Child’s Play

     "And now, I kill you," shrieked the little girl, holding the tattered stuffed rabbit aloft. With the toy positioned high in the air, her hazel eyes widened as she surveyed the victim below-- a pink bear with a heart-shaped nose. A smile crept across her face as she let out an airy giggle. Then, in a swift, calculated swoop, she smashed the rabbit onto the bear, her halo of golden curls quivering at the violence. 

     "No, stop, help me!" she cried in the voice of the bear. "Don't kill me Mr. Carrot!"

     "It's TOO LATE Pinky!" she said with gritted teeth, positioning the upper legs of Mr. Carrot around Pinky's throat. "You know what you did! And now you must pay."

     Keeping Mr. Carrot on top of Pinky, she ground the toys into the floor, making a gurgling sound from her throat to imitate suffocation. 

     "What are you playing?" her mother asked suddenly, standing in the doorway to the girl's bedroom. Her arms were crossed and her brow was furrowed.

      The girl stopped manipulating her toys and became silent. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet her mother's eyes. 

      "Murder," she said.