Gastone forced his back to the wall, his sweaty palms against the wooden floor, terror frozen on his pale face. The doll Nick-Nack named Evelyn cocked her head to the side as she focused on Gastone. She looked at him, curious. She pushed herself off the table, her dress flowing as she glided over to Gastone. She slowly kneeled in front of Gastone, once again cocking her head to the side, her curls moving over her face every centimetre she did. Her porcelain hand edged closer to Gastone’s face. Gastone closed his eyes tightly, hoping this entire ordeal was just a bad dream. There’s no way Nick-Nack would have created a living doll, nobody would ever do such a thing.


    “Boop.” a soft woman’s voice said, clear as day. Gastone felt light pressure on his nose. Gastone opened his eyes to see Evelyn gently pressing on his nose repeatedly with a smile on her lips.


    “Boop, boop,” Evelyn said happily, giggling every so often.


    Gastone jumped to his feet as if his shoes were ablaze. Now that he was standing up, he saw Evelyn was only about 162 centimetres, almost to Gastone’s chest. She looked up curiously at Gastone, confused why she could not boop his nose anymore. She turned her head to the side and made her way towards the dust-ridden teddy bears in the corner of the room.


    “P-Pardon me, mister,” Gastone stammered, fixing his waistcoat and hair, “Um, w-why is she m-moving around?”


    Nick-Nack smiled at Evelyn in the corner, as she was picking up and squeezing the stuffed animals. She smiled at each one, carefully eyeing over each of them.


    “Isn’t she wonderful,” Nick-Nack remarked proudly, “my finest work in years.”


    “S-She’s wonderful, I am sure,” Gastone replied, quivering, “just what exactly do we do with her?”


    Nick-Nick focused his attention on Gastone, hurrying him into the corner.


    “Well, she’s got to learn how to be a proper girl,” Nick-Nack explained, “and you are the perfect candidate to do so, my boy.”


    Gastone’s eyes widened, he could not believe what Nick-Nack asked of him. Evelyn turned her head away from the stuffed bears.


    “You can not be serious!” Gastone yelled, “You make a giant doll out of nowhere, then tell me I need to teach it manners?”


    “I understand your concern, young man,” Nick-Nack replied, “however, as my apprentice it is my job to give you certain responsibilities. Now, it is your responsibility to give Evelyn an education. You’re the smartest man I know.”


    Gastone gulped, swallowing his anger and releasing his fists. He took a deep breath and looked at Evelyn, whose attention was still focused on the pair. Gastone walked over to her and kneeled beside her. He picked up a black tuxedo cat from the pile of plush animals, showing it to Evelyn.


    “I’m sorry for losing myself with your…father,” Gastone told Evelyn, slight regret in his voice, “will you take this humble fella as an apology?”


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    Evelyn blinked at the cat before using both her hands to carefully grab the cat away from Gastone, for a moment he felt her hand. Icy cold.


    Evelyn’s blue eyes sparkled as she looked over the tuxedo cat. She gave it a tight hug before looking at him once more.


    “Bruno.” Evelyn announced proudly, her eyes looking at the button eyes of the kitten toy. She placed the kitten down on her lap, patting his head.


    Evelyn looked up at Gastone before pointing at his chest.


    “Name?” Evelyn asked, as her eyes focused on Gastone’s.


    “My name?” Gaston repeated, “My name is…Gastone.”


    “Evelyn,” The doll said proudly, as she pointed to herself.


    “Evelyn is a wonderful name,” Gastone replied with a tight smile and gripped teeth, “It is a pleasure meeting you.”


    Evelyn giggled as she sprung up from her seated pose, holding onto Bruno. She turned to face Nick-Nack and smiled at the elderly man before pointing at him.


    “Pop-Pop!” Evelyn screamed excitedly, which caused Nick-Nack to smile warmly.


