A particular doll stood out from the cluttered shelves of the old, dusty toy shop. The toy cars were missing wheels. There were tattered and stained stuffed animals. The wind-up chimps no longer clashed their cymbals in an everlasting pingpingping of insanity-inducing, alcoholism-encouraging buyer's regret of racket. But only the doll on the shelf caught Evan's eye.

The doll sent a shiver down Evan's spine. He stepped toward the doll and ignored the pile of toys on the floor that shifted and fell.

The doll's black eyes stared at him, and its rosy red cheeks puffed out in a forced, strained, porcelain smile. Ruffles poked up around the doll's neck and a dainty, girly dress flowed down over the doll's body. Her little hands were clenched into tight fists. Her tiny little feet were covered with discolored socks that were white, once upon a time.

Evan frowned and stopped, surrounded by toys long forgotten by the children that once owned them. Those children, the ones that once owned and played with these toys, were likely long gone. Dead or back in diapers and drooling like babies too young to play with the toys.

He shivered again and looked at the doll. He stepped over another fallen toy in the aisle and grabbed the doll by her midsection. He picked her up.

He grunted softly at the doll's surprising weight. Her black eyes stared up from Evan's hands, into his locked gaze.

He placed the doll on the shelf, carefully placing her with her back to the store, looking away from him. Her black eyes set loose a fire of unease in him. He turned to look toward the front of the store.

When he turned back, the doll faced out into the store. Her porcelain smile seemed relaxed. Her black eyes seemed the slightest bit wider.

Her rosy cheeks, paler.

Evan stepped a bit closer and looked into the doll's black eyes. He leaned down to stare, and looked right past the black glass that made her fake eyes. Behind the glass, the inky black eyes, something moved.

Round, like a pupil.

Evan narrowed his eyes.

A soft whir of something strange hummed from inside the doll's porcelain head.

Evan looked closer at her black eyes. Something sat just behind the black glass eyes.

He lifted the doll and looked at her porcelain frown. He scratched at one of her black glass eyes.

The doll's head hummed, like the sound of an old television's high pitched whistle.

Evan scratched the doll's eye and forced the edge of his fingernail behind the black glass eye. He pulled.

The doll's lips were locked in a porcelain grimace, her rosy cheek's sunken like a drug addict.

Evan clawed and pulled.

The black glass eye popped from the doll's wide socket and bounced on the toy shop's floor.

plinkplinkplink.

A soft gray mass rested inside the doll's porcelain head. Evan narrowed his eyes and looked around to ensure the shop owner hadn't seen his actions.

He looked back down.

The doll's smile met him, wide and genuine. Her one black glass eye stared up at him.

"Hello Daddy."