The Toy Girl

She became a collector. Only the most special things making it into her congregation, certain criteria needing to be met. There was a connection she had to feel, a merging of souls. Night and day she tended to her collection, cleaning it, loving it. Nothing was more important to Ashley than her toys.
As this went on Ashley's parents began to wonder if she was mentally ill and being worried, arranged for a psychiatric evaluation on the eve of Halloween. The doctor simply said, "Obvious case of Autism, I recommend drug therapy."
Ashley's parents were overjoyed at the thought of having a normal little girl. They quickly okayed the treatments, never once asking Ashley for permission. Knowing she would never cooperate, the drug was crushed and secretly put into her lovingly home cooked meals.
It was a crisp Autumn night when her father brought the prescription home. When her mother crushed a pill under her chef's knife, sprinkling the dust into Ashley's dessert. Smiling at their cunning, her father called out, "Ashley, dinner time!"
Quietly she came into the kitchen, arms wrapped around her favorite plush toy, the one she called 'Fella'. Standing in the doorway she lifted the small body, "Mother... look! He's my doctor for Halloween." Cradling the costumed toy, Ashley peered over its head at her parents.
"Fella told me about the medicine..." she sighed. "And now we have to fix you- before you fix me." Ashley growled, stalking toward her parents, "You can't take my toys."