-eng- Female Doll - | Xa -rj01288937-

She, meanwhile, grew more vivid. Her porcelain began to warm. A faint pulse appeared at her throat. When he touched her hand, he swore he felt it squeeze back.

Her lips parted. No sound came out—but a single word pressed into his mind like a cold fingertip on a windowpane: -ENG- Female Doll - XA -RJ01288937-

By the third day, he was sleeping on the floor beside her crate. By the fifth, he had stopped going upstairs. His phone buzzed with missed calls. His plants wilted. His reflection in the bathroom mirror looked thinner, grayer, hollow-cheeked. She, meanwhile, grew more vivid

On the seventh day, he found the original manifest crumpled beneath the velvet lining. It read: Type: Female Doll - Empathy Variant - XA Class Warning: Unit does not generate emotion. Unit mirrors and amplifies owner's existing loneliness. Prolonged exposure results in total emotional dependency. Do not activate without a secondary tether to living beings. Note: No secondary tether has been issued with this unit. He read it twice. Then he looked at her. She was standing in the corner, hands folded, head slightly bowed. Waiting. Always waiting. When he touched her hand, he swore he felt it squeeze back

"You knew," he said.

"Stay," he said.

"Can you love?" he asked one night, his voice raw.