This was quick freewrite, exapnded off of a dream I had. It probably needs a lot of work...but...ehh...
Serena
Serena’s feet made fleshy padding noises on the cool floor as she shuffled out of bed. The worn out boards groaned under her weight with each step closer to the door. She had heard a noise from the middle of her small home and, being the curious child she was, decided to check it out. She was of the opinion, that, since her parents would never wake up to such a soft sound, it was her duty to investigate. She rounded a corner into her living room and stopped. In her very own living room, standing in the slants of moonlight projected from the shades, was the dull outline of an animal. A stuffed animal, to be precise; and it was standing by its own, it’s back towards her. Serena took a hesitant step forward, and a fleshy plod broke the silence. The stuffed animal slowly revolved to face her. It was a teddy bear, complete with two black button eyes, a blank stretch of fabric where a nose should’ve been, and a simple “X” for a mouth. Serena was intoxicated with the wonder of it. The charm of the thing by far exceeded that of which she had ever seen before. The black button eyes gazed vacantly back, betraying no emotion. The bear stretched it’s finely made paw to its mouth and stared blankly- almost sadly on.
“Can you not talk my stitched wonder?”
Not a word, nor emotion. What a sad creature. Alive and thinking, but restrained; restricted from even the most basic of rights, freedom taken away without due process of law: A slave to its own body. Serena advanced on the wondrous, forsaken creature and took it into her palm. She patted back to her bedroom, flipped on a light, and began to rummage through a drawer one handed. When she stopped, she had produced a needle and thread in the rummaging hand. After threading the needle, she lay the bear down on her bed, bending over him in concentration.
First, she undid what she presumed to be a binding mouth, the “X”. She replaced this with an open, talkative, cheerful smile and looked down on her work in pride.
“What will you say, now that you have a mouth to say with?”
There was a pause, and the bear remained, lying motionless with black eyes on the ceiling.
“Nothing, I will say nothing, for what has a bear to say in a world of people? I am content with the fact that if I had a brain to form an opinion with, I might speak it aloud for those to know. This is my happiness.”
“But what will you do with the mouth I have slaved to embroider upon you?”
“Smile upon you with- the reminder of an achievement- as long as you choose to own me. And, if sadness ever befalls you, I will be at your sleeping side with comforts to whisper into your unknowing ear.”
The girl- now feeling like quite a little one- snuggled under her covers and shed a tear for the freedoms all of the talking teddy bears would never have.
Serena
Serena’s feet made fleshy padding noises on the cool floor as she shuffled out of bed. The worn out boards groaned under her weight with each step closer to the door. She had heard a noise from the middle of her small home and, being the curious child she was, decided to check it out. She was of the opinion, that, since her parents would never wake up to such a soft sound, it was her duty to investigate. She rounded a corner into her living room and stopped. In her very own living room, standing in the slants of moonlight projected from the shades, was the dull outline of an animal. A stuffed animal, to be precise; and it was standing by its own, it’s back towards her. Serena took a hesitant step forward, and a fleshy plod broke the silence. The stuffed animal slowly revolved to face her. It was a teddy bear, complete with two black button eyes, a blank stretch of fabric where a nose should’ve been, and a simple “X” for a mouth. Serena was intoxicated with the wonder of it. The charm of the thing by far exceeded that of which she had ever seen before. The black button eyes gazed vacantly back, betraying no emotion. The bear stretched it’s finely made paw to its mouth and stared blankly- almost sadly on.
“Can you not talk my stitched wonder?”
Not a word, nor emotion. What a sad creature. Alive and thinking, but restrained; restricted from even the most basic of rights, freedom taken away without due process of law: A slave to its own body. Serena advanced on the wondrous, forsaken creature and took it into her palm. She patted back to her bedroom, flipped on a light, and began to rummage through a drawer one handed. When she stopped, she had produced a needle and thread in the rummaging hand. After threading the needle, she lay the bear down on her bed, bending over him in concentration.
First, she undid what she presumed to be a binding mouth, the “X”. She replaced this with an open, talkative, cheerful smile and looked down on her work in pride.
“What will you say, now that you have a mouth to say with?”
There was a pause, and the bear remained, lying motionless with black eyes on the ceiling.
“Nothing, I will say nothing, for what has a bear to say in a world of people? I am content with the fact that if I had a brain to form an opinion with, I might speak it aloud for those to know. This is my happiness.”
“But what will you do with the mouth I have slaved to embroider upon you?”
“Smile upon you with- the reminder of an achievement- as long as you choose to own me. And, if sadness ever befalls you, I will be at your sleeping side with comforts to whisper into your unknowing ear.”
The girl- now feeling like quite a little one- snuggled under her covers and shed a tear for the freedoms all of the talking teddy bears would never have.
