The Gift

Story by KyL T. Cobb, Jr.

Art by Marian T. Perry

On a high shelf in Circe's toy shop, sat a small stuffed bear. From a distance, it looked quite like an ordinary toy. With closer examination the keen eye would be able to discern just how special the little bear was.

Its ginger skin was made of the finest imitation fur. Its small blue eyes sparkled with joy at every person that passed its way. The protruding snout of the bear rested firmly over its Cheshire smile. A small, scarlet bow-tie accented the bear's natural appeal as it hung loosely about his neck. Each stitch on the little one's body was stitch made lovingly by hand. The semi-circles that formed its ears had been painstakingly attached so they not only stood erect, but they gave the small one the appearance of attentive listening. Long hours of labor had gone into the creation of this unique, although neglected, treasure.

For many years, the small bear had rested on this high self and each day the store owner would climb up the ladder to gently clean the little one. As the smiling bear stared down at the store below, he patiently watched customers moving about like ants. They would dash in to purchase the latest in vogue toys for their children. Whether it was a car that transformed into a spaceship or one of seven thousand different styles of Barbie-dolls, they always seemed to find the toy that they were looking for.

The bear never seemed to be the right one.

One bright spring day, as the bear stared blankly through the shop's window, a woman entered the store with a little girl. As they moved through the shop, the discontentment of the girl became evident to the watcher from the top shelf. Repeatedly, the woman dressed in ebony prompted the girl to get whatever she wanted.

The lady coaxed the girl to the vast selection of dolls on the third aisle. The despondent little girl stared on blankly. The duo moved to the toy soldiers. The red-coats stood at attention hoping that they would be selected. The G.I. Joe action figures, though a great deal smaller than in years past, rested smugly on their shelf fully expecting to be selected. The girl was unimpressed.

 "That young lady looks so sad," would have thought the little bear if such things were possible.

The girl continued to be parade through the shop by the woman. At each stop along the way, the young miss glared mournfully on. The expression on the face of the older woman grew grimmer as the quest for a toy failed to yield results.

"What I wouldn't give to see that little girl smiling," mused the bear to himself.

At just about that time, the girl looked up through her loose yellow curls and saw the chestnut colored toy on the top shelf. Her eyes began to sparkle and a faint smile emerged.

The bear danced inside to see the new life in the depressed little girl.

The store owner slowly placed the ladder beneath the bear. Up the ladder the owner went. Rung by rung, the old proprietor drew closer to the bear.

"Could this be it," the bear thought. "At last will I have someone to love?"

The owner gently grasped bear and descended the ladder.

From the moment the bear was handed to the little girl, they danced inside. She drew the bear tight to her breast and a tear began to roll down her cheek.

The store owner went behind the counter and over to the register. Fumbling over the keys of the register, at last the transaction was completed. The woman gave the owner some scraps of paper and at last the bear was free.

As the trio made their way to the door, the owner called out, "Good-bye my little friend may you always find joy in your new home."

With each step closer to the door, the little bear grew more afraid. He didn't remember just what the outside world was like. Sure he had seen it through the shop's windows, but that was always from the safety of his shelf. His shelf... For so many years, the shelf had been his home. Now it was gone forever. No, not forever. If he didn't like his new home, he would come back to Circe's store.

Just as the bear had reassured himself of the situation, the shop door swung open. The warm spring air rushed about him. "This is the world!" thought the bear rather loudly. Gleefully he starred up in the eyes of the little girl. Her eyes were fixed on him. As their eyes met, the bear forgot about the wonderment of the world around him.

The bear had never known love before, but as he looked into the blue eyes of his new friend he knew that he would love her. Her warm arms still crushed him against her. But he didn't mind at all. As the bear delved deeper into the girl's eyes, he knew that there was something very wrong with the young lady. There was deep pain that marred her outward beauty. If the bear had had the power to cry, he would have.

