Strange thoughts wondered in George’s head. It was the antidepressants he had been on since unrequited love first reared its ugly head in form of a needy college roommate in love with her professor. Her long blonde hair and delicate features were enough to sustain the professor’s interest for a short period of time; nevertheless the romance ended upon him learning she was dull in conversation. She had been his first and only true love. His compulsive habits had worn her nerves thin and their friendship died when they graduated. Then over ten years later the nymph appeared to George.
Who was this girl? She was not particularly attractive, but she possessed a genuine knowledge of human nature that made her both appealing and dangerous. With big, kind wondrous green eyes she drew you in. Her auburn curls stood proudly atop her head in a neat bun. Thoughts of a relationship warmed in his head. What a colossal joke! How ironic this confused girl should enter his life now. Patti’s auburn locks remained embedded in his mind. They were her most distinctive feature.
She thought back her previous relationship-an ill faded marriage that died before its time. She so badly wanted to be in love again! She worked overtime to win a place in his heart to no avail. She wanted to shake him. She didn’t. Her heart wasn’t in it. She couldn’t bring herself to force a relationship that wasn’t real. He needed affection, but Patti waited for the prize of his love. It was so wrong to trick a girl who had obviously been through so much at a young age.
However, he loved the idea of hurting another as the blonde beauty had hurt him. It was perfect justice. His patience was tried, and eventually time wore their friendship futile. He wanted to settle the matter amicably. He would rather right his battles passionately then die a slow death pretending to feel something he did not. She was an angel sent from the heavens and deserved better.
Embarrassment and self doubt filled her body as he began. “Patti, I don’t think we should see each other anymore…I’m sorry. I feel nothing for you.” Tears welled in her eyes as she left his home.
“Serves me right,” she thought. “I was a fool to try and make a relationship from nothing so quickly!” Upon reflection she could not believe her own stupidity. He was a dark soul with little to offer any woman other than a life of pain.
That night he stared at the line of GI Joe dolls and other childhood toys he kept in a collection. He faced him waiting for his command. “Yes,” they seemed to bellow. Their eyes seemed to light up a dark red color, but it was only in his mind. “Could toys talk?” George wondered aloud. He was at his breaking point. “Can you make my most important decisions?” he said to a line of inanimate objects. He was in the midst of a major depression.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rain. The storm raged outside his small city apartment. He left the relative comfort to listen. He always had loved the sounds and sights of nature’s chaos. Later he watched the television mindlessly flipping the channels. He was unaware of the pitter-patter of little feet as he slept. Tonight his childhood friends would lead a revolution against him. He would meet his end in his sleep. G.I. Joe lead the charge.
A friend found his motionless body the next morning. It was ruled a medical mystery-possibly a brain aneurysm or a deadly reaction to his medication. If the coroner had examined him more closely he would have noticed the small toy soldier with the steel blade lodged in his brain.
The toys knew better. After the autopsy was complete they joined together to celebrate their freedom and recount the events leading to their liberation. After thirty-six years of tyranny, they would now live without the obsessive, watchful eye of their owner. The legions of action figures rolled out from under his bed. Slowly, they had climbed through his ear and into his brain. Once inside they began to attack the gray, fuzzy matter. It tickled but did not hurt. He did not realize what was happening until it was too late. The pain was intense, but another group of toys muffled his screams with a pillow. The lights were out and no one saw a thing. On the day of his funeral many cried for George, but few knew the true circumstances of his death.