The Toy

Lydia exhaled a brief sigh, swinging open the front door. She wiped the hair from her face with the back of her hand, lifting Daisy into her arms.

“Aw, wasn’t that a fun birthday party!” She cooed gently, with a bright smile. “Do you like your new shoes?”

Daisy giggled happily, nodding her head. She jumped down from her mother’s arms, prancing back and forth through the hallway, her glittery sneakers sparkling as she jumped and galloped.

“Do you wanna play with your toys?”

“Yes, mama! Yes, yes!” Daisy responded, leaping up and down with relentless energy.

Lydia set down one of the plastic bags in her other hand. Inside, buried among other miscellaneous playthings was a dusty toy telephone, adorned with a cartoonish smile and colourful buttons. A thick layer of dust soared into the air as Lydia lightly blew onto the toy’s surface. Strange, Lydia thought to herself. She hadn’t remembered picking it up from the party venue.

“Alright kitten, let’s head to your room.”

With a delighted squeal, Daisy rushed upstairs, making 10 little hops up all the way to the second floor. Lydia followed closely behind, examining the toy in her hands. It was a little worn, but perfectly suitable for a little girl.

She set the telephone down among a large group of other toys on Daisy’s carpeted floor.

“Alright Daisy, which one do you want to play with first? The teddy bear? The robot?” Daisy looked over her sea of toys, eventually pointing a stubby finger at the telephone.

“That one!” She giggled.

Lydia reached down to push the on button. Instantly, the little toy jumped to life with a musical jingle, making Daisy smile with glee.

Suddenly, the plastic receiver vibrated.

“Oh-oh!” Lydia chirped. “Who’s on the phone, Daisy?”

Daisy placed the phone to her ear excitedly. Quickly, her expression turned from joy to fear. Her eyes welled up with tears, and her lips pointed downwards into a frown. She threw the phone down at the floor, on the cusp of tears. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Is it not working?”

Daisy turned to her mother, gesturing at the phone.

“The man on the other side is being mean to me…” She was barely able to finish her sentence before bursting into a sobbing fit, wailing and putting her hands to her face.

“…What?” Lydia replied, concerned. She reached down to pick up the receiver, scooping up Daisy into her arms.

A raspy voice breathed into Lydia’s ear. Stunned, her eyes widened in trepidation.

“You should’ve locked the front door.” The voice spoke, from a throat that sounded like it was filled with broken glass. Lydia screamed, dropping the phone to the floor. She knocked the toy against the wall with a powerful kick, smashing it to pieces against her heel. Daisy watched in confusion, tears still trickling down her face.

“It’s okay, baby,” Lydia spoke, breathing heavily. “It’s all okay now.”

She kissed Daisy on the forehead, slowly rocking back and forth. But Lydia froze once more as she heard 10 rapid thumps bounding upstairs from the hallway.