Before the duo realized it, they were at the mother's car. As they boarded the sleek red vessel, the bear thought to himself, "I wonder what kind of spaceship this one becomes..." After reflecting on this point for a matter of moments, the bear decided that this had been a foolish question. He remembered that until just a few years ago cars didn't become anything else. They were simply used to move things and not to battle the forces of evil.

As the car made its way to its unknown destination the bear marveled at the world whizzing by. Even with all the spectacular images passing by the windows, the bear repeatedly found himself thinking about the little girl that held him.

The vehicle at last came to a halt.

"Jane...We're home," goaded the mother. "Let's take you new friend an show him your room."

The trip about the house was short-lived and not at all what the bear expected. Unenthusiastically, Jane marched from the car to the door. The wide-eyed bear paid careful attention to every detailed that danced before him. Nothing would escape the bear's observation as the couple entered into the kitchen area from the outside world.

What incredible aromas the kitchen held! There was food enough to feed the entire red coat army. No several armies. On the counters rested hams and turkeys and roasts all temptingly lying about. Next to the carnivorous feast, an abundance of cakes and torts vigilantly stood as a warning not to eat too much meat. Crowded among the desserts, a plethora of vegetable loudly protested that good nutrition was a necessary evil. But what could have been the most incredible smell of all the stuffed bear was the smell of the fresh honey from Mr. Neville's bee hives. The jar of the honey sat ominously next to some rather freshly baked biscuits that lay on the counter.

The kitchen was also a very crowded place the bear observed. There were lots of people all seeming to mill about. Just prior to the bear's entrance, there had been a flurry of chatter from the chamber. The appearance of the girl and her new friend casts an eerie silence across the room.

The little girl's pace and pulse quicken as she dashed from the kitchen and up the golden carpeted stairs. As the bear bounded about with each step of the ascension, hordes of people in the next room revealed their presence. Along the walls adjacent to the staircase hung pictures of men that the bear didn't quite recognize. The bear decided that the pictures must be of very great men like the Kentucky Colonel whose picture had been prominently placed across from Circe's.

At the top of the stairs, rested a portrait of another man. The bear knew that somehow this portrait was different. Beneath the base of the portraits rested a rainbow of flowers of all shapes and descriptions. There were carnations and chrysanthemums and orchids galore. And each one of these flowers pointed to the importance of the man in the painting.

The girl paused for a moment by the picture. Tears began to stream down her cheek as she dashed down the shadowy corridor to what the bear presumed was her room. Flinging open the door and then slamming it shut behind her the young miss rocketed toward the relative safety of her bed.

The bear now was very concerned about his new friend. Even though he had only been with Jane for an hour, that hour seemed like his entire life. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but now just didn't seem to be the right time.

Finally the bear got up the courage to say, "If there is anything I can do, I would love to help you." But because stuffed bears can't talk, the only sound within the room was Jane's gentle sobbing.

Yet somehow, the tearful child heard the bear and her grip tightened. She then leaned her wet face against the bear's shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

As the bear lay beside the sleeping girl, his eyes moved about the room. From this vantage point, the bear could see a large dresser resting next to the wall. The dresser was littered with cards and pictures and things that the bear couldn't quite identify. Carefully, the tiny bear studied the portraits. There were pictures of the young miss as a cheerleader. There was a picture of a movie star that appeared to have been torn from a magazine. There was also a picture of his girl with her mother and the man from the picture.

"That must be her owner," thought the bear.

Moments blended into hours and soon Jane returned from Morpheus' realm. Sluggishly she stared at the bear. Lovingly, the bear stared back. Gently her hand stroked his fur. A faint smile slowly crested her lips.

"I'm sorry, my friend... I still haven't given you a name. What kind of name would you like?" prompted Jane.

"A name?!?" thought the bear rather loudly. "I've never had one of those before!"

Without giving the bear a chance to answer, the blonde asserted that the bear's name would hence forth be "Droug."

If it was possible, a wrinkle of inquisition would have crossed emerged on the bear forehead. His eye brow would have cocked to prompt an explanation from his person.

Almost instinctively, Jane responded, "I think that's an absolutely wonderful name for you, my fine friend. It will be my special name for you. I created it just for you."

