Unwitting Souvenir

by ObjectifiedBeauty

“Welcome!”  A surprisingly shrill woman’s voice called across the store.  “May I help you with anything?

“Sure, I’ve heard you do hair beading here, so I was interested in that and maybe a beach outfit to match,” responded Tara, a young woman in her early-twenties.  She was visiting the beach town with a group of friends, but had struck off on her own this day to take in some of the local flavor by herself.

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” the woman answered, “why don’t you have a look around and see if you find something you like, and then we can coordinate the beads to that.  My name’s Melora, just come and find me when you’re ready!”

“OK, thanks!” Tara answered.

The store was typical of the type you tend to find in a beach town, with all manner of cheap souvenirs and clothing.  Tara quickly found the beachwear and began to browse the selection.  It wasn’t the most varied selection, to be honest, but nevertheless, within a few minutes she was able to find a pastel pink and purple bikini set that she liked.  The only problem was that there was only one in her size available, and it happened to be on a mannequin.  She then sought out Melora to see if she could try it on.

“Oh, of course you can try that one.  Here, let me just bring Chloe back to the counter and I’ll take it off of her so you can take it into the fitting room,” Melora said as she pulled the mannequin off its perch and began to carry it back to the sales counter.

“Chloe?” Tara asked, quizzically.

“Yes,” Melora answered, matter of factly.  “All of my mannequins have names.  I see them as employees too - they just complain less and don’t have to be paid!  Here you go.”

“A bit odd,” Tara thought to herself while showing a polite smile as she took the bikini set from the saleswoman.  “There’s something odd about her,” she thought.  “Way too bubbly, like she was way too happy to see me.  Almost a creepy vibe.  Sales clerks can be like that, though, and it was still early in the day.  She probably just hasn’t been beaten down by customers yet.”  She took the set into the dressing room to try it on.

*****

Satisfied that the set fit and was what she was looking for, she changed back into her original clothes and left the fitting room.  Just a few moments later she found Melora to tell her she was going to buy it and to inquire about the hair beads.

“Sure, I have just what you’re looking for to coordinate with that outfit,” Melora said, confidently.  She directed Tara to take a seat at a station in a back corner of the store, not unlike what would be found in a salon.

“I can give you a good deal on these beads here,” Melora said, showing Tara a couple small bins of violet and fuchsia beads that matched the bikini perfectly.  “Supposedly they’re infused with some kind of mystic energy found only in the Amazon and they impart that energy on their wearer, if you believe in that sort of thing.”

“Oh yeah,” Tara said, trying to appear genuinely interested in the story behind the beads.  It wasn’t the first time she’d heard about supposed magical powers possessed by some little trinket like that.  “It’s all part of the marketing spiel,” she thought.  “I like those colors and they match perfectly, so let’s go with those.”

Over the next half hour, Melora intricately wove the string and beads into a couple of braids in Tara’s hair.  Once she was satisfied that the job was complete, she directed Tara to inspect her handiwork in a mirror.  Tara indicated her satisfaction with them and began to stand up and get ready to pay for her items.

“Tell you what, why don’t you put the bikini and wrap on and show me the entire ensemble so I can see it for myself?” Melora asked with a bit of pleading anticipation.  Tara found this request a bit forward, if not odd, but couldn’t think of a reason to decline it, so she obliged.

*****

“You look great!” Melora said once she saw Tara emerge from the dressing room.  “So great, in fact, I wouldn’t mind using you for one of our upcoming advertisements.  Is that something you might be interested in?”

“Maybe,” Tara replied.  By now she was really beginning to tire of the woman’s enthusiasm towards her.  “What does it involve?”

“Nothing much,” Melora responded.  “Really, we’d just like to get a few pictures of you wearing our products.  Pretty simple, really.  It would just take a few minutes and in return I’ll give you fifteen percent off of your purchase.”

“OK, why not,” Tara replied.  “As long as it doesn’t take too long.”

“Of course.  I promise I’ll be done with you in less than five minutes.  Now, naturally, you would consent to us being able to use your likeness as we see fit and all of that other usual legal mumbo jumbo,” Melora continued.

“Ehh, that’s not a problem,” Tara replied.  “I’m sure there are plenty of other pictures floating around out there with me in them.”

“OK,” Melora said, “give me a minute to take care of a couple things and we’ll go outside.  There’s a nice spot out there where we like to set these things up.  Actually, it’ll go especially well with your outfit.”

