Stuffed

Chapter 1

Nightfall quickly came after what seemed like only minutes of work. Time had always been at Mr. White's heels, he always seemed to never have enough of it. Noticing the clock time it had been five minutes over his shift, it was time to lock up. He swiftly got up from his black office chair and neatly put away his papers in their correct folders in the steel cabinet to his left. The grey box clicked closed once more and he gathered his brown leather coat and keys to lock up for the night. Making sure he was ready he took on more glance behind himself, feeling sure of his memory he pressed the light switch and locked the door behind him.

No one had been left in the office halls, even the clerks seemed to have been missing. It was so odd to have them leave at this time, but he simply shrugged it off and continued down the shadowed halls. Reaching the punch clock he pulled out a punch card he had kept on a lanyard underneath his suit. Hovering his hand over the punch clock he realized the clock had read "10:o7pm" that was a whole hour later than his office clock displayed.

Maurice shook his head in denial, he must have just been exhausted from work. However his curiosity made him pull his silver watch to his eye view, it had read "9:07pm" he didn't believe it. Not only one of his clocks were messed up, his watch was too. He shrugged mumbling lightly to himself, he could only believe it was some mistake he made. Without another moment wasted he swiftly swiped the clean white card down the slot, it made a beep and he withdrew his hand.

After he put away his lanyard a loud crash of what sounded like a lions roar pierced his ears. Mr. White flung himself around quickly in a surprised panic to find that nothing had been next to him. He took in a deep sigh of relief realizing it was just his imagination, within a few seconds he continued his regular routine and proceeded to exit the building. Starting towards the front doors he reached into his coat pocket retrieving his phone, no new calls or messages had been displayed. It seemed typical that no one bothered to worry about him.

Suddenly he heard the booming sound again, he raised his head turning around. In his view was a huge shadow of what appeared to be a large cat and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. Maurice shivered and flinched closing his eyes, but as soon as he opened them once more there was nothing to be found. Once again he let go a relieved sigh, he was so tired he was beginning to see and hear things. Ultimately he knew it was time for him to get back home and take a real long slumber.

Putting his phone away he trotted quietly out of the building, he made sure to lock it behind him. With that out of the was he hopped along to the large nearby parking and drove his shabby truck home.

******

Maurice flung himself down into the bed feeling the foam mattress cave in around his thin body. Rolling around in his red silk pajamas he groaned placing his head deeply into the fluffy white pillows. It seemed that he was so ready to fall asleep but somehow something kept him spry and ready for action. It made his mind race rapidly, he thought of millions of things that he could have fixed or done better but then it stopped. He forgot to read the journal.

Propping himself back to his sitting position he groaned loudly at his own stupidity. Mr. White would much rather have been sleeping in his bed than reading a journal, but to ignore a promise he made somehow made him feel empty. It was almost as if he felt that if he didn't he would be a terrible person, and he nodded to himself believing that he would be. His decision made he rocked his aching body off his bed and onto the floor where he traveled to find his suitcase.

Opening his room door he was greeted by his lovely two story home, an elegant black winding staircase led to the main floor where he caught a glimpse of his case. While thumping lazily down the staircase his mind wandered by the dead silence of his home, it was such a big place but he had no one to share it with. If maybe his parents would return his calls they would be proud that he did make it, that he wasn't the loser and idiot they thought he was. However he's had no such luck for five years, Maurice believed they probably hadn't missed him.

Now at the bottom of the stairs he shook his mind free of worry and took grasp of the smooth case. Mr. White ignored his surroundings being as tired as he was, he just plodded directly back to his bed. Opening the case now sitting on his bed he revealed some folders, the journal, and a teddy bear. The sudden appearance of this little plush caught him off guard and he pulled it out gently. It was Isabelle's white saber cat toy, it was soft and silky to touch.

"Now what were you doing in there?" Maurice joked placing the toy on his pillow.

The adorable little cat had some soft pointed ears and a stubby little tail, it made him feel a bit more comfortable. It stared back with its purple button eyes and cute fangs. Mr. White adjusted it to be comfortable in his large king sized bed as he decided that Isabelle would want it to be in perfect condition when he returned it to her. However it also made him feel less lonely for some reason, like there was a person there.

Maurice peered into its button eyes, "Miss Johnson named you Raina huh? That's a cute name, you'll be home with her soon don't worry."

Relaxing and pulling the maroon covers over his body he yawned and pulled the tattered journal into his view. He let the teddy bear stay in the bed with him as he began to find the first real page to read. It seemed the first few pages were just child drawings, some seemed more disturbing than he'd seen beforehand and it made him shutter. Then approaching the fifth page was the first entry to her journal.

