Coraline gazed at the stars above through her small window. She sighed as her fingers fumbled in the dim light for her doll. Fuzzy and worn, Jack was a very loved teddy bear. As a cloud rolled along in the otherwise clear sky, Cora squeezed Jack close, her unblinking eyes taking in her bear's one-button eye. "Well," she murmured in a whisper, "Mother's getting better, and I've found you another eye!" Her small hand slipped into her pocket, pulling out a dark disk. "We'll have to wait for Mother to sew it on." Cora finally shut her eyes, clutching her doll to her breast, the button encased in her closed hands.
"Cora?" The girl's eyes snapped open. "Yes, Mum?"
"C-c-come here, p-please."
Coraline slid out of bed, her feet making no sound as they touched the floor. She tip-toed to her mother's room; Jack hanging by her side. A strange smell drifted through the air, but Cora took no notice. She opened her mum's door slightly, only her head entering the room. "What do you need, Mother?"
Her mum's head turned painfully toward her daughter. The black locks that were once full now hung dully around the woman's shoulders, her eyes losing their spark. "Come, sit b-by me." She tried to smile, but it was more of a grimace.
"But Mother, you're ill! Maybe you need some of the soup…" Cora turned but her mother's voice stopped her. "No, h-hurry there's not a lot of t-time!"
The girl's eyes grew wide at her sick mother's ferocity. She scampered over to the bed, eyes starting to fill with worry.
"In the d-drawer is a leather bag. G-grab it. Th-there's some c-c-clothes and food i-in it. G-go!"
Cora ran to the dresser and knocked a lamp to the floor. She opened the drawer and grabbed the bag, then raced back to her mother. "Good g-girl." A cough racked her mum's frail body. "T-take this. Your father gave it to me. The woman's thin fingers gently unclasped a silver locket from around her neck. Cora gasped involuntarily as her mum placed it around her daughter's.
"Mum…why…" the sound of creaking wood filled the room.
"Go! Y-you'll be safe, j-just go!"
Coraline grabbed the satchel and kissed her mother's forehead. "I love you, Mum." Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know, baby. I l-love you t-too." Cora screamed as the door burst into flames. "Go!"
Frantically, Coraline shoved the pane off the window and dropped to the ground. Backing away a few paces, she gaped with disbelief. One sudden moment took the locket from Cora's neck. The fire licked at it, caressing the edges with orange and red. Cora put the flames out with her skirts, then picked up the lavaliere as she opened the necklace, horror struck her face. The side of the locket with her father's face was charred, just enough that she couldn't see it clearly. With a glance at her home, now up in flames, Coraline ran away, never to return.
She was four years old.