It was brown, small, fragile and had a cute hat and scarf on. I named him Dylan -- after a cute boy in my school, with dark blue eyes, brown hair, an awkward yet warm smile -- Oh yeah! He was hot! And I had a crush on him. My bear, my Dylan was just sitting there, silent, quiet and vulnerable. It’s dark eyes, staring back at me -- or were they? I picked him up and hugged him tightly. I felt his warmth against me and his fur was so protective. “I love your hugs,” I said to him as if to expect an answer. I felt something under his scarf, something cold, pointy -- a zipper. I had never seen that before and I was curious. I carefully opened the zipper on its chest and put a hand inside, at first feeling the stuffing, then I felt something! I found a heart -- shiny, silver heart with a long chain, it was a necklace. It felt cold in my hands and it was so shiny, my temptation to wear it came about. I put the heart pendant on and it looked beautiful. I showed it off to my reflection and smiled, wondering who’s it was.

Fortunately it opened, and I read aloud, “To you, love daddy.” At that moment, instantly I realized my father was dead, gone.



Tears, sobs -- I should be crying by now, but I’m not sad. I expected a reality far worse than that of my father’s death. I felt cold, as if I was greeted by the Grim Reaper. I looked into the bear’s eyes, “so you tell me my father’s dead -- lets move on.” I still awaited an answer, knowing I wouldn’t get one and I didn’t care. The next week and so on, Dylan seemed hotter than ever. He waved at me from the lunch table at the far end of the cafeteria, surrounded by anorexic girls. “Oh no, he’s coming over…” was the last thing I remembered saying to myself, before I woke up to my father’s voice. “Wake up sweetie, it’s your birthday today, you’re eleven.” I jumped off of my bed to hug a figure known as my father -- he had dark eyes, a small, round nose and a sweet smile. As I approached him, I woke up again to the real voice of my husband, “Jamie, wake up it’s your birthday today, you’re thirty-one.” I opened my eyes to see a man with dark blue eyes, brown hair, an awkward yet warm smile -- Dylan! I hugged him tightly and looked around the bedroom to see my bear, with a hat and a scarf on but an eye was missing. I expected no less, he had on the same expression as he did twenty years ago, but this time -- he smiled an eldritch smile.