Softy Bear

What's going on? Thought Softy Bear as he was passed from the large hands he knew to the much smaller hands he was unfamiliar with, I don't know if I like this.

“Thank you, dad.” Said the hands with a tone of doubt as if they were unsure on how to react.

“Don’t look so disappointed, son.’ Said the larger hands, ‘Softy will take great care of you. I’ve had him for years. Your great-grandma gave him to me before she passed away when I was about your age and now, I’m happy to give him to you. He’s a very special bear.”

Softy had fond memories of being held by the larger hands. Back when they weren’t so large. He remembered the day they met. It was many years ago, but he could still feel himself being passed from the delicate, frail hands to the soft, small hands. He still remembered that first squeeze and the happiness he felt upon receiving his name.

But with the good times also came the bad. He could remember his stuffing being soaked in tears for days for reasons he didn’t quite understand. He remembered being carried downstairs to be used as a pillow on the hard ground. Yet, through good times and bad, the hands never stopped squeezing him.

As time went by, the hands got bigger, but they never stopped holding him. There were the few hours during the day when the hands would leave him on the bed, but they would always return at night. Softy loved the night time. He also loved the summer time. During the summer, the hands never stopped holding him. Except for the one summer when they went to someplace different. He remembered being pulled away by mean, rough hands.

“What kind of sissy brings a Teddy bear to summer camp?” Those hands asked angerly.

Softy remembered his hands desperately trying to get him back. They tugged as hard as they could at his arm until it ripped off. The mean hands laughed and threw him back. That night, his stuffing was soaked in tears like it hadn’t been in a very long time. The next morning though, a gentle pair of hands picked up his torn arm and him before his hands woke up. They carefully sewed him back together then placed him back in bed.

His hands were startled awake and exclaimed, “Abigale! What’s going on!”

The gentle hands explained, “I heard about what happened yesterday and I felt bad. I knew that Chad could be a dick, but I didn’t think he would be that horrible. Anyway, I knew I had to do something, so I fixed your bear for you.”

“T-Thanks.’ His hands stammered. ‘You didn’t have to do that.”

The gentle hands laughed sweetly, “Yes I did. I could tell how much that guy mean to you. And anybody that can take care of a bear that long probably knows how to treat a lady right.”

After that summer, Softy didn’t get held as much by the hands. They were too busy holding the gentle hands. He didn’t mind though, for as long as his hands were happy, he was happy. He would still get the occasional squeeze “for luck” as he heard. After one squeeze, he was placed on a shelf and not picked up again for a very long time. He could no longer feel the hands, but he could hear them speak, “How could you do this to me?’ They would say, a quiver in their voice, ‘I thought what we had was special.”

He recognized the voice of the gentle hands saying loudly, “What? You thought just because I fixed your dead grandma’s bear that we would be together forever? God you’re pathetic.”

Both sets moved into the other room where he couldn’t make out the words, but there was yelling and screaming. Then a door slammed, and his hands came back to pick him up and squeezed him for the first time in ages. His hands placed him down gently then left as if searching for something. A short time later they retuned, hugged him then said, “As much as I hate to admit it, buddy, she’s right. It’s time for me to grow up a little. Don’t worry, I won’t ever forget about you.”

Softy remembered holding on to those words as he was lowered into the box. The lid was shut, and he was sealed in darkness. He had no hands to hold him, no voices to keep him company so he slept and hoped that one day his hands would need him again.

The next thing he remembered was the box being jostled around and the voice of his hands from the outside, “Where is it?’ They said, ‘I know I put that box up here somewhere.”

Softy wished he could call out to his hands, but he didn’t need to wish long, and the box was tore open and his hands pulled him out. “Ah-ha!’ His hands shouted, ‘Mom, I found him.”

From somewhere below an unknown set of hands yelled, “That’s great, Mitch. Now come back down before you get completely covered in cobwebs.”

His hands gave him a quick hug then said quietly, “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, buddy. I’ve got someone very special I want you to meet. Be sure to play nice.”

“What’s so special about this bear?” the new, smaller hands holding him asked.

“I didn’t always have the easiest childhood.’ His hands answered. ‘Softy was always there for me. He kept me safe from all the monsters under the bed. Even when I didn’t have a bed to sleep on. He was my pillow, my blanket, my protector, heck maybe my only friend. Long story short, son, Softy is a very good best friend and while he might not be as soft as he once was, he has been doing his job at protecting kids at night for a very long time and is very, very good at it.”

As his hands spoke, the smaller hands began to hold him a bit tighter and tighter. It had been a while since Softy had been squeezed like that and it felt nice. The smaller hands asked, “But won’t you miss having him around?”

His hands laughed and picked both he and the small hands up. They said, “See, bud, that’s the great thing about giving him to you. I get to have him around AND my favorite person in the world gets to enjoy his company. It’s what’s called a win-win for me.”

The smaller hands held him a bit tighter as they asked, “You promise you don’t mind?”

His hands put them both in bed and pulled a blanket up to cover them. “Of course not, son, nothing would make me happier than to see you two be as best friends as he and I were. It’s time for bed. Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.” Said his hands, giving him a big hug as they rolled over to go to sleep.