"Dear Diary,

I got this new book! I like it a lot, and I got it in school. Mommy does not like it, that makes me sad. She always says I don't deserve it, whatever that means? Today I got to have an apple slice for a snack at recess it was really yummy. But I am really sad because Tommy hit me again today. He always hits me why does mommy stay with him? I don't like him, he made an owie on my legs. It is okay, because I found a thing today! But it's a secret so don't tell anyone! Mommy never buys me toys or things that the other kids have. I found it in the forest near the school when I was walking home. It was in a box, just on the dirt like it want me to find it. I'm so happy, there was a ton of teddy bears. I have never had toys before, but mommy won't like it if she sees them. They will sleep with me tonight in my room. I named them too, there is a kitty and a bunny and a dino and a puppy and a squirrel and a bat and a deer. The bunny is so cute and patchy, so he can be Patchi. I like the kitty because it has little blue stripes, she can be Raina. The dino looks like a Buster don't you think so too? The puppy is so floppy so he will be Floppy. Squirrels go squeak, so she is Squeaker. I want the bat to be Betty because that was Grandmas name, I miss her a lot. The deer I named Raum because he has horns. Okay, I have to go now bye!

Love, Isabelle"

Mr. White lowered the journal slowly after the entry, she was abused by a man named Tommy. It made his stomach turn seeing such a bright child writing content like a normal girl, where did it change? He gently placed the black journal onto his nightstand and shut the lamp off. In one moment the room was empty and dark. No source of light could be recognized as he stared deep into the shadows.

He didn't feel like it was the right thing to do to just fall asleep, he felt an agonizing pain of pity for Isabelle. Yet for some reason he would not touch the book again tonight, he wanted to spread this out. Feeling a force of drowsiness punch him in the head his thoughts began to wander. In the soft covers of his bed he slipped into a soft and welcoming dream.

******

Maurice startled awake from the sound of his alarm, the blaring noise pierced his eardrums as he tried to hide from them under a pillow. His attempts being useless he decided it was finally time to get ready for work. With a moan of displeasure he smacked the alarm clock off with a swift downwards motion. The alarm now terminated he sluggishly pulled himself out of his comfortable bed stretching out his arms widely. Beginning to gain consciousness once more he searched around for the little stuffed cat he had in his bed but it was nowhere inside.

The man imedietly went into panic mode and leaped to the floor to search under the bed, but this was to no avail. Following this a static flurry he whipped around the room opening drawers and tearing the room apart. Mr. White decided to finally stop viewing his disaster of a room, he need to calm down, he would find it while getting ready. Collecting his sense he began to slowly reorganize the room to its pristine state in which it had been before. He made a mental checklist as he peered around the room, everything was back in its place.

Taking in a sigh of relief Maurice dressed into his white suit that he always wore for work, he made sure to keep it straight and unwrinkled. Following this he pulled a black comb out of his grooming kit and brushed back his messy hair to its usual style. With this he smiled widely noticing his teeth were slightly yellowed, it was time to brush his teeth. He headed straight into the bathroom which was connected to his bedroom.

The walls were a baby blue and had matching curtains and tiles, his sink was perfectly clean and his tooth brush and tooth paste in their proper holders. Maurice knew that a life of routine was a well organized life, so he followed his exact regimen and order of how he usually cleaned up and headed back into his room. From that room he grabbed his case heading down the winding stairs into a beautiful black and white kitchen. However as soon as he peered back up at the table there was the lost stuffed cat.

It sat perfectly propped on its side with the silly little grin it always wore. Its soft fur had not been ruffled or dirtied, it was just as he remembered it had looked. Mr. White shivered from this, he remembered clearly that the stuffed cat had been in his bed the previous night.

He swallowed his pride and spoke to calm himself, "What are you doing over here little kitty?"

Striding across the kitchen he opened his black fridge still having his eyes locked on Raina. Maurice shook his head turning away from it, he could have just forgotten that it was down there. To him it was silly to presume that a toy could somehow move around by itself. After giving himself an internal pep talk about inanimate objects Mr. White resumed his regular activity and made himself a quick cereal breakfast. Once he finished preparing a bowl of plain branded corn flakes he placed it gently on the table next to the toy.

Maurice dipped a silver spoon into his bowl and ate quietly, the silence of the huge house spooked him. It was definitely time for him to either meet someone or get a roommate. He glared into the toys button eyes as if it could understand what he was feeling. Sipping up his last bit of milk from his cereal bowl he washed it in the sink and put it away.

"Well little one, let's go to work" Maurice told the cat as he carried it out of the door.