Diane was stunned as she watched her mother give her to the druggist who then promptly dropped her
in with the other stuffed toys in the Easter holiday toy bin. She wished she was able to talk so she could
tell her mother that she would rather be her little sister’s toy then belong to someone else.
Had Debbie looked a little more closely at the underside of Diane’s hand-paws, she would have noticed
a small sticker with "Squeeze Me to hear me talk" written on it.
Diane mentally cried as she watched her family abandon her. As time went on, she watched people come
and go from her vantage point by the checkout counter. She was glad when the store closed and nobody
had bought her. She recalled the dozen times she had been manhandled by little kids and prospective
buyers and would have shuddered if she was able to. During the night, she had finally accepted her fate
and contemplated why she was now just a toy. She sadly thought about how shallow she had been as a
teenage girl and how she had hurt people because they were different. She mentally chuckled as she
thought "Well I can’t hurt anybody now! In fact, I’ll be making someone very happy when I am bought.
Diane found her new life in the toy bin to be quite boring as she waited to be purchased.
She was starting to wonder what was wrong with her because she had been in the bin for over four days
and nobody had bought her. She had lost count of how many times she was picked up and looked over
but no-one wanted to buy her. Her self worth had took another nose-dive and she was totally miserable.
She now hoped that she would be the next plushie to be purchased.
She was currently propped in the bin so she could see the store’s entrance and saw her mother walk
into the store. She was easily able to tell that she had been crying and she knew it had to be because
she was missing. Diane began to mentally weep because of the hurt her mother was going through.
She was surprised when her mother walked up to the bin she was in and picked her up. Diane then
felt warm inside as her mother hugged her. She was then surprised as her mother set her on the
counter to buy her.
She then overheard the druggist ask "Any news about your missing daughter?"
"No. The police are not very optimistic about finding her because there had been three other girls
that had disappeared and they and my daughter were always together."
Diane would have gasped in shock if she was able. She just knew that April, Bets, and Chastity had
to be her other friends that disappeared and that they just had to be changed like her.
She then heard the druggist ask "Are you buying this toy to help your other daughter cope?"
Diane’s mother sighed as she replied "No. She is in some form of denial. She doesn’t even mind that
there is a chance that her sister is no longer~" She then sadly whispered "alive."
Diane’s mother then wiped away a few tears as she continued "I am getting this little bunny for myself.
Debbie had .. Borrowed it on the same day that~."
the druggist smiled as he said "I understand and please take it as a gift from me." Diane’s mother
quickly exclaimed "Oh, I couldn’t!" the druggist stated "But I insist."
Diane then found herself being squeezed between her mother and the druggist as they hugged.
Diane felt both happy and sad as her crying mother carried her out of the store.