My smile is sewn on, my eyes bright and glassy, blank and forever staring straight and I was in love. My hair is vibrant pink with circles of neon blue, purple, and orange smothering my whole body. My arms and legs rest stiffly and I'm unable to move by myself. I sit in a cage everyday, I am stuck behind a glass case that is always smudged by the fingerprints of sticky four year olds and their snot dripped noses. It’s a show. Everyday I sit in this box along with others like me who all await the dreadful day the shiny piece of hell, or as the Moms of the snot nosed kids call it “The Claw”, pick us up and send us off. Children come up and point at all of us screaming about which one of my friends they want to be theirs. And then it starts, the god awful music pierces our ears and we hold our breaths, as the shiny piece of hell glides and dangles right above our heads, before the blonde haired girl presses the red button and we know she is ready to claim her prize.

    We all hold our breaths as Martha the walrus, my best friend, gets lifted up and whisked away to the hole to her new owner.  My heart sank and as I hear the announcer claim “Winner!” I know that Martha is gone. The blonde haired girl slung Martha over her shoulder and walked away, and as I saw her walking out the door I whispered, “Bye Martha.” My other best friend, Mitch,  was resting next to me, he was obviously heartbroken, no matter how happy he looked. Mitch was always there for me and Martha, they were the first friends I made. Along with Alex. Alex was the most handsome bear there. He was blue and had just as many splotches of color as I did. We were inseparable, we were always next to each other, until that one day, that one horrible day. A little boy walked up, his blue eyes glistened in the lights from the cage and claimed Alex as his own. I loved him, we were in love and I knew not to fall for him, I knew that this wouldn't work, I thought we were going to have longer together. But Alex was gone, and I was stuck here. That was forever ago, I swear I could still picture him sitting with us at night telling us about what he thinks out there is like. He always had this imagination that no one understood, and everyone thought he was crazy. But I swear the way his voice changed and his eyes lit up, he was a dreamer. He was something else, but now he is being something else out there with a blue eyed boy who could never understand Alex like I could.

    It was dark outside, and this always signals the humans to leave or something, Alex always said that humans were going to the coffee shop. Whatever that is. He said he heard a mom saying that it was getting late and that's where she was going one time. From then on, that's what I believed. Coffee shops sound way cooler than a night here. Alex always said how he planned to sneak out and spend a night with the humans.  Night is usually the best for us animals but Mitch and I sat in silence, usually we would talk about other animals in the cage but tonight we were silent. The last of the bright flashing arcade lights turned dark and the humans left for the coffee shop.  I offered him a chance to talk but he just sat there and looked out at the darkness and the floating white thing in the sky. Alex always called it a cupcake, he pretty much knew what everything was. He was the smartest of the group. I whispered to Mitch, trying to do anything I could to get him to talk, to know that he was okay.

“Hey...Mitch I'm so so sorry about Martha...I know she was really important to you..us...she was important to us.” I tried to start something, Mitch is never quiet.

“Yea she was something huh” His monotonous voice made it quite clear that he was not in the mood to talk and I wasn't helping.
“If you need anything..just let me know..ya know”

“Mhm, thanks Mel.”

    The next morning was quiet. No one said anything as the lights turned on and the humans raced around before more came in. I sat, and sat, and sat some more, I continued sitting and sat until I thought I couldn't anymore but I still sat. People mosied on in and passed our machine eyeing it, but no one tried to claim us. That is until this little brown haired girl with blue eyes ran up to our machine, entered her coins and began the music with a frightening look of determination across her face. The claw was moving wildly as the girls determined eyes focused in on me and I knew I was the one she wanted. And that was it, the claw started lowering coming closer and closer and as I felt its presence right above my pink furry head I pictured Alex being pulled up, as it pulled me up, dragging me to be claimed. No no please no I can't leave yet I'm not ready Mitch will be all alone, I can't go yet, I can't, I can't, this isn't how it's supposed to end. No please no. I was in the hole, and as she punched her fist into the curtained slot and laid her sticky hand on my head, she groped my ear and yanked me out, claiming me, as her prize.