    Gastone just couldn’t help but stare. He could not believe what he was seeing. A toy so animated that it seemed…alive? Surely that was against Creation, an abomination. Evelyn was looking around the room, her eyes shifting around quickly as her head turned around swiftly, Bruno flopping around in her arms. She spotted a small ray of light coming from a hole in the window shutter, and she followed it. She followed the beam of light and raised her hand to the shutter before it was smacked with a large *thud* from Nick-Nack’s cane. Evelyn let out a yelp, and Gastone’s eyes widened. The room went silent, with the only sound coming from the ticking of Evelyn’s gears.


    “No, Evie”, Nick-Nack ordered, “Don’t touch that. Open the window, and bad people will take you away from me. Understood?”


    Evie nodded slowly as she brought Bruno closer to her face, burying it in his soft fur and holding him tightly.


    Nick-Nack’s wild eyes softened as he gave Evelyn a light pat on her head; her eyes fixated on the ray of light on the back wall.


    Nick-Nack turned to Gastone, whose brow was soaked with sweat and his face translucent. He could feel his chest closing in on him. Evelyn stared down at the creaking floor, her face full of shame. Gastone wanted to believe this was all just a terrible dream. Nick-Nack had created, despite all the frills, a monster. Something that went against nature itself.


    "Now then," Nick-Nack began, cracking the silence, "I expect you to be here tomorrow morning to help me with Evie."


    Gastone nodded, his head feeling heavier then before. Evelyn slightly turned her head towards him, giving him a soft smile which made Gastone quickly turn away from her. Gastone could feel his legs quiver as he walked towards the front door, his feet dragging as he gathered his things.


    " I don''t feel so well, sir," Gastone muttered, his eyes widened, "I..think I need to head home to rest."


    NIck-Nack looked over Gastone, his eyes nearly piercing his soul. His cold expression suddenly turned into a soft smile as he looked over at Evelyn in the corner.


    "It''s no trouble, my boy," Nick-Nack expressed happily, "In the meantime, I''ll get Evelyn ready for her lessons. She has....much to learn."


    Evelyn blinked as she held her stuffed animal closely to her chest, her cogs ticking in her torso. As Gastone opened the door, he took a deep breathe. He couldn''t let his family see him in this crazed state, he knew they''d ask him to step down from being Nick-Nack''s caretaker, something he wasn''t fully sure now if he really wanted.


    He opened the door, hurrying to close it behind him. He rushed down the path from the little house on the hill. his breathing getting heavier and heavier. By the time the streetlights came on, Gastone finally reached his home. He rushed through the door, passing by his brother Piero and his unmistakable red scarf. Before Piero could even greet his younger brother, the desperate sound of Gastone''s footsteps echoed on the grand staircase. He slammed the door to his bedroom, finally able to catch his breath. He sled to the floor, his back against the door as he buried his face in his knees.


    What was Nick-Nack thinking? Gastone thought to himself as he tried to calm himself down. He had never seen such a machine before, especially one that looked so....helpless. As Gastone sat alone with his thoughts, an obnxious knock on his door rang throughout his body.


    "BROTHER", the screechy voice asked, "How could you not even say hello to your WONDERFUL elder brother."


    Gastone rubbed his temples as he quickly figured out Pietro was at his door. He took a deep breath, figuring out how to explain his emotions.


    "I''m not feeling very good right now, Pietro," Gastone moaned, "I really don''t want to be disturbed at the moment."


    "WELL," Pietro hollered, "WHY didn''t you say so before?! I''ll make my honeysuckle and cow liver tea right now! It cures everything!"


    Pietro''s frantic footsteps slowly faded as he walked down the hallway, leaving Gastone once again to his fluttered thoughts. He closed his eyes, controlling his breathing yet his heart was still racing.


    Despite his gut telling him not to, he knew deep down that Nick-Nack would be lost without his help and knew he had to go back to that little house on the hill. As he began to undo his clothes, Gastone dragged himself to his bed, buring his face into a pillow as the cold air brushed against his skin. He closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be less of a nightmare.