The two held each other firmly in their arms and their friendship grew.

For years the duo were constant companions. Each morning would begin with Jane rolling over, facing the small one beside her, and saying "Good morning, my dear Droug. You're looking mighty fine today. Shall we go and face the world?"

The little bear would always silently smile and would never offer any objections.

Times were hard for the little girl and her mother. The death of her father had been difficult yet they struggled through it. When the bill collectors would come, Jane and her bear would stand their ground and insist that the visitor act sociable. When her mother went to work, Jane did her part by cleaning the house and preparing dinner.

Droug always looked lovingly on.

Slowly, the girl grew into a beautiful young woman. At some point, the traditional "good morning" stopped. The little bear frowned inside but always maintained a cheerful facade. Even when spring cleaning had thrust him from his position on the bed to a shelf in the top of Jane's closet, Droug had held his tongue.

After that point he saw Jane less and less. Small eternities would pass in between her visits. As the little bear sat in the dark closet, he wondered what had become of his friend. Had he done something wrong? Had he hurt her? Was she in need of his help?

At last, the bear no longer saw Jane at all. His only visitor was now the grey-haired mother that had first brought Jane into his life. Each day, the old woman would come into the room and open the bear's closet and stare intensely at the clothes.

Occasionally, she would remove a dress from its wire hanger and grasp it intensely as beads of moisture formed in her eyes. Silently, the bear wept with her. He also missed the little girl that had grown up before him. As suddenly as the mother came she would depart.

Sometimes she neglected to close the door and the bear looked out into the room. The hundreds of frilly things that had once littered the room were gone. The colorful carousel had been replaced by an artificial flower arrangement. The posters of "telvizon" stars were superseded by sophisticated copies of paintings by someone named Monet. His room had changed before his eyes and yet, the little one still forced himself to smile.

One day, even the mother failed to come to see the bear.

The small brown one grew worried as he peered over his snout through the crack in the door. Had he also driven her away? Was he so wretched that even the old woman wanted nothing to do with him?

While it was true that his ginger skin had turned to a pale gray over the years, he knew that his gentle disposition more than compensated from the physical degradation. His blue eyes peered out from the darkness for any clue to current dilemma.

At last his drooping ears captured sound from downstairs. There seemed to be a great deal of confusion and activity. "Was it some form of party?" he would have thought. Soon the noise subsided and the bear was again submerged into silence.

Hours later as the bear stared blankly through the crack in the door, a woman entered into the room. As she moved through the bedroom, the discontentment of the woman became evident to the watcher from the top shelf. Slowly, the woman dressed in ebony lowered herself onto the little girl's bed.

The despondent woman stared blankly at a photograph on the dresser beside her.

"That woman looks so sad," thought the little bear.

The woman's eyes wandered about the room. Her grim expression grew darker with each passing moment. Her strained red-eyes, played host to pools of moisture that were forming.

"What I wouldn't give to see that woman smiling," mused the bear to himself.

At just about that time, the woman looked up through her loose golden curls to the closet. Lethargically she rose and made her way to the closet. Opening the door, her eyes probed the shadows. At last, she saw the faded-chestnut colored toy on the top shelf. Her eyes began to sparkle and a faint smile emerged.

The bear danced inside to see the new life in the depressed woman.

"Good morning, my dear Droug. You're looking mighty fine today. Shall we go and face the world?"

The girl gently grasped bear and moved back to the bed. She drew the bear tight to her breast and a tear began to role down her cheek. The bear now was very concerned about his old friend. Even though it had been forever since he had seen her, this instant had bridged the gap. He wanted to tell her how he felt but now just didn't seem to be the right time.

Finally the bear said, "If there is anything I can do, I would love to help you. You are my friend and I love you." But because stuffed bears can't talk, the only sound within the room was Jane's gentle sobbing.

Yet somehow, the tearful woman heard the bear and her grip tightened. She then leaned her wet face against the bear's shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

By KyL T. Cobb, Jr.

Art by Marian Perry