Mama and I arrive home from Boston. Papa is still bedridden. His wound has become infected, and Doctor Fenton tells Mama he is making the necessary preparations to remove Papa’s eye in the morning. Mama faints upon receiving the frightful news, but Frau Heinzelmann is there to catch her.
Frau Heinzelmann forces me to eat a warm bowl of beef stew filled with carrots and potatoes. I take only a few bites, while Mama cannot eat at all. She is weary from the long journey and retires to her room. The listlessness that had briefly left her has returned.
While Frau Heinzelmann clears the dishes, I sit alone by the fireplace, warming my hands. My dollhouse remains where I left it weeks ago. I reach inside to pull out the doll Papa made for me but I startle. Sitting next to the doll, glaring at me with its black eyes, is the creature with pale limbs and ghostly white hair.
“I have come to claim my ransom,” it says in a small voice.
I nearly fall backward, but I steady myself and gather my courage. “But you did not fulfill your end of the bargain, and therefore I owe you nothing.”
“Ah, but I did,” it hisses. “You asked that your father be home. And so he is. You wanted your mother out of her bed. So she was. And did you not return to your beloved Boston?”
I think of all that has happened and it suddenly occurs to me that my wishes—they did come true after all, only not in the manner I had intended.
“But … but…” My voice trembles. “That was not what I meant…”
“The how is not important,” says the creature, “simply the what. You have received all you asked for. Now you must give me something in return.” It grins wickedly.
I turn my back on the dollhouse. My mind scrambles for a way out of my bargain. I did indeed ask for Papa to be home, and for Mama to be up, and to return to Boston. But I also asked for one more thing.
“You did not deliver all I asked,” I say. “You did not provide me with a friend.”
When I turn toward the dollhouse, my doll is alone. The creature has vanished.
I almost feel I have escaped it when all at once I feel a cold breath on my shoulder. I spin around to discover, standing full-size by the fireplace, a girl. She wears a pretty dress, and her silky white hair pours loosely down her back. Only her cavernous eyes give her away.
“I shall be your friend,” she says in a sweet voice. “For now. And for always.” She reaches out to touch my arm. Her touch prickles my skin and chills me to the bone. “But come now, first you must pay me what you owe.”
“And w-what is that?” I ask, taking a step backward.
“Why, your eyes, of course,” she says, smiling. “I would like a beautiful pair of silver-gray eyes to call my own.”
The creature reaches her dainty hands toward my face, but I draw back farther, nearly stumbling over the dollhouse. All the while my mind works feverishly to win time. She reaches a second time, her sharp claws grazing my cheek, which immediately turns icy. With my back already against the wall, there is nowhere for me to go.
“Give me one day,” I say quickly. “Removing one’s eyes is not an easy feat. Allow me to prepare for the removal, and I swear I will pay what I owe.”
The girl pauses as if to ponder my request. Then, backing away slightly, she tilts her head and agrees. “I give you twenty-four hours to honor your bargain. Twenty-four hours. No more.”
Relief washes over me. I have won a reprieve. But I know my relief will be short-lived when she adds, “Just remember, if you do not fulfill your promise and deliver your eyes to me of your own free will—then I shall claim them myself.” She fans her dainty hand with tiny claw-like nails and grins.