The Teddy Bear

Walking through the town one day, a day that feels like a lifetime ago, I spotted an unfamiliar shop in a familiar part of town. I hadn't noticed this shop before but I had the impression that it had been there a very long time.

Looking into the window, hundreds of faces looked back towards me. Black eyes. Brown noses. Some peaceful, some mourning, some looking rather perplexed.

Then there was one little guy at the front. His expression was one of hope.

He appeared scruffy and worn, yet he eyes told of a deep optimism that things could only get better.

He held a key around his neck, what it might open who knows, and was finished with a grossly oversized ribbon tied into a bow. A victim of a design choice that betrayed his proud integrity.

He drew my attention and held it for a several moments as I studied him before carrying on with my journey.

I'd return on several occasions over the coming months and years, peering in through the window at him. He was so captivating and yet I had no purpose for him. He'd be wasted if I was to offer him a home and denied that which he must be destined to have, a higher purpose in life.

Last night again I passed for the first time in many months and I noticed that he had been moved from his usual spot. I felt that I needed to see him better but it was late and the door was locked.

So I returned today.

I wasn't alone either, I'd brought James along with me. He'd never noticed the shop before and I introduced him to my little friend and he seemed underwhelmed.

He became further uninterested when we examined the price - £155!

We looked around and there were others who seemed nice, but they just weren't the same to me.

As we went to leave I asked if there would be others if he was sold and she replied that there wasn't anymore to have. He was special.

I had to hold him and as she passed him to me his fur was cool and soft. He was heavier than I imagined and had a very good posture. I had to resist holding him tightly against myself and instead begrudgingly handed him back.

We left the shop and we walked away but I knew that in that moment I had fallen deeply in love with him and the thought of him possibly not being there when I returned was torture.

What could I do though? What place could he have in my life?

And then James suggested that we got him for our little girl and suddenly it made perfect sense.

His patience, his knowing gaze, his higher purpose. It was only a matter of time before the wrongs in the world were righted and he'd be able to fulfill his duty. That time is now.

He's going to be a very significant figure in my daughters life. He's going to be her teddy bear.