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A man named Bevin Elderberry peered through the window of an old antique shop in the downtown of a southern town named Sinawee that sat by one of the biggest lakes in South Carolina. It was early, the air was already warm. There was the smell of honey and flowers in the air. Magnolia blooms were the size of wedding cakes. Birds made noise. The sound of a boat engine whirred in the distance.

The sign on the shop’s door read CLOSED. He put his face closer to the large display window and shielded his eyes with his hands as he peered into the store, faintly lit by the dawn’s early light.

There inside on stacked shelves, he saw rows of muted, creepy dolls basking in the dust. They were all naked and without any anatomical features. He grimaced at the sight of them. The dolls looked unruly, with oddly bent limbs, and crazy hair and eyes.

“You like them dolls?” came a man’s voice from behind him.

Bevin was startled. He startled easily. “I wouldn’t say I like them. Just curious.”

“Well, come on inside. I’ve got just the thing.” The old man with a drawn, pale face and a straw hat on his head extended his hand. “The name’s Slim Jim. I own this place. Was just about to open up if you want a closer look at them dolls.”

He was slim and he looked like a Jim.

“Sure,” Bevin said. “I’ll check them out.”

They entered the store. It smelled of oldness and lost time. Slim Jim turned on some lights. “Follow me, he said. “Into my room of curiosities,” and he made a weird gesture with all his fingers fondling the air.

The dolls weren’t only on the shelves, once deeper into the room Bevin saw that they were lined up along the floorboards, a massive gathering among the other trinkets and charms.

“That’s quite a collection,” Bevin said.

A proud smile formed across the face of Slim Jim. He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and rocked back and forth on his heels. “They just keep coming. It’s a stream of refugees, I tell you. From where, hell I don’t know. Sometimes I find a few straggling around out back before I even open. Other times they come in the night and are just here when I step inside the room. It’s almost as if they just slipped through the glass unscathed.”

“You’re saying they come here on their own?”

“That’s right. They come in and go straight to this room to be with the others.”

Bevin chuckled and scoffed. “That’s quite a fantastical thing you got going on here.”

Slim Jim’s expression suddenly changed. “You don’t believe me?”

“It just seems a little odd is all. How do they just come in here? Do you call them?”

Slim Jim’s steel gray eyes narrowed. He showed his somewhat crooked teeth. “Maybe I do. Not on purpose, though. It just happens. Guess you could say I’m like a lightning rod.”

“But why don’t they have any clothes on?”

“They don’t like to wear clothes,” Slim Jim answered. “They tell me.” He tapped at his head with a fingertip. “In here… So, I strip them of their Earthly bindings and set them free. Not that I’m some weird pervert or anything. That’s what they instruct me to do. And I think they appreciate it.” He presents a hand toward all the dolls. “See how happy they look.”

Bevin scanned the dolls with his eyes. None of them looked happy. If anything, they all appeared hopelessly depressed and deranged.

Slim Jim stepped past him. “I tell you what. You pick one out for yourself. I won’t charge you. I just want you to see for yourself what they are.”

Bevin slowly looked over them once more. Then his eyes fixed on one with a clown’s head. He wore a rumpled hat, and his face was painted white with a big red nose in the center. There was a ring of black around his mouth, and the underside of his eyes had a black smear as well. His hair was yellow and stuck out in coils from under his hat. The rest of him was naked. Bevin pointed to it. “I like that one. It reminds me of childhood for some reason.”

Slim Jim slapped his hands together. “Oh brother! That one is Jiggles the Clown. He’s one of my favorites, but you can have him because I already said so.” He went over to the doll and plucked him from the crowd. He handed it to Bevin. “Here you go. I hope you enjoy him. Are you planning on sticking around for a few days?” Slim Jim asked.

“I am. My girlfriend just dumped me. Again. I’m going to go hiking and then drink at the hotel to deal with my personal problems.”

Slim Jim eyed him up and down. “Okay… But before you head out of town, why don’t you stop back in and let me know how things went with Jiggles.”

“Sure. I can do that.” Bevin went to the front door of the shop and walked out. He stopped in front of the glass window and waved to Slim Jim who was still there in the room of curiosities. Bevin held up Jiggles the Clown and made him dance from side to side in the air. He laughed about it as he walked away.

Slim Jim moved closer to the window and peered out. He sneered, and then whispered to himself, “It won’t be funny for long.”

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