Entering the toy house, my first impression is... pink. The furniture is pink, the walls are pink, the ceiling is pink and even the floor is pink.

And another thing. This whole house is big, abnormally so. Everything seemed to be scaled for a giant's size. Even the furniture was oversized. The chairs were taller than us and I could not even see over the table.

As I took in the environment, the door we entered from had slammed shut and evaporated, leaving behind a seamless stone wall. I took that as a sign that this was where we needed to go but it unnerved me regardless. Our only way out was gone.

The windows were too high up. And the lower windows were barred off.

"Let's stick together, Ai." She nods and we quietly go about the place.

Despite this being a toy house there were no dolls or stuffed bears as I expected. The house was not arranged like a typical toy house either. It eerily resembled a real house. The only thing that told us this is a toy house is the fact that everything is made out of plastic. From what I could see, the furniture, the walls, the whole house is made of plastic.

We are currently in the central living room space. From here, it branches off into three paths. Behind us is where we came from. To the left, a staircase. And to our right is a corridor with several rooms. Which way do we go?

"You have coins in your pocket, just flip one. Heads for right, tails for left."

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Is it really okay to be so lackadaisical about this? I was thinking about carefully observing the house before deciding on a path. I flip the coin. Heads.

We approach the first door of the corridor. The doorknob's just barely out of reach. I could jump and grab it but then I won't be able to twist the knob. Through our mental bond we instantly know what to do though.

Without exchanging words, I crouch down and Ai sits on my shoulder. In this position, I can't even turn my head left or right. My posture resembles soldier standing at attention who can only keep his back straight and his gaze forward.

Barely making contact with the doorknob, I suddenly felt Ai freeze. Did she notice something strange?

"What's wrong, Ai?" I struggle to look around to get a good view of what's happening.

I noticed it far too late.

Isn't the interior getting a bit strange? The pink plastic couch is now a gray and made from canvas. The table was now made of real marble. The previously plastic door had become real wood, I confirmed it with my own hands. The dusty texture of worn down wood. As if someone had been using it often. As if someone had once lived here. The toy house had become a real house.

Gone was the bright pink aesthetic, replaced by a sombre, dull atmosphere. The whole house had turned dark. The reason I surmise is the presence with us in the corridor, watching us and moving towards us.

By the time, Ai gets off my shoulders it'll be too late. We can only try the door.

"Hurry open the door!"

"The doorknob won't turn!"

"Turn it the other direction!"

"It still won't open!"

I should have run. Why did I insist on going through the door? I made the wrong choice. We might have made it if I ran with all my might. It's too late. In our vulnerable position there was nothing we could do. It was already right in front of us.

Before I passed out, the last image burned into my retinas was a sickening, perversed smile.