Title: Glass Eyes
Logline: A lonely shopkeeper, desperate for connection, brings a mannequin to life, only to discover the treacherous price of her heart’s desire.
Synopsis: Catherine, a lonely owner of a metaphysical store filled with mystical artifacts and curiosities, scrolls through a dating app, realizing she’s yet to receive any meaningful connection. Her store serves as both a sanctuary for those seeking the arcane and a symbol of her own isolation.
Ethel, an elderly regular customer, comes into the store. On a fateful visit, she asks for a magical transformation to regain her youth. Catherine hesitantly obliges, knowing that every spell comes with a price. Ethel becomes youthful but pays an unspecified cost, which casts a shadow over the story.
Inspired by Ethel’s transformation and the glimpse of a young couple she sees passing her store, Catherine decides to take magic into her own hands. Yearning for love and companionship, she performs a spell to bring a mannequin from her store to life. When the Handsome Man steps down from his pedestal, he seems to be the answer to her loneliness—a charming, graceful man who appreciates her for who she is.
However, Catherine soon discovers limitations; the Handsome Man can’t leave the store. He subtly manipulates her, expressing a wish to experience the world outside and be with her freely. Seduced by his words and the possibility of a life less lonely, Catherine contemplates another spell to break the magical boundaries.
The Handsome Man becomes increasingly manipulative. He persuades Catherine to cast a spell to free him, dangling before her the life of love and adventure she’s always longed for. Catherine is so enamored by the idea that she dismisses a troubling clue: a ripped page from one of her magical books that he tries to hide behind his back.
Blinded by desperation and hope, Catherine performs the spell. As he walks out freely, the terrible cost of the spell manifests. Catherine begins to turn into a mannequin, realizing too late that she’s traded her freedom for an illusion of love. Now fully transformed into a mannequin, Catherine stands beside the empty pedestal that the Handsome Man once occupied. A tear falls from her glass eye, symbolizing her irreversible fate and the deceptive cycle she’s become a part of.
