The hungry doll(1)

Zhiyan was eight years old when she found the doll. It was buried under a pile of old clothes in her grandmother's attic, wrapped in a faded silk cloth. Its face was simple—black button eyes, a stitched-up smile, and soft fabric hair tied into two tiny buns. The doll wore a red dress embroidered with golden flowers, though the fabric was frayed at the edges.

She picked it up and brushed the dust off its face. "Who left you here?" she wondered aloud.

Her grandmother shuffled into the attic behind her, peering at the doll with cloudy eyes. "Ah... that old thing." Her voice was hesitant. "It belonged to someone long ago. Best to leave it where it is."

"But it's so cute!" Zhiyan hugged the doll to her chest. "Can I keep it, Nai Nai?"

Her grandmother hesitated. For a long moment, she stared at the doll as if searching for a reason to say no. Then, with a sigh, she patted Zhiyan's head. "If you must. But take care of it, child. Some things should not be forgotten."

Zhiyan didn't understand what that meant, but she was too excited to care. She named the doll Xiaoxiao and carried it everywhere. At school, she sat it beside her during lunch. At home, she placed it on the dinner table. And at night, she tucked it under her blankets, whispering secrets into its tiny stitched ears.

Then, one night, the whispering started.

It was past midnight when Zhiyan stirred awake. At first, she wasn't sure what had woken her. The house was silent, her parents asleep in the next room. The streetlights outside cast dim shadows across her walls.

Then she heard it.

A voice. Small, soft, and right next to her ear.

"I'm hungry."

Zhiyan froze. Her breath caught in her throat. She turned her head slowly toward the doll lying beside her on the pillow. It stared back, its stitched smile unchanged.

Had she imagined it?

Heart pounding, she grabbed the doll and sat up in bed. "Did you say something?" she whispered.

Silence.

Of course not. Dolls don't talk. Maybe she was just dreaming.

Still, the whisper had felt so real.

Zhiyan hesitated, then placed Xiaoxiao on the shelf above her bed, facing away from her. Just in case.

She pulled the blankets over her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

The room was silent again.

But just as she drifted back to sleep, she swore she heard it one more time.

"I'm hungry, Zhiyan."