Help Us

It was snowing. That was impossible. True, it was February, and yes, it was cold, but it wasn’t cold enough for snow. Yet tiny glittering snowflakes floated down from the ceiling, totally without the aid of clouds.

Shivering from the cold, they huddled together and looked around. Frosty glass arched several feet above their heads and on all sides of them. In front of them was a wall of curved, frosty glass. Behind them was a frozen fountain with two large bear statues. They knew that fountain, and where it was supposed to be.

Suddenly the ground moved beneath their feet and the walls shook. They were rattled about like bugs in a jar and the snow flew into their faces. When the shaking stopped they both felt sore, dizzy and sick. Before one could ask the other what had happened, an enormous face appeared on the other side of the foggy glass. It was so stretched and distorted that it barely looked human, and its eyes resembled huge, black holes. The face grinned, and each one of its teeth was a little too long.

Then a loud, booming voice shook the walls of their prison. It had a distinctly mocking, female tone to it. “Well, well, well. What have we here? Coraline’s old, boring parents.”

Mel Jones was absolutely frozen with terror, until her child’s name was mentioned. She stood up and tried to make herself taller. “Where is she? Who are you? What did you do to my daughter?”

The giant smirked. “I think you mean my daughter.”

Mel’s chest tightened. Charlie touched her arm, quietly urging his wife to back down. It didn’t work. “What are you talking about?” she shouted. “Who do you think you are?”

A huge black button appeared in front of her, as big as the moon. The voice gave a very low, sinister chuckle. “I’m Coraline’s Other Mother. And soon, I’ll be her only mother.”

The giant woman dragged a long, sharp nail across the glass wall, producing a deafening screech. Mel staggered back against her husband and covered her ears. Then the wall fogged up again, and the huge distorted face was gone.

“My God …” Charlie muttered. There was nothing else he could think of to say. His wife was silent and shivering. He put his arms around her for both warmth and comfort. “Mel, it’s … it’s gonna be okay.”

“Coraline …” she murmured, clutching his jacket. “She wants Coraline … We have to do something, Charlie. We can’t just sit here and let that … that thing take her.”

“I know, Mel, I know. But what can we do? There’s no way out of here.”

She pushed away from him and turned back to the glass. “Wrong. If there’s a way to in, there must be a way out. Come on, Charlie. Help me find a way.”

So together they searched their prison for some kind of exit. When they found none they began rubbing the glass again to discover where their prison was. The place outside bore a passing resemblance to their living room at the new house, but everything was bigger, and brighter, and moving. The whole time they were in each other’s arms, the closest they had been in weeks. How ironic that it took a strange crisis like this to get them there.

During that time Charlie hummed a bit to lighten the mood, but Mel did not speak. Something that stranger had said was bothering her.

“I’m Coraline’s Other Mother.”

Coraline had said that in her dreams she had another mother. What if those dreams weren’t just dreams? What if she really did have another mother, one that could cook well, and was prettier and nicer to her? What if she chose to stay with this woman and leave her real parents to freeze in this snowy prison?

No. Coraline was too smart for that. She knew better than to trust strangers. She knew better then to abandon her real family.

Didn’t she?

“Mel, look!” Charlie said. “Out there, in the hall! Someone’s coming!”

She looked. A clear space had formed on the glass as though a dragon had breathed on it. There were two shapes coming. One was a black cat, the other a young girl in orange pajamas. Around her shoulders was a small blue blanket, which she had slept with ever since she was a baby.

Still shivering, Mel leaned forward and wiped the frosty glass clear with one hand. Sure enough, it was Coraline out in the hall, looking scared and confused. When she spoke there was no sound.

Time was running out. The glass would fog up again soon. With one finger Mel wrote a short, two word phrase.

HELP US