*****

Once she was ready with a camera, Melora directed Tara to stand in front of a bougainvillea bush located in a terrace just behind the store.  It took a few minutes and poses before Melora found the one she felt best displayed the outfit.  Standing upright, with her elbows out and hands nearly touching her scalp, Tara’s curvy bust projected forward and filled the bikini top with all that it could handle.  Knowing the pose was right, Melora then pressed the camera shutter to activate a burst mode that would ensure Tara would be captured perfectly.

Activated by the rapid flashing of the camera, the beads in Tara’s hair began to activate.  “Ooh, it tickles,” Tara thought, with her sudden pleasure reflected in her pursed lips opening into a big grin.  It would prove to be her last thought and motion.  Within the next few seconds, her entire being was absorbed into the beads, leaving her body behind as an inert plastic husk.

Sensing that the transformation was complete, Melora approached her latest acquisition and briefly inspected it before carrying the new mannequin into a small stock room in the back of the store.  The space was what you might typically expect to find in such a store - a modest combined office, warehouse, and prep space.  Melora placed the mannequin in a corner of the room that had perhaps the most unexpected feature - an assembly of at least twenty mannequins - far more than you would expect to find in a store of its size, especially considering how many were already present on the sales floor.  These mannequins were all female, all very unique, and all had different poses.   Only a few were mounted on glass bases; most were just leaning awkwardly against either the wall or another mannequin behind them.  What’s more, they were all fully dressed in all manner of styles ranging from beachwear to casual to cocktail dresses - certainly not what you would expect to find in a store which only sold clothing consisting of screened t-shirts, hoodies and beach apparel.  As it would happen, Tara was only just the latest in a long line of unsuspecting young women to be tricked into an eternity of oblivion while the store collected a nice new mannequin.

“Harvey,” Melora called out to one of her employees who was working the stock room that day.  “I want you to get this thing prepped so that we can have it out on the floor tomorrow,” she said, pointing to the mannequin that just a few short minutes ago had been Tara.  “Actually, this one is good enough that I think I might want to put it out on the sidewalk.”

“Ahh, alright,” Harvey answered.  “I see you found quite the good one today!”

“I had her pegged the second she walked into the store,” Melora said.  “Her energy.  I could just sense it.  Sure enough, she charged the beads up more than I think I’ve ever had them before, and left behind this nice busty mannequin as a souvenir of herself to boot.”

“Wow, really?” Harvey asked.

“Yeah,” Melora answered.  “Actually, it might be a bit too much, as ridiculous as that sounds.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Harvey asked.

“Yes and no,” Melora responded.  “It’s a good thing, but maybe too much of a good thing.  Tell you what.  I said you were due for a bonus next week, right?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with it?” Harvey asked, quizzically.

“Well, I was thinking,” Melora continued, “I know you like working with the mannequins.  You’re single.  You’re doing alright.”

“Go on,” Harvey inclined.

“Well, would you be interested in having one for your, umm, personal use, instead of cash?” Melora asked.  “Not one of these in here.  It needs to be a new one.  I’m thinking maybe one of the next few girls who comes in for a hair beading.  I don’t like capturing more than one in a week or so, but I kind of feel like I have to now.”

“Umm, OK,” Harvey answered.  “I think that can work.  Can I pick who I want?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Melora replied.  “Why don’t we plan on doing that tomorrow then.  I’ll have you work the floor.  Tell you what, if you want a high end sex doll instead of a mannequin, I think we can arrange that.”

“Oooh, interesting.  I might like that,” Harvey answered, his eyes lighting up.

“Alrighty then.  It’s a deal.  Until then, like I said, get this thing on a base and ready to sell some bikinis tomorrow,” Melora responded as she removed the wig from the mannequin’s head.  “In the meantime I have to get the beads out of this wig.  Oh, and later if you’re still around we may need to talk about what to do with some of these other mannequins.  I hate to just get rid of them, but I feel like some of them have just been sitting there too long and should probably just be tossed.”

“Will do!” Harvey answered enthusiastically, before picking up the newest mannequin and carrying it over to a work table to begin its final processing for use on the store floor.

*****

The next day was a typically sunny and warm February morning.  One of Tara’s group of friends, Emily, happened upon the store during her morning walk.  Her attention was immediately grabbed by the figure she saw standing just outside the door.  “It looks like?  No, it couldn’t be…” she thought as she got closer.  She thought it looked like her friend Tara, but as she got closer she realized it was just a mannequin that happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to her.  She was a little concerned that she hadn’t seen Tara since early the day before, but Tara always had a knack for knowing or running into somebody she knew everywhere she went, so she figured her current disappearance was another manifestation of that.  “These beach towns always have such weird stuff,” she thought.  Still, she was intrigued enough by various advertisements plastered on the store’s windows that she decided to enter.

The End…?