A quote: “A bear teaches us that if the heart is true, it doesn’t matter much if an ear drops off.” ~~ Helen Exley
I’ll start with a story …
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His name was Ryan – because I was 3 and I lisped.
Ryan never complained about being dragged by a paw, or dressed for tea, or having a Popsicle melt in his lap. He kept watch as I slept. No underbed monster would chance his fierce, amber glance.
I would have other bed companions to keep watch. None as loyal, I’m afraid.
When the last mourners leave and I’m alone in my childhood home, I discover Ryan in the back of a closet. Threadbare, lumpy and smelling of mothballs, I take him to bed, falling asleep under those watchful amber eyes.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, by Greyerbaby, Pixabay license.
Cameron says: Since losing her mother, she hadn’t slept well. She woke up crying from the nightmares. I knew drugs wouldn’t help and taking her on a trip would be pointless. I only had one option left.
He was old and well loved. When I was little, I’d squeeze him at night and in my dreams I’d watch him attack the monsters.
“Hey, buddy,” I whispered as I picked him up. “Can you please help her like you did me?” I saw a glimmer of acknowledgment in those eyes and I brought him to her. The bad dreams stopped that night for good.
Fletch says: The policeman had taken mama away last year. Grandma said she’d been making messy amphetamine and the policeman hadn’t liked that at all.
But she never walked alone, because Leo went with her. “You better not mess with me,” she would say, “because I have a lion.” One swipe of his paw would destroy them all. Just one growl and they would disappear like smoke.
She kept telling herself that: that he would protect her; that he would keep her safe. At last, she sat Leo down on the step, “I wonder how many more days before mama comes home?”
Brian Brandt says: They asked me to take the little bear over to the check point.
So they fed me and said they were sorry about what happened to my mother and father. So I did what they asked me to, and . . . .
Even a small bear is not to be trifled with. They should not have tried to get in through that window.
Yeah, it defies what we think possible, but when I investigate a scene I let the evidence speak for itself, I don’t tell it what should have happened. There were the blood trails from outside the window back to the car, the unmistakable claw and tooth marks at the ER, and her repeated “my Teddy protected me” when we asked. And the perps’ wild story.
I didn’t write it up that way: “they got hurt trying to break in…”
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