Chapter Text
1
Coraline never knew how to tie her shoelaces for the longest time. For years she still did bunny ears until the day that Wybie pointed it out. Sure she was embarrassed— it was such a childish thing to do. But it was the only way she knew how. And just like tying shoelaces—here were many ways she could have responded to the towering Beldam some much easier than others:
Coraline could either:
a) Stand up and confront the other mother with her wits and make their untimely escape with the cat before running dandily through the tunnel (Assuming they’re in the other world) in lounge before uniting at a Christmas party living happily every after— supposedly.
b) Jump off the bed the two were currently sitting at, before temporarily escaping the other mother and regroup in order to find her weaknesses— not to be confused with option A as chances are the two might be too traumatised to be celebrating with Christmas party anytime soon— plus Coraline wasn’t much of a fan of the holiday as mentioned earlier.
OR…
c) Scream.
And just likes the shoe laces— she only knew one way and that was how to scream. She knew there were other options but didn’t particularly have the capacity to try and come up with those. Like, look at option a), Coraline thought it was best to assume she was in the other world— but she a) didn’t have a key since that was long gone and probably rusting— and b) she could potentially be trapping herself in the otherworld by going from the real world INTO the other world thinking she had escaped the other world from a potential hallucination from the other mother.
It was thoughts like these which is why Coraline chose to just scream.
2
Coraline’s mouth hung down as the other mother smirked down at them. What other option did she have? I’m definitely not going through that introduction again— which leads us to the only conclusion that she of course— just screamed.
Wybie toppled backwards off the bed onto the cold hard planks. He was truly lost for words.
“Do you like them?” The other mother said, tapping her buttons with her needles. “They’re much nicer than the old ones don’t you think?” The beldams familiar voice, was haunting. It made Coraline’s blood turn cold.
It was enough to make the girl shriek, she thought she was going to pass out. Her heart was pounding, her breath was cold, eyes were watering.
“I’m not scared of you!” Another voice called out. Coraline’s head quickly spun around to her doorway. Wybie’s nails dug into the floor boards as he quickly glanced at the doorframe.
“You give him back! Give him back!” It shouted, Coraline glanced back at Wybie— taking the opportunity to rush out of the covers joining him on the floor in front of the book shelf.
“Coraline— I can’t do that. You know that.”
In the doorway stood a girl, her body covered in scratches— her red hair covered in cobwebs.
“Holy shit!” Wybie swore. “You’re seeing this right?!” He exclaimed, feeling wetness dribble down his face. His nose was bloody— again?
Coraline didn’t know whether to make a run for it or not as she knew staying in the one spot and not moving was the one way ticket to be the dumb white girl slaughtered off screen— but she was so scared— but more importantly confused— so she just stayed. Stayed and watched.
“I don’t…” Coraline muttered. The real Coraline muttered. “I don’t think it’s real."
The beldam grinned at the other Coraline standing in the door way, moving torn gown aside.
Wybie felt his heart drop, his eyes widened, teeth clenched.
“It’s not real Wybie.” Coraline moved closer to him. “It’s not real!”
A body was propped up against the tallboy. His dreads hanging down his lifeless face. His shirt soaked in crimson blood that trailed form his eyes that were replaced with shining black buttons. A haunting smile was forced with wire and stitches, sticking through his lips.
“OH MY GOD!” Wybie gasped, his stomach churned— he thought truly thought this was the end, he started praying in his mind— not that he was religious, but it was all that he could do. Coraline made choked cries in fear watching the other Coraline at the door way screamed, shuffling backwards onto the stair railing outside her room.
There were screams.
And then there was silence.
And then there was Charlie bursting through the door— which seemed to be closed the entire time…apparently.
“What on earth is going on here!” Charlie looked at the two huddling in front the book shelf next to the door.
Everything was normal.
Though it took them a while to for them realise that.
“She’s here! She was here! The beldam the beldam was in the fucking room she was there!” Coraline pointed to the other side of bed, where the once beldam stood.
“Bell-what?” Charlie crossed his arms.
“Sh-She’s going to sew buttons into my eyes!” Wybie spat out wiping the blood dripping down his nose with his sleeve, hyperventilating— staring at the tallboy where his dead body once sat.
“Alright thats it.” The older man looked down at the two. “Coraline what did you take?!”
“What?”
“You heard me! You think your mom and I are stupid? You think you can just get away with things like this? I don’t what you doing shit like that here. Not in this house.”
