for any prying eyes. She’s spoiled quite a few of his surprises by sneaking close, he won’t have their last chance stolen so easily.
She’s nervous. She reeks of sweat and stress and if the Beldam finds her like this the game will be over in an instant.
“You’ll need more than the guise of slug hunting to recover what she stole. I’ll go instead.” He murmurs in her ear.
“Doesn’t she hate you? Why would she let you in?”
“Who said she had to know? Invite her to play. She won’t be able to resist. I’ll be done by the high moon, so move as soon as it crests.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’ve grown tired of this place. And I won’t let her trap me like one of her dolls. Off with you.”
Coraline swallows and takes him off her shoulder, passing him to Wybie. The boy pets his fur gently and places an empty kiss on his head.
“You’ll be free. One way or another.” The Cat whispers. Wybie smiles and nods once even as his eyebrows furrow. The Cat flexes his claws, a question and offer in one, but Wybie shakes his head.
Help Coraline. I’m okay. Happy.
“If you insist.” He replies.
Wybie gives him one final squeeze and the cat leans in, purring softly but with all the care he could muster.
He would miss this one. This little doll who managed to care despite the cruelty sewn into it.
His paws lead him to the steps of the Pink Palace, glancing at the moon once before bounding up the steps. He isn’t a stranger to creeping around this house. Knows each creaking board and unsteady table. It’s easy to climb onto the shelf, but the glove is heavy and awkward, but he makes it. This is important. If anything deserved effort it was the girl who was kind to the creations of the Beldam.
The children rush in, devouring cake and keeping the Other Mother occupied, pulling both parents outside into the fog to dance and play and have fun. The Beldam is entranced and doesn’t realize the cat has invaded her web, dragging Coraline’s bag over and shoving the globe inside.
“Don’t make a sound,” he hisses to the globe and its cowering figures inside. “She only has one chance.”
The cat makes quick work of shoving the bag under the chair closest to the door, and a quick glance in the cluttered drawer in the kitchen shows that Wybie had successfully stolen the key.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but he would try. If nothing else he would try to free this one of the spell - he had seen too many consumed. It was cruel to play with your food. Better to kill it cleanly, rather than the messes the Beldam left.
Spiders are such awful creatures he mused, wandering back outside. He blinks at Coraline and she takes a big deep breath.
~
Wybie perks up as they come to a rest on the hill near the garden, raising a hand and imitating peek a boo.
“Oh! Hide and seek! I wanna play, will you play with us? The fog will definitely make it more fun!” Coraline suggests, shoving away her fear.
“What an idea! I’ve got some pretty good spots near the pumpkins,” her Other Father grins, jabbing a gentle elbow into her side. She laughs and tries not to think about the fact that this could be the last time she sees him.
“We’ll have to be quick, can’t have you up too long! I’ve got a surprise planned tomorrow,” the Other Mother says with a wide smile. Coraline claps her hands and shakes Wybie excitedly.
“Okay, okay, Dad you count and the rest of us hide! I don’t trust you in that garden!” She calls out, and just like that he covers his button eyes and begins to loudly count. Her other mother covers her mouth and seems to giggle, sneaking away with her with quiet steps. Coraline gestures to the snapdragons and holds a finger to her lips, and the other mother goes willingly, crouching under the alcove just behind the snapdragons.
“Even if he finds you he’ll get one heck of a surprise!” She whispers, looking at the Other Mother one last time as she beams at Coraline.
Even now her face warps and shifts, the difference between reality and fiction, and Coraline knows it has to be now. She gives one last smile and wave before running off towards the opposite side of the garden.
The Cat is waiting for her on top of a pumpkin and together they crawl slowly towards the house. Wybie is hiding under the stairs, peeking his head up, button reflecting the lights of the theater entrance.
“Come on, hurry!” She breathes. The cat had left the door ajar, ensuring no one heard it creak as they entered. Just as they crossed the threshold she heard the cries of her other father as he was caught by snap dragons.
“Move, faster! She’ll rip the world apart if she realizes!” The cat hisses, and she breaks her sneaking to sprint across the room. She slides across the floor and the cat is quick to fetch the bag, dragging it hurriedly towards her.
“Coraline?” The other father calls out.
“The key, the key!” She shouts, Wybie pulling it from his pocket and tossing it over. As it clicks into the lock she can feel the temperature suddenly drop and the cat begins to yowl.
“CORALINE JONES!” The Other Mother screams, shaking the house and throwing her to the side. Coraline scrambles back to the door, wrenching it open and tossing the cat through, looking panicked at Wybie.
“Come on! She’ll hurt you!”
He smiles once, shaking his head and sticking a hand through. His fabric quickly dissolved into sand, falling away and all at once her heart breaks. She can hear the thud of footsteps in the kitchen and she cries as Wybie embraces her once more, even as it dissolves him.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Goodbye!”
Clawed fingers pry him away and Coraline scrambles backwards, screaming. The Other Mother screeches with an inhuman noise, towering over Wybie who glares at her without fear.
