HOME | DD

Description
               Katherine stared down the her six-year-old charge. "So. What do you wanna do?"
               Zoe frowned through her tears. "I want mommy and daddy."
               "Zoe, mommy and daddy will be home soon, don't worry. Do you wanna... uh... eat something?"
               "No!" Zoe sniffed.
               "You wanna watch a movie?"
               The child shook her head.
               "Uh... Let's go outside and play on the swings."
               The girl perked up. "Ms. Kathy? Can we make a, a moo-rull?"
               Katherine smiled; this kid was the only one who would ever call her Ms. Kathy. "A mural? Sure. You have paint?"
               The girl shook her head. "No, I don't need paint. I make 3D murals all the time with things from daddy's shed, 3D like Buzz and Shrek but you don't need glasses to see my murals. I'm making a really pretty one of a princess right now! We just need daddy's staple gun."
               "Uh... okay. Are you sure your mommy and daddy won't get mad?"
               The girl shook her head, smiling broadly now. "They let me make murals in the backyard."
               "Okay, fine. You wanna show me your mural?"
               "No! It's not done yet! She needs a princess hat." Zoe ran upstairs. Katherine shook her head, smiling. She went out into the backyard. Let's see what this mural is abou–
               Katherine screamed as she looked into the glassy eyes of a severed head. She continued to shriek as she saw the rest of the "mural" – Two severed hands. A bloated arm. A bloodstained, malapropos toddler princess costume. All grotesquely stapled to the crimson brick wall.
               Zoe came through the back door. "Ms. Kathy! I told you not to look at it, it's not ready!" The little girl ran up to the carnage. With a quick motion, she stapled a glittering princess hat above the torn head. "There, all better. Sorry it made you scream. But I told you it wasn't finished yet."