I never thought this would happen to us. We were so normal. My wife and I had been married for five years. We had decent jobs and a modest home. On weekends we’d do yard work and occasionally have small get togethers with friends. Nothing special.

The morning it happened was just the same as always. My wife got up before me to make breakfast then I woke up and showered. Just the same as always. After dressing, I went out to the living room to find my wife sitting on the couch staring forward. Her eyes were glazed and she had a sleepy smile on her face. I asked what she was doing. No response. I shrugged and went to the kitchen for some coffee. I read the paper, grabbed my keys, and went back to the living room. She sat there staring. I called her a weirdo, kissed the top of her head, and went to work. I thought she was just playing some weird prank.

It wasn’t until I came home that night that I realized something was truly wrong. I called out to her, but there was no answer. I found her in the same spot with the same smile as I had left her. I said her name. Nothing. I told her that she wasn’t funny. Didn’t move a muscle. I shook her and her head just bobbed limply side to side. She didn’t flinch. Nothing moved except for the rise and fall of her breathing chest. It was then that I called emergency services.

My wife baffled all medical professionals. No one could find a single reason to why she was like this. They poked and prodded her and her lazy smile never faltered. She didn’t even blink. After a week they put in a feeding tube. Specialist came from all over to study her. Journals were written about her. They dubbed her The Human Doll. There were no answers.

I visited her everyday. Nothing changed. I grew to hate this shell of my wife. I decided to move on. I put her up at a decent nursing home, then divorced her. I started over, met a nice girl and had some kids. I forgot about my doll.

Years later, the guilt set in. I made up a flimsy lie to my new wife and went to the nursing home. I saw her there. She sat in front of a picture window staring over a garden. Her hair was streaked with grey, her hands folded on her lap, and her lips upturned in the same half smile. I stared out to the garden for a while. Then I reached out and put a hand on her frail shoulder, but jumped back when she turned her head to look at me. A toothless smile stretched all the way across her face.

“You’ll never guess where I’ve been.” She said.