“N-No dad! No you don’t understand she’s real!” The girl stood up, moving towards the bed, looking underneath and all around. “She was here I swear! She took you once! Don’t you remember? Dad please you have to believe me!”
“Coraline just— just lay down or something please. And you…” Charlie turned to Wybie. “I thought you would turn out alright.”
Wybie frantically shook his head. “N-No sir I swear we didn’t take anything we’re not- she- the other mother!-”
“Get out.”
Wybie felt a pit form in his stomach.
“And don’t let Mel find out about this either.” He said.
“B-But Mr Jones I—”
“OUT.” The father pointed to the stairway.
The boy had his head low, getting up shamefully and moving between the doorway and Charlie. Coraline just sighed watching the boy rush down the steps.
“What is it? 3 weeks no phone? One month not going out? Two months? Three?”
Charlie just shook his head. “Coraline the only punishment now is the one you give yourself.” He said, “You’re nearly an adult now.”
Coraline felt annoyed at this point, for the few weeks she has had nothing in her system is when her parents decided to start noticing.
“Just lay down and wait for it to wear off….whatever you took.”
The girl watched as her dad left the room. She could be dying, she could have taken heroin. She could have done ice. And her dad was just going to walk away like that?
I mean really— she did nothing.
“Now what?” She said aloud, her eyes anxiously darting around the room. She was terrified to stay in there but more scared of her father to be let out. Coraline sat with her back against the wall, as her back against nothing would be far too much for her to handle with the lingering feeling that someone was watching.
Surprisingly, while that experience was to say the very least…terrifying— Coraline was too confused focused on trying to figure out what the hell it was all meant to mean.
Who was that other Coraline? Surely it couldn’t have been her? Surely that Wybie couldn’t have been Wybie? But that other mother was certainly the other mother…and that blood certainly looked real.
Could it have been real?
Surely? Wybie saw it too?
Then that meant the buttons in the bathroom was real. The rat was real. Gemima was real. Wybie’s body that sat like a rag doll— he was all real.
3
Coraline decided her angry father was much scary than any demonic entity of sort, so for the rest of the dazed afternoon she spent looking through wiki article, after reddit forum, after quora question after creepypasta wiki.
Nothing.
Nothing on faeries, nothing on buttons, nothing on her.
BADING!
1 minute ago
Wybaby: Hey is everything okay in there?
Coraline looked down at her phone, sighing at the notification on her glowing screen. She picked up the phone, swiping right to respond.
You :
Yeah dad’s kinda shitty but like I’ll live :^/
Wybaby:
Shit,,, yeah I’m sorry about that.
You :
Nah it’s fine, it was easier than to explain what actually happened
Wybaby:
I’m shitting myself tho, what do we do? Is she really back?
You :
I dunno, I’m looking stuff up now
Wybaby:
How are you not terrified the bowl damn is watching you or somethin?
You :
lmao what ?? ahah
Wybaby:
BELDAM**
You set Wybaby’s nickname to ‘Bowl damn’
Bowl damn:
You’re not taking this seriously.
You :
Do you want to come up with another coping mechanism?
You :
Humours all I got bby u know that
You :
I just
You :
idk
You :
I’m not as scared as I should be u get me?
Bowl damn:
Are you fucking kidding me ,,, no?? I don’t ‘get u’ dude. I’m terrified, you saw my dead fucking body right?! I’m scared!!!
You :
But Wybie don’t u understand? She’s messing with us. She wants this response.
Bowl damn: So its true then…
You :
???
Bowl damn:
She’s really back and out to get u
You :
idk how to break this to u but I think she’s out to get us.
Bowl damn:
Shit homie
You:
Don’t worry tho, I’m gonna sort it all out.
You:
Just take care of ur grammies lol
You:
<3 tell her I said hi
Read 12:51am ✓
She definitely did not sort it out. At least not yet. Her eyes were getting heavy, the songs playing through her Spotify grew meaningless as the lyrics became more mumbles of blurs through guitar and song. Nothing was making sense, she was too tired.
Though eventually what she thought was her music gradually grew louder. Little by little. It started with a little tap. Then more. Then several taps. Then more.
“Meow~” Cooed a soft thing form outside.
“No way.” Coraline pushed her laptop aside, bolting up from out of her bed and to the window. “Cat!” The girl exclaimed lifting the window frame.
Nothing. Nothing but the mere strong winter breeze that chilled anyone to the core. Coraline was disappointed, she had hoped it was her imagination as the last thing she wanted was the poor thing to be out in the cold. He hardly had a bit of blubber on his skinny body— there was no way he could survive a night like this.
