4 Toys

Just then, Karma heard a click. It was the sound of the door being turned. Once the door had opened, there stood a little girl in front of him. She looked at him curiously but didn't say anything.

In an attempt to break the awkward tension, Karma said,"Uh… Yo?"

"Hello," The girl replied looking around as if she was searching for something. "Have you seen my teddy bear?"

"No… I just got here a couple minutes ago… I'm actually just waiting here for someone to show me around the house."

"Oooohhh!!! You're 17!! Right!?!?"

"17?"

The door number?

"Yes! You're my new toy!!!"

"Toy? I don't quite understand. My name's Karma."

"Whaaaat…" She replied disappointed. "B...But mom and dad told me that they were going to bring someone I could play with… And since you said that you recently came here, I thought you were 17."

Again with the I7…

The girl pouted. "Now I'm confused," She whined. "You're on floor three but you're not 17…?"

"..."

"Then who are you?"

"I told you earlier. My name's Karma. I got adopted by your parents today. So right now, I'm basically your brother."

"Ok…" She replied twirling her hair as if she was trying to solve a complex math problem. "So you're not 17… My parents brought you here today… and your name is… Karma right?"

"Yea… I don't really get why they called me 17… but what's confusing me even more is this toys thing you told me about. Why do you call 17 a toy?

"I always call them toys!!!"

"Them!?!"

"Yea!! My first toy was called one, then two, then three, and now I'm already up to 17!!!"

Upon hearing these words, Karma felt an uneasy feeling.

In an attempt to find clarity and rid himself of this uneasy feeling, he asked, "And... What happened to those... uh… toys"

"Oh… that's simple," she said with a smile. "They all died silly. Isn't that obvious? That's why every couple of months mom and dad bring me a new toy to replace the old one!!!"

They died?

Karma stood frozen in place. Those words sent a chill through his spine. That's when he realized, something was definitely wrong. He had already experienced seven years worth of torment; however, a gut feeling inside of him was telling him that something a lot worse would come. A sinking sensation was screaming for him to escape.