She didn't know what to do, and the door was opening. But then everything slowed to a stop. The door was cracking open and Karyn saw a part of Kelly's mom. But she was frozen in place. Kelly herself, holding the ballerina by her leg, wasn't moving. None of the toys were moving.
But Karyn, for some reason, could. Of course, with Kelly's hand wrapped around her stuffed leg, there wasn't much the doll could do.
"Don't you just hate it when time stops around you?" Karyn heard a wild, but feminine, voice. She couldn't see but hints of the voices owner, who seemed to be standing on top of Kelly's hand.
"Who are you?" She tried to pull herself up to see this mysterious stranger.
"Hmmm. Open sesame." Suddenly, Kelly's fingers unclenched and Karyn fell. The doll was terrified to see the ground rush up at her, not remembering that she was a doll. The ballerina bounced once after she hit the ground, but aside from fleeting pain was fine.
The doll quickly brought herself up and came face to face with this strange woman. She was small, but still an inch or so taller than the ballerina. Her ensemble was made up of a glittering fabric that shown a hundred colors as she moved. Her hair was unkempt and partly in tangles. Her face was angular with long pointed ears, a pointed, hawkish nose, and large eyes.
"Kinda got yourself into a pickle, didn't you doll?"
"Did you do this?" Karyn asked, so confused by everything that had just happened.
The woman was shocked, "Me? I had nothing to do with this. You should know better than that." Then the nymph smiled coyly, "But maybe, if you do me a favor, I can fix your predicament."
"OK, whatever you want, I'll do. Could you please change me back?"
"Ahhhh, that's not quite what I meant, doll. I need you to be a toy to complete my favor."
"You need me to stay like this? What can I do as a toy that I can't do as a human?"
"Doll, it's not just that: I need to keep a balance. I can't just go around and turn toys into people, especially if those toys don't deserve to be human."
"What! But I am a human! I was turned into a toy!"
The nymph shrugged, "Well, if you're not going to help me, there's not reason for me to stay." She started to become translucent.
"No! Wait!" Karyn panicked, "I'll do it! Just promise to turn me back afterwards."
The nymph was suddenly solid again, "I knew you'd come around to my view, doll. Now, here's what I need you to do . . ."
