Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Teddy Bears

He looked at her again, for reality hadn’t found him yet. She was incredibly fair, with dark hair and eyes to match. Her beauty was sure to make any girl mad with jealousy. She was, with no doubt, a heaven sent gift to him.
“John?” she questioned in her angelic voice.
“Hmm..?” He replied, looking up out of thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“You, my sweet Sarah. It’s always you.”
“Oh!” she said with a smile as she grasped his hand tighter. The park bench wasn’t the ideal place to sit, but it was the only place available to sit in the abandoned field. She inched closer to him, and held him closely. He moved his arm from her hand to her shoulders and adjusted himself to fit her needs.
“So beautiful…” John mumbled to himself as he placed his head upon her shimmering hair.
“What?” Sarah said, again confused.
“I’m just observing the moon, my dear.”
“It’s very beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, extremely” John said, confident that they weren’t on the same wavelength anymore.
“John, of all the days you have been alive, what one was your favorite?” Sarah asked.
“I cannot narrow it down to one….I have three.”
“Tell me them.”
“The first was the night I met you at the carnival, remember? And I was running the Ferris wheel. On my break, I met you and you told me how you loved the view from the top. So, I snuck you to the front and purposely pulled the stop lever so you could see the view. Sure, I lost my job, but I got the best prize. Remember?”
“Yes, my love, I remember.”
“And the second would be the night we got married. You looked so radiant walking down the aisle, and your smile lit up the church. And when you said ‘I do’ I felt complete. And how you kissed me swiftly and how I pulled you back. I carried you out of the church and into our limousine, and as they threw rice at us I told you how much I loved you. Remember that?”
“Yes,” Sarah said with a smile “and what about the third?”
“Tonight” John said bluntly.
“Tonight? Why would you pick tonight?”
“Because you make every night extraordinary, my love.”
Sarah looked at John, trying to read his face. He was usually easy to read, but tonight was especially difficult. Suddenly, she realized something strange.
“John, kiss me.”
“I…I…I can’t.”
“Well why not?”
'Because every second of every day I will be thinking of the time I kissed you, but felt nothing. Because, if I do kiss you, I will lose my sanity.' he thought. But he knew he could never tell her that.
“Because I’m coming down with a cold, and if I kiss you, I fear you will get it.”
Satisfied with the answer, Sarah smiled and replied. “Oh, ok. That makes sense.”
With a breath of relief, John checked his watch. The screen flashed 3:27 AM.
“I have to go now, Sarah.”
Her smile quickly faded. “I…suppose I understand.”
“I love you, Sarah.”
“I love you too, John. You know that.”
Without a second glance, John stood up and started walking home. He knew what he would see if he looked back, but he constantly fought the urge. He walked into the door and checked his watch yet again. The screen flashed 4:19. Knowing that sleeping would be useless, he went upstairs and prepared to take a shower. He got dressed and spent what seemed like hours picking out a suitable tie. He went downstairs to watch some T.V. As he looked at the clock on the lower right hand side of the screen, he realized that his daughter would be up soon. Instantly, John heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.
“Daddy, daddy!”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I had a dream last night.”
“What was is about, darling?”
“There was a teddy bear and another teddy bear. One was a boy and one was a girl. And they danced and danced all night long. And the boy teddy bear kissed the girl teddy bear goodnight. I really liked that dream.”
With a laugh, John said “I like that dream too, Madeline. Now we have to get dressed. It’s a big day today.”
John helped his four year old daughter into her dress and fixed her hair. She looked just like her mother, and people had constantly told them so. He buckled his daughter into the backseat, watched her grab her comfort toy, and pulled out of the driveway.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“You know how I have a Mr. Bear?”
“Yes, I know you have Mr. Bear.” Mr. Bear was Madeline’s stuffed animal her mother had bought for her when she went on a trip to Tennessee.
“Well, where’s your Mr. Bear, daddy?”
“I don’t need mine anymore, sweetie.”
“Why not?”
He thought for a moment and said “God told Daddy that he doesn’t need his comfort toy anymore.”
Madeline looked at her stuffed animal, then looked at her dad and said “If you don’t need yours, I don’t need mine.” She placed Mr. Bear on the floor of the car. John chuckled as he pulled into the parking lot and helped his daughter out of her car seat. They both walked into the building, hand in hand. Instantly, they were swarmed with sympathetic looks and hugs. “I’m so sorry” seemed to be the only words people knew. John led his daughter to the casket where he looked down to see a familiar face. He leaned down to kiss his love on the forehead. “My sweet Sarah…” John said as he kissed her cold, unmoving body.
“Daddy what are you doing?”
John picked up his daughter in one fast motion and explained.
“I’m kissing my teddy bear goodnight.”

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