00:00I watched the mannequin breathe for 10 minutes straight. I was working the closing shift at Riverside Mall, the only
00:06one left after 10pm. I was counting the register when I noticed it this mannequin by the window display, the
00:12one in the blue dress. Her chest was rising and falling, slow and steady, like she was sleeping.
00:17At first, I thought it was my eyes playing tricks, the kind of thing that happens when you stare too
00:23long, but I walked closer, and I could see it clear as day. Her plastic chest moved up, then down,
00:29in this perfect rhythm that made my stomach twist. The worst part, her face never changed.
00:35That same frozen smile, those dead glass eyes staring straight ahead like nothing was happening. I grabbed my phone to
00:42record it, but my hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold it steady.
00:47Then the lights in the store flickered once, twice, and when they came back on, she was facing me. I
00:53didn't see her move, I didn't hear anything, but now she was looking directly at me, still smiling, still breathing,
01:01and I ran.
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