Unless he was dead.
Coraline had speculated on that morbid theory for a while. That the cat simply had just died and the two were yet to discover his decaying corpse. Part of her wished the cat was dead so they could stop wondering where he went off too. It was most likely though due too all their their theories becoming the two most probable theories: either the death theory or running off and making kittens theory— and unfortunately she knew which path the asexual cat was most likely to take in times like these.
“Meow~”
Again!
Coraline this time stuck her head out the window, feeling the pitter patters of snow fall on her hair and sink onto her scalp.
“Stop messing with me cat!” She growled. “Either show yourself or stop teasing!”
At this point Coraline wanted to stumble on his dead body— this was getting too annoying and too vague for her liking.
And just like that, the feline jumped into frame. Coraline was certainly at a loss for words, one moment ago she was wishing death upon the poor thing but now— oh now she was hurrying the poor thing to come inside.
“Y-Your back!” She exclaimed, truly amazed that the cat responded to her complaints.
Besides from a few accents of grey hairs around the cats nose, he didn’t seem much different. Still the same skinny black cat everyone grew to love over the years— even Mr Bobinsky, who had to keep the feline away from his circus mice had grown a soft spot for the thing.
“You want something to eat?” She asked, crouching down petting his head. “I-I got tuna? Or sardines? Or do you want some— actually I don’t know what else cats eat…”
He just shook his head.
“You still understand me right?” Coraline asked, which of course given the circumstances was an odd thing to ask. But Coraline always had the lingering thought at the back of her head that the whole button ordeal…wasn’t real.
I mean ridiculous as it sounds Coraline would often like to piece together imaginary examples of it all not being real. Maybe it was a coping mechanism? Maybe it truly wasn’t real? I mean something as absurd as that couldn’t possibly be real could it? She was asking a cat if he understood her for goodness sakes. It couldn’t possibly- there was no way it certainly- it was indefinite that he could not-
The cat nodded.
Coraline took a moment to look away, taking a deep breath.
In through the mouth, hold 1 , 2 , 3…
Out through the nose, hold 4 , 5 , 6…
“Then you’d know.” She said. “Is that why you’re here? Back at the Pink palace?”
The cat nodded.
“And…and you’re here to protect Wybie too I’d imagine."
The cat nodded.
“Then it’s true…She’s not dead.”
The cat nodded.
“She never was dead.”
The cat tilted his head.
“Right?” She said confidently, “…Right?” She said, slightly less confidently.
The cat shook his head.
Coraline just frowned. “Huh.” She crawled back into bed, making room for the cat to crawl next to her. “I guess we’ll find out in the morning yeah?” She watched the feline curl up at the end of her bed— as she too did the same under the covers.
“I’m glad you’re back.” She said, smiling down at him peacefully purring. She felt a sense of comfort with him around. Like nothing could hurt her. Coraline didn’t fear the Beldam lurking in the dark nooks and crannies of her room, because if she was there— the cat would know.
4
“Coraline…I’m just saying—” Wybie said, his head down fiddling his thumbs.
Coraline puffing on a lumpily rolled up cigarette that hang down her mouth as she drove down the Ashland streets.
“Saying what?” She used her free hand to flick the ash out the window.
“I mean…we’re going to graduate soon— a-and we’re going to be moving away from the Pink Palace, I mean you’ve already got early entry to Parsons—”
“I’ve applied for early entry to Parsons.”
“Either way next year we’re going to be out of this shit hole.” He said, “A-and the Beldam is going to be stuck in that house and away from the both of us.”
“So you’re saying we should just ignore it and put up with hallucinations for the next year? Maybe leave the next kid who moves in to deal with the beldam! Wybie don’t you understand? It’s become more about where whether we’re in the Pink Palace or not. You weren’t in the Pink Palace the first time you saw her. We could be in god damn Australia and she’d appear in a god damn Taronga zoo inclosure ready to sew buttons the eyes of some poor crocodile.” Coraline growled side eyeing him as she made a slight swerve into the next street. “Anyway I’ve got something to show you.” She pulled into her drive way.
Wybie gulped, looking up at the tall pink apartments. Coraline opened the door, stepping her foot out.
“Aren’t you coming?” She said, “It’s important!”
“I can’t.” He said, tingles spreading up his arms, churning his stomach. “I-I can’t go in there.”
Coraline rolled her eyes, clearly not in the mood. “Dad’s not even that mad anymore!”