“I will enjoy tearing you apart thread by THREAD!”
But Wybie only grins, and with his remaining hand he throws the key as hard as he can through the tunnel, then slams the door shut.
Coraline can hear her pounding the on door and can barely stay on her knees as the tunnel sways and jostles, but the cat grabs her hand with his teeth and drags her forward. She feels the key on the floor of the tunnel as they reach the end and holds it tightly. She can’t help crying out in panic as the door thuds closer and closer, the Other Mothers screams deafening and horrible.
“Come on, come on, we have to get out! Run Wuss Puss run!”
He releases her hand flees, hair raised and claws extended as he hisses at whatever lies behind her. Coraline lands in a heap on the wooden floor of the Pink Palace, but the little door is only feet from them, closer and closer, pounding open-
“No, Mother! No more! No Mother!” Something calls out from the other side.
Coraline crawls forwards and puts all her strength into pushing the door closed even as the Beldam reaches through, clawing at her skin. Cries of pain fall from her mouth but she doesn’t relent, and another familiar hand appearing but it doesn’t grab her - it grabs the Beldam.
“No! Mother, no! Free! She is free! She is FREE!” Her Other Father shouts, and with one last sorrowful look he smiles to Coraline, then drags the Beldam away from the door. She falls forwards and the door clicks shut, and her fumbling fingers quickly insert the key and turn the lock.
Light flickers at the edges of the door, green and white and colors she can see but can’t name, until finally it dims. There’s a screech of pain, like an wounded animal, and finally it’s quiet.
The cat huffs and hisses next to her, but seeing the lights vanish, flops onto his side. Coraline’s hand is bleeding from his bite but she pets him anyways.
“Good kitty,” she breathes, feeling all the energy begin leave her. But the last part weighed on her mind, even past the exhaustion.
Her parents!
“Mom? Dad?!” She calls out, digging in her bag frantically. Something sharp pierces her palm and she yelps, looking in to see the snow globe in pieces. Liquid has soaked through the bag, but her parents are nowhere to be found. “No, no no no, where did they go-?!”
“-Coraline! Coraline, are you there?!”
“Dad!” She yells, trying to stand and tripping over the cat instead, looking up from the floor to see her mother and father rushing into the living room.
“Oh my god, Coraline! You’re here! What happened, your-“ her mother kneels next to her and gasps as she sees her face, going stark white as her father scoops her into his lap.
“We’ve been searching for days! We looked everywhere, sweetheart, the forest, the well, the city! We thought we lost you, Coraline, oh god, we thought we lost you-“ her father chokes.
It’s so unlike the Others and their perfect sentences. Here her real parents were, real eyes red and filled with tears, stumbling over words and looking as if they had tumbled head first through a bush. They probably did.
Coraline, for the first time since she was a child, bursts into tears. Her parents frantic questioning finally pauses, and all at once she’s wrapped in their arms. Not a picture perfect hug with just the right pressure, but a bear hug that squeezed her ribs too tight and so close that she got tears and snot all over their shirts.
She was home. And there was nowhere she’d rather be.
—
The police search for months for the woman with brown eyes and black hair that had kidnapped her. They post flyers over every telephone pole and newspaper, even running a special on the nighttime news. Everyone is warned away from the forest alone, and said to be on the look out for a woman going by the name of Beldam. Parents are advised to call in immediately if their child finds a strange toy at any time.
Coraline starts to feel a little smothered as her parents stick to her like glue, but she doesn’t dare complain, soaking in the comfort she had craved for so long without the fear of it being fake. Her parents were more than happy to let her sleep in their bed for a few weeks, even turning on their old lava lamp from Dads college days so she felt safe. Her mom apologizes every day, and Coraline does too. Her father says he’s going to find a good counselor, so they can be better at talking.
She can’t look at Wyborne for a while. Keeps expecting to see sewn hands and button eyes, and his grandmother is so spooked that he’s not allowed out anyways. But almost a year later she’s watching a slug crawl up the tree, and hears his mask cranking behind her.
“You can come out, you know,” she says easily.
“I uh… thought you were avoiding me.”
“I was avoiding everybody. Don’t take it personally,” she says, coaxing the banana slug onto her hand. He blinks at her as it begins to slide all over her.
“You know that’s gonna take forever to wash off,” he blinks, and a devilish smile takes over her face. “No- no, Jonsie, don’t do it!” He shouts, scrambling backwards as she leaps towards him with the slug outstretched. Coraline Jones runs after her old friend, tripping on roots and vines as she adjusted to her eyepatch but laughing freely. Each tumble is shrugged off soon as she stands, and Wyborne doesn’t hesitate to play rough despite it all.
Later he tries to apologize for giving her the doll, so she punches him in the shoulder and calls it even. He finally seems to relax and soon enough they’re rolling around in the leaves, wrestling to see who would be covered in mud and painted with sap.
The Cat watches from a branch high in the trees as they begin to run and laugh, purring. It’s good she can still play, even after all this.
And he had missed Wybie.
-