The dolls were meant to ease the burden of loneliness.

What was she thinking he would ask himself as each evening he’d sit across from them? The gulf between them and himself testament to his feelings about the whole arrangement.

They were attractive in a very dollish sort of way. But did he need their help?

He was in denial that his loneliness was a matter for concern. He was used to it, and when he received the dolls, he was told it was being done to help him adjust.

That one resembled Michael Jackson was a worry to him as he wasn’t that way inclined, he had no inclination to be with boys or men.

The other doll was a non-descript uni-sex sort of figure. She was reserved, showed no sense of satisfaction, and he worried if he used her what that was saying about himself.

There become a standoff between the man and the dolls. To placate his sense of guilt, he sat them in the front window, thinking the view might give them something to do rather than focus on himself.

It was an hour later he realized the dolls could be seen from the street and he then became concerned as to what the neighbours might be thinking.

No matter what he did, it was guilt all round.

So, he deflated them both. He felt satisfied that now he had two pieces of plastic, crumpled up on the floor, looking as though they had received a shock they might not recover from.

It was now he felt some sense of connection with them as he too felt a crumpled mess.

He kicked them into the corner, unable to touch them, feeling responsible but at the same time happy to wallow in his own misery.

Written for: https://fivedotoh.com/2019/08/19/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-27/