Wybie shook his head, huddling in the car. “Coraline how are you not scared?” He asked.
Coraline took a second, looking at the ground outside before stepping back inside the car and closing the door.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean how do you just act like nothing happened? After what we saw yesterday how can you just sleep in your bedroom, get up to go take a piss or a glass of water? How do you just go in and out of your house like its nothing? I mean aren’t you scared?” Wybie looked straight into Coraline nonchalant eyes, furrowing his brows.
The car stayed quiet for a bit, Coraline was really thinking about her answer.
“I am scared Wybie.” She said eventually, “Im terrified. I’m so scared and terrified beyond what you can imagine. I’ve seen what she’s capable of and knowing that she can do so much more is the like scariest thing. Knowing she’s not just after me. Knowing she can start to reach out to us outside the Pink Palace. Knowing she could be in the back seat—”
Wybie’s eyes quickly glanced at the mirror, feeling a shudder run down his back as his imagination flashed at the thought of the other mother lingering in the reflection.
“I got something that can help us though…but I need you to come with me.” She held out her gloved hand, the boy glancing at the hand then back at her.
Wybie eyed what she was wearing above all things.
- One oversized Nike windbreaker that was Wybies
- One pair of New Rocks Reactor Boots that was also Wybie’s
-One pair of hand-me-down jeans that were once Mel’s
He could get lost into her eyes, they weren’t anything special to most,
But to him they were comforting, wide eyed and glistening.
Wybie had. Only for her. Only because of her.
“Okay.” He said, reaching out to grip it. Coraline smiling at the boy before leading him out of the car.
The apartment was empty, besides the occasional footsteps of Mr B stomping around above. It was enough to easily frighten Wybie.
He was so familiar with the walls with all the times the two had stumbled in high or drunk— sometimes both. All the nights he had spent sobbing on Coralines shoulder, thanking Mrs Jones for eggs and bacon for breakfast, opening presents on the annual Christmas Party the Jones’ would host.
And now he wanted nothing more but to be out of the horrid place.
“What’s going to help us then?” Wybie said, looking up towards the steps that lead to her room.
“You’ll see!” She said, somewhat excitedly pulling up into her room.
There, he sat, on a large fluffy pillow that laid on Coraline bed. He was licking his paws turning around in circles before turning in the opposite direction knowing very well it would make no difference.
Wybie’s jaw dropped the floor.
“Cat!!” He exclaimed, rushing over to the feline— The cat was taken aback a bit, but was quick to recognise the familiar musk of Wybie. He meowed at the boy, purring as Wybie was quick to pull the skinny thing into a cuddle.
The cat happily complied.
“I thought he was dead!” Wybie looked down at him, “I thought you were dead!”
“Or had kittens!” Coraline was quick to correct him, reminding him of the second theory the two came up with.
“O-Or kittens!” He chuckled, scratching the cat under his chin.
Coraline smiled down at him, watching his fear suddenly fade at the presence of the cat.
There was a moment of contentment— a moment when they nearly forgot the entirety of the situation. Is was not long though before Coraline cleared her throat, reminding Wybie the real reason why he brought him here.
“Anyway,” She said, “I think I might know who the Beldam is.”
Wybie stopped patting him, his expression changing suddenly at the change of topic. “Well, I mean yeah I thought we’d figure that out by now. ”
“No I mean like what she is. Before my…my accident…Ms Spink mentioned that she thinks the place is haunted. By faeries and— well after reading up on them the description fits pretty well to the beldam.”
“Like…tinker-bell?”
“No Wybie! Like evil little creatures that eat children and can disguise themselves into whatever really.”
“Why don’t we go down and ask what else Ms Spink knows about faeries?”
“Absolutely the fuck not!” Coraline swore, “Theres no way I can even make eye contact with them after what happened. Besides, we have the internet and the library— and I think if we find her weaknesses-”
Wybie bit his lip, “Does she have any? You supposedly killed her threw the key down the well and—”
“I think thats where we fucked up.” Coraline cursed again, sitting on the bed— the cat moving towards her lap. “You tried to warn me didn’t you kitty.” She looked down at the cat nodding in agreement.
“What are you talking about?” Wybie asked, sitting beside her.
“I think there are multiple ways to get to the other world,” She said, “Theres the door in the living room behind the book shelf obviously. But then theres also the well.”
