Charlie’s POV

I woke up with my cheek pressed against cold glass.

My head was turned away from her, but I could still see parts of Charlotte in my peripheral vision, who was as radiant and beautiful as ever.

For some reason though, it looked like I had not spawned inside a glass case. Maybe the glass case was something that had been built later on? Yeah, now that I thought about it, it was probably just a random glass case and not something that had anything at all to do with why she had ended up the way she did.

Night came, and I sprung to life, as did she.

“Huh, I didn’t think that I would shrink too,” I said. I was shorter than I had been before, though I still stood taller than Charlotte.

“You’ll get used to it,” she said. She looked at me, at the new me, who was now, just like her - a living doll. She wiped away a tear. “Welcome back, Charlie!”

“It’s great to be back!” I said.

In the room were the papers I had found inside the covering of that book, the earrings, and another ‘doll’ made of human hair. My hair. It had been one of the ingredients in the ritual I had performed to make me like this.

Charlotte picked up the papers. “I’ve read through these already - this is my father’s handwriting…”

“I figured as such,” I said.

“So, did you figure out what had happened? I’ve been dying to know?”

“And I’ve been literally dying,” I said with a chuckle, though she didn’t laugh at this joke. “Well, unlike the end of a Sherlock Holmes book, I haven’t gotten all the clues and I can’t make a declarative statement,” I said. “Still, I can give you my best guess. The only people who know for sure what happened are all dead after all. ”

“Go ahead then.”

“Alright, I think that your father found that book, and when he knew you had died, he considered using it to bring you back. He had lost his only daughter, so no doubt, anything at all that could've helped him see you again would've felt like an oasis in a desert,” I said. “It was unlikely to work though, he had arranged everything, though I think he realized he didn’t actually want to go through with it later on and then threw everything away. Maybe your mother also knew about it and advised against it? And so, nothing happened - until your uncle found it. He was dying of liver failure, and many patients with it end up having psychosis, so he probably wasn't in his right mind when this happened. In an era before liver transplants, he happens upon your father’s work. What does he want to do? Use it to save himself, but he wants to test it first to be sure it works.”

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“And so then I came to life like this,” Charlotte said.

“He died shortly afterwards,” I said. “Maybe when he saw what you were like, he realized he couldn’t go through with it. Or didn’t want to. Or, maybe he just died after hiding the book and what he used in the ritual as best as he could. Those earrings - strange that he would still have them when he was nearly broke, but they were the catalyst used in the ritual, being made of gold and platinum.”

“And where did the book come from?” Charlotte asked. “Who wrote it? Are there other people like me… no, like us, wandering the world over? Or stuck in some other house somewhere?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know how true it is, but that paper has a story in it. About an alchemist long ago who was withering away from an incurable disease, and in looking for anyway to save himself, he performed a ritual that would let him live. But it did not go the way the alchemist had wanted. That alchemist might still be alive somewhere in the world. And if he isn’t, his method was being passed around through the written word and eventually your father got his hands on it at some point. From what those papers say, your father had burnt the rest of the book, but still kept some of the details summarized in those papers in case he ever changed his mind.”

She pouted. “At least now you should tell your family about us.” Her gaze then softened. “Charlie… you really went through with this…”

“Yes,” I said. “I know I promised I would turn you back, but it looks like that isn’t how things turned out.”

“Charlie, I died,” Charlotte said. “There is no coming back from that. I knew that deep in my heart, always. You do not need to apologize for failing. I just wish it could’ve ended some other way. I absolutely wanted to be with you, together, though this isn’t how I would’ve imagined it.”

“I was surprised it worked, if I had messed up anything along the way with the ritual, I wouldn’t be here like this,” I told her.

“I’m happy to know you’re here with me,” she said. “But I would never force this life upon you Charlie I-”

“-I have no regret choosing it,” Charlie said. “Just so I can be with you. None at all Charlotte, and you don’t need to feel guilty about this. Nothing would make me happier than being able to give you company, even in this form, for all eternity. As for my family, my sister will drop by soon. We can tell her everything in person. For now…” I reached over and grabbed her by the waist. “...wanna dance?”

A few nights later…

“Charlotte, I think she's here,” I said as I walked to the window. “Yup, that’s my sister’s car. She must be downstairs.”

Charlotte smiled. “Let’s go greet her then. I’ve wanted to meet my dearest sister-in-law for the longest time in person. Well, we kind of have already, but you know what I mean...”

I smiled devilishly. “Oh, I just can’t wait to see the look on Suzy's face when she sees us!”