༺The Evil Within༻Room 36

VI. Weakness

❁
"Say, are you b r e a t h i n g now?
Do the wicked see you?
You still breathing?
You're making me known..
Are you breathing now?
Do the wicked see you?
You still breathing?"
❁

"...-and then we can go play hide-and-seek, and tag, and pretend, and-"

"Sophie.."

"Sorry," she offered a shy grin in apology as she skipped along beside him. He didn't seem to notice, his face expressionless as he strolled forward at his usual slow, thoughtful pace. "I'll let you choose then! But first I wanna show you Mr. Scott!"

She felt his eyes fall upon her. She met his confused gaze with a beaming smile and explained chipperly. "Mr. Scott's my teddy bear! He got a new hat yesterday. I wanted to take him with me today, but he doesn't like it outside. It's too rainy and he doesn't like it when his fur gets wet.."

By now, Ruben was rubbing the pressure points on his temple to soothe his nerves. The constant words spewing from the jubilant child's mouth were giving him a splitting headache. Were all children this hyperactive? He never recalled himself acting this way as a child. He was quiet, reserved, reclusive. He preferred books and his studies over silly items such as teddy bears. Games, on the other hand, had been a common activity between he and his sister.

With a groan he opened the door. Sophie darted off down the hall, no doubt to retrieve her bear, while Ruben cautiously locked the door behind him. In truth, he hadn't any plans to 'play' with her at all. One look at her plushie and he would leave to resume his former task. He hadn't the time for the nonsense she aimed to drag him into.

Before he had even reached the end of he hallway, the hasty clapping of her shoes began to leer close once more. She returned, a poor excuse of a toy tightly hugged against her chest. Stopping before him, she held the item up to Ruben with a smile. "Mr. Scott!"

Ruben raised a brow at the thing, his eyes glazed over in disinterest. It was an utter wreck. The greasy polyester fur was frayed and sparse, leaving most of the model creature's stained fabric 'skin' visible. Its right arm was missing, leaving a little brown stub and exposed cotton in its wake. The 'hat' she'd described wasn't a hat at all, just a styrofoam cup with holes for its ears cut out and a thick layer of multi-color crayon scribbled over it.

Seeing that the child dearly wanted him to take it, he did so hesitantly. His mind fumbled to imagine what it could have felt like. The sparse areas of fur would have been soft and glossy, the bald fabric slightly rough and scratchy, the eyes polished and glassy, the nose stiff and velvety, the wad of cotton fluffy and light, the cup waxy and smooth. The memory of such textures still remained in his mind despite his lack of feeling for twenty-seven years. It brought a sense of loss to his mind. Once he would have tossed such an object aside and think nothing of it, but now all he wanted was to hug it close and gently stroke its soft, glossy fur. To relive the sense of security and calmness plushies were known to supply to children.

He hastily handed it back to her with a noise of acknowledgement, "Mmhmm.."

"Isn't he soft? He used to be softer, but he's been through a lot lately."

Ruben nodded distantly.

She cradled her toy against her chest as if it were her child. "Now, first we'll play hide-and-seek. I'll hide and you count to twenty, ok?"