This happened when I was in kindergarten.

I had just one sister, so it wasn't like we had a grand Hina doll display case at home.

We just had a small set that fit snugly in a glass

case. During the Hina festival we'd take that case out and display it in the living room,

and then when it was over we put it back on the shelf again. Still, it was a complete set,

with the Emperor and Empress dolls, as well as the court lady. They also had a chest

of drawers, an ox carriage, and some artificial cherry blossom and orange flowers, some

wooden hishimocci, and various small tools. The dolls had eyes as thin as thread,

and puckered lips. Depending on how you looked at them, they might appear to be

smiling, but generally they looked expressionless. Personally, I wasn't very interested in the dolls,

but I did love the miniature accessories. One night I got up to go to the toilet. The toilet

was on the other side of the living room, meaning I had to pass the doll case,

and on my way back I had a quick look inside it.

In the dim light, all the doll's heads seemed to be moving left and right, as though silently

laughing.

Their thin eyes were the same, but their puckered lips appeared to spread into a smile,

a smile that felt incredibly evil.

I almost tumbled back to my room, pulling the blankets up over my head and trembling until morning.

Nothing strange happened after that, but ever since then, I've hated dolls.

My parents still have those same dolls, too.

Can Heena doll's heads even move side to side like that?

They should be screwed on tight enough that they don't move.

...