Wybie’s eyes widened, suddenly realising as he put two and two together. “So you think we-”
“Yes. Yes we just delivered the key right back to her. I mean that has to be it. How else would she be back?” Coraline closed her eyes, remembering to that night— everything was so vivid, the ghost children, the cat, the breeze dragging the cherry blossoms throughout the summer night and especially the clinking of the severed hand against the muddy ground. She could see everything, feeling the string holding the key around her neck choke her as the hand dragged her across the ground. She remembered looking up at the stars thinking it was truly the end.
The red head shuddered, snapping out of thought. “She said, there’s only one key and the beldam will find it.”
“Whose she?” Wybie asked
“Grandma’s missing sister.”
The two stayed quiet for a bit, Wybie taking a moment for everything to sink in.
“Why did it take her so long?” The boy questioned. “I mean surely she would have tried to just attempt to kill you again straight away.”
“I think she needed to regain her strength— I don’t know how but— she’s not at full strength yet so she’s probably trying to scare us. To let us know she’s back. That’ll explain what I saw when I passed out, what we saw yesterday and that’s probably not going to be the last of the hallucinations.”
“Nice.” Was all the boy responded with, sighing as he fiddled his thumbs. “But that’s just a theory.” He said.
“Yeah.” Coraline nodded in agreement, “Just a theory. But I can’t see what else it could be? It would make sense that theres more than one way to get out of the other world, that would explain how the cat could go in and out. Maybe tunnels to get to the other aren’t physically big enough to fit us so they’d have to be in little nooks and crannies , places that aren’t obvious, it’ll explain how the jumping mice got in and out along with the cat. That leads to my next idea—” She cleared her throat, “The door was sealed with our new wallpaper, and Mom told me the council found that the well hadn’t been tested for years so it was considered unsafe, they’re cementing over it in July— so I think…I think if we find the entrances that are left and somehow block them off— her magic or powers or whatever can stop into our world.”
“Which is how the cat can help us!” Wybie grinned looking back down at the cat on the lap. “Aren’t you little guy?”
The cats eyes widened, his small jaw hanging open as he went from contently purring to suddenly sitting up. The tail perking out straight.
Coraline raised a brow, “You are going to help us right?”
The cat clearly thought about it for a bit, licking his paws before shaking his head.
“What?! Why!” Coraline exclaimed standing up, “You know where all the entrances are, you can help us by blocking them off.”
The cat continued to shake his head.
“Why?” She crossed her arms. The cat could only communicate so much with gestures.
“Coraline are you really expecting him to explain why?” Wybie sighed.
Coraline turned to him. “No!— …No…But you know it would help.”
The boy thought about it for a bit, the cat could really only respond in yes or no so those were the type of questions he had to ask.
“Was Coraline's theory right then?” Wybie moved closer to him. The cat tilted his head.
“They were half right?”
He nodded.
“So is there more than one entrance to the other world?”
He nodded.
“And we can block them off.”
He shook his head.
“See? He wasn’t saying no, he was saying that we can’t just cut all them off.” He looked at Coraline, before turning his attention back to the cat. “So how many are there? Less than ten?”
The cat shook his head.
“More than 10?”
Coraline watched as the cat nodded. Wybie kept on going up,—10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. The cat kept on shaking his head.
“Oh my god.” Coraline covered her face, her eyes watering and her chest getting heavy. “There’s no way we can close off all of them! She’ll find a way to get us. There will always be a way.”
“Unless…” Wybie looked at the ground then back up at her, “Unless theres a way to get rid of the key.”
“What?”
“It’s the key isn’t it? I mean as long as the beldam has the key she can get through all the tunnels. I mean if what you say is right and there is more than one entrance to the other world, she had to have had needed the key in order to get through to our world. I mean if she didn’t need the key then why would her hand be so desperate to get it back to her?”
Coraline felt everything click, her mind flashing through memories buried under piles of rubble and coping mechanisms. They hadn’t been dug up for years.
“There were other places, other doors when I was in the other world to rooms that I don’t remember ever going through…maybe those—”
“It’s a master key.”
“Of course! ‘Only one keys…’ Thats what the other father said to me before she dragged him away oh my god it makes sense! Find the key, destroy the key, trap the other mother! I shouldn’t have hid it, I should have destroyed it!” Coraline felt the glimmer of hope start to rise. It seemed just too easy.
Wybie shook his head, “But that still doesn’t explain how she has managed to keep her powers this entire time. You said she needed human souls or fl-flesh to keep her alive so how has she been able to stay alive this time without souls?”
“I don’t know.” Coraline admitted, “But we have to find out. Maybe that will lead us too finding out her weakness.”
