Riley Andersen’s teeth chattered as she walked behind. The temperature was 26 degrees Fahrenheit, and it certainly showed around her; the air was bitterly cold against her body even with a bulky jacket and hat, icicles hung from the trees like sleeping fruit bats, and the ground was covered in snow that reached as far as her ankles with every step.

Then Riley froze on the spot as she saw a doll-like figure scurry past her. The smile on her face faded, her teeth chattering even more now and her heartbeat suddenly speeding up.

It had been just a day since the teenager had returned to Minnesota on a two week long trip during the Christmas holidays, revisiting the state she used to call home before she moved to San Francisco. She had felt almost every emotion imaginable, and spent the days before the trip recalling bittersweet childhood memories and planning her return trip to make it one to remember.

But this was not something she had planned for. “Rat!” Fear cried, taking refuge on Anger’s head.

Inside the mind of Riley was “Headquarters,” a place where all of her emotions controlled her everyday actions. It had become quite the crowded space, with a total of nine personified emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Disgust, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarassment, and now Nostalgia.

“Hey, get off of me!” the short-tempered red man demanded as his head burst into flames, setting Fear on fire and sending him running. Beside them, Disgust cringed, at both them the sight of the rat.

“Oh, no, not a rat!” Anxiety panicked. “What’s gonna happen? What if we get rabies?”

“Okay, okay, calm down, people!” Joy ordered as she extinguished Fear’s flaming butt. Let’s not think about that.”

With that, Riley calmed down and took a look around the corner, investigating. In the snow, she saw, seemingly lifeless, a cowboy doll. Woody. He was a classic example of a toy that was purely handmade, with his hand-painted face and a stitched vest and hat.

Riley noticed a pull string on Woody’s back. “Hey there, partner!” Woody said, in a robotic but enthusiastic toy voice.

Riley stared at Woody for a few seconds. Then, at Ennui’s command, Riley shrugged her shoulders and walked back into the house.

“Hey Meg, look what I found!” she addressed her friend, who turned around to meet Riley’s gaze. Meg was Riley’s former best friend, who she grew up with while still living in Minnesota. They were still close, having kept in touch ever since Riley moved away. This was despite Meg making a new best friend and Riley angrily hanging up on her one day as a result, but they had long forgiven each other.

Riley pulled the string on Woody. “Somebody’s poisoned the waterhole!”

“Oh my god, is that a Woody doll?” Meg cried in excitement. “Remember when we used to play with my Woody doll when you would come over to my house sometimes? And you would bring your Jessie doll?”

“I had a Woody doll too when I was growing up,” Riley responded. “But I don’t think I remember it ever coming alive?”

“Excuse me, _what_ did you say?” Meg replied, both amused and astonished.

“Uh…”

Riley blushed. “Oops!” But Meg laughed, and so did Riley.

And with that, both Riley and Joy smiled, knowing that this trip surely would be one to remember.