Last of all, I disinfected it with rubbing alcohol.
It took a couple of passes before it looked clean.
I carefully stitched up the torn seam in the back.
Mark watched the entire time, standing close, touching the bear every few minutes like he needed to make sure it stayed real, asking when Bear would be ready.
That night, when I tucked Mark into bed, he held Bear close. I stood there for a moment, watching him fall asleep.
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Then I reached down to adjust the blanket one more time, and something happened that shook me to the core.
When I tucked Mark into bed, he held Bear close.
My hand brushed Bear's belly.
Inside, something clicked.
Static burst from the toy's core. Loud. Sudden.
Then a voice, tiny and trembling, seeped through the fabric.
"Mark, I know it's you. Help me."
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My blood turned to ice.
Static burst from the toy's core.
I stared at the bear, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
That wasn't a song, a prerecorded giggle, or some creepy toy malfunction.
That was a human voice.
A child's voice.
And they had said my son's name out loud.
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They had said my son's name out loud.
I looked at Mark.
He was still asleep, miraculously.
Then I grabbed the bear as gently as I could, sliding it from Mark's grip without waking him.
I backed out of the room, easing the door almost closed.
My mind was racing through terrible possibilities.
I grabbed the bear as gently as I could
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Was this some kind of prank? A surveillance device?
Was someone watching us?
I carried the bear down the hall like it might explode.
In the kitchen, I set it down on the table under the bright overhead light and ripped open the seam I'd so carefully closed a few hours earlier.
Was someone watching us?
Stuffing spilled out onto the table. I reached inside and felt something hard.
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I pulled it out and stared at it in shock.
It was a small plastic box with a speaker and a button, all held together by duct tape.
While I was examining it, the voice spoke again.
"Mark? Mark, can you hear me?"
I reached inside and felt something hard.
If it had been an adult voice coming through that speaker, I would've handled things very differently, but this was a child, and they were asking for help.
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I couldn't just ignore that.
I pressed the button and leaned closer to the bear. "This is Mark's dad. Who is this?"
The line went dead.
This was a child, and they were asking for help.
"No, no, wait," I said quickly, pressing the button again. "You're not in trouble. I just need to understand what's going on."
Static hissed.
Then a shaky voice came through.
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