“Maybe there was more then.” Wybie said, now starting to think about it, with every questioned they answered more arrised.
“More what?” Coraline raised a brow.
“More children, I mean there was the three ghost children but whats not to say she took more?”
Coraline did think about it for a bit, the ghost children were so vivid in her mind, she could close her eyes and picture them right in front of her with ease— though she would prefer not too. “Pioneer girl looked around turn of the century but— Huck Finn junior seemed a bit more colonial but I think the other mother took the girl first.”
“Maybe if we find who disappeared first we can create maybe some sort of time line, maybe fill in some gaps.”
Coraline wasn’t particularly too keen on Wybie’s suggestion, but she knew some detective work was inevitable. All she knew was that she had to be two steps ahead of the beldam— she couldn’t fight this unprepared.
5
The towns library was old. That was perhaps the realest way of describing the place. The ceilings were high and the place smelt of old paper and cardboard. Coraline hadn’t been there in years and chances were that she wouldn’t have gone there unless she truly had too. The librarian amongst all people seemed baffled when two teenagers were so eager to find out the towns history.
Aren’t you two a bit old to be doing papers on ashland? That sounds like a very middle school-esque project to me.” The librarians nose hovered over the two.
“Uh— Well, you know— don’t ask us ask the OEA. They make the curriculum. It’s very middle school-esque.” Coraline said snarkily in respone, folding her arms. “We just need to see the archives.”
“Mmm…alright.” She said, “But you have to wear our gloves when handling the papers. They date as far back as 1851.” She grabbed the keys, leading them to a dark back room. The lighting was cold and blue and the place felt unused. Empty. Regardless of the rows upon rows of cabinets.
“Here.” She said, passing the two teens white cotton gloves. “Wear these when putting them on the magnifier.”
Coraline looked at the ghastly gloves which were not fashionable in the slightest, but regardless she listened, the two slipping them on as they got handed the master key for all the cabinets.
“You know all these recourses are online right?” The librarian raised a brow turning before she left. “I haven’t had anyone ask to see the newspapers in years.”
“You have a few years missing.” Coraline said, more than certain she had searched the Ashland library website countless times— none mentioned of a Pink Palace.
The librarian didn’t respond, just closed the door leaving the two in the fluorescent lit room.
Wybie let out a sigh of relief as he opened the bag. “You have to stop moving!” He pulled the cat out.
“Well he couldn’t exactly breath in there!” Coraline said, starting too look at the cabinets, the cat flashing a dirty glare at Wybie as he propped up on the shelves.
“Anyway how olds you grandma.” Coraline squinted, looking at the tiny dates written with a label printer stuck to the cabinets.
“92.” Wybie said.
Coraline muttered a few things to herself, before moving forward. Looking through the dates her eyes skipped a few decades. Wybie followed quickly behind her. The cat trotted along the shelves above, before hopping onto a particular cabinet.
ASHLAND TIDINGS DAILY 1936
Section A
Wybie was quick to point it out, “1936! Gramma would have been 12 around the time her sister disappeared.”
Coraline didn’t hesitate to open the cabinet, which was long and full of little headings.
As her gloved fingers sorted through each file, The Ashland Tidings Daily cabinet had 7 sections, all with four draws each that drew out far.
“This is hopeless!” Coraline sighed, after going through file after file. “W-We need something more specific. Did you bring the photo like I asked?”
Wybie nodded, drawing out the familiar photo of Grandmas missing sister. “I brought a few others that were in her trunk…this one looks like its looks like its around spring time…”
There were portraits of the two twins, Gemima gripping onto the doll tightly in every single one. Coraline looked closer at the monochrome photo taken outside the garden in particular. Wybie was right, it was spring, there were cherry blossoms blooming from the large tree next to the bridge. She flipped the fragile film over and took off her glove, licking her thumb and rubbing the back.
“Coraline what are you doing?! You’re ruining it!” The boy panicked, instinctively ready to snatch the photo back.
“Dates were imprinted on the back of photos before they were put to develop so it was easier to organise them. Once they were put in the chemicals the date would fade away. Film developer was mostly made out of metallic and acids but cheaper alternatives just had starch and acetic acid, which can be broken down by amylase…which surprise surprise is in our saliva.”
Wybie was baffled, “You know this…how?”
“Brooklyn nine nine.
Soon enough, a date did appear on the back.
12/04/36
“Oh my god…” Wybie said.
“I think we found our filing cabinet.” Coraline grinned.