    She ran to her mom who couldn't be bothered to even act like she was even happy that her daughter ripped me from the only home I knew and she stuffed me into a dark room. Oh god Im dead, I died, this is death, this is that dark place, I don't deserve this, I need Alex. While laying on my left side seeing complete darkness a patch of light appeared and I realized that the even more sticky hands were back. God does she know that her hands are going to get stuck in my fur. She is something. She pulled  me out but I recognized the place, we were still in the arcade. She held me way too tight against her chest, little kids ran amongst us yelling things I'd never heard before.

“Mooommmm looookk att the beeaaarrrr” this kid whined and pointed at the giant bear a little girl was carrying. I was carried around for the rest of the day, I was dropped a total of 19 times and one time in soda, I think. All I could do was smile and stare forward. Finally, the girls mom walked up to us and told the girl that it was time to go home. I felt this girls chest puff up and release a horrible noise that I couldn't distinguish. Alex always called these a snort. But somehow I didn't think that was right. We started heading towards the door, she held her moms hand and was dragging me behind her.

“Ally you are getting your bear all dirty! Pick it up!” She sounded more irritated than she looked.

“But Moom where is Aideennnnn?” She snorted a lot, she was good at it, I could tell.

“He is comin’ out with Daddy, We’re just gettin’ in the car.”

Im not sure what a car is, but what we got put into was like a giant bug. Ally got lifted to her seat, buckeled in and I got placed on her lap. She squeezed me tight against her and laid back, I could feel her fall asleep. As for the mom, she used this time to light some stick hanging out of her mouth. Whatever that was. She also pulled out this square from her back pocket as the brother and Dad came strolling out of the arcade.

“Alright Aiden, your mother texted me and told me that Ally is already asleep so for the love of God please don't wake her up getting yourself buckled.” The Dads tone was nicer, he didn't look as mad as the Mom had. She scared me.

“I won't, I’ll be suuuupppeerrrr quiet.” Aiden gave his Dad a thumbs up and walked around to the other side of the bug and climbed in. 

    The bug roared to life and as we pulled out of the parking lot, I knew that this was really the last time I was going to see my home. I wondered where Alex was, if he was this scared when he got taken. I wondered if he got held like I was being held and if his new human was nice. I wondered if he missed me, or Mitch. I wondered if he still had his bright blue fur or if it was dirty. I couldn't help but think about the first time I met him. I was thrown by a human into the pit and landed right on top of him. I couldn't move until that night but I still remember it perfectly like this was yesterday.

“Omigod I'm so sorry I landed on you, I wouldve moved if I could have moved my butt, but I didnt and Im so sorry.” I was so panicked this wasn't starting off well.

“ Hey, its alright Im just glad it was you that landed on me and not Mitch over here I don't think I would've survived if Mitch's body slammed into mine with reckless abandon, but you're fine, you're soft. Here, meet the rest of the gang, oh wait, Mitch.. Mitch pay attention we are meeting our new friend, what's your name lil’ pink bear?” Alex’s voice was pure bliss, he was already perfect.

“ Melissa, my name is Melissa Im new...like straight out of the box of other stuffed animals new.”

“ I'm going to call you Mell, Melissa is too fancy, we are not a fancy clan, but we are all we have and over here we have Martha and Mitch.” And from that day on, I went by Mell.

    From that day on Alex was my best friend, and the bear I loved the most.

    The bug pulled into the long piece of road coming to a smaller building, it was dark so I had to assume this was the coffee shop Alex talked about. The mom turned around and whispered to Aiden,

“Aiden, Sweetie, I'm going to carry your sister in, can you please grab her bear and other toys out of the car and put them on the couch and then go rinse your hands for dinner?”

“Okay!,” He answered so cheerfully, “ Are we having the dinosaurs?”

“Sure, just make sure you wash your hands extra good, germs are not our friends” If only the mom knew how many germs were probably on me  she’d freak out. Whatever germs are. They probably have a lot of friends, that's why they aren't their friends.  As the giant moving bug came to a stop and Aiden carefully pulled me off Ally’s lap, walked inside, turned on the light and placed me down on a soft cushion. I can only assume that this was the couch. I watched Aiden walk into the kitchen with the Dad following and the Mom holding Ally. I heard this noise, like a whisper, something so soft that I thought I was losing my mind. I looked over as soon as everyone was away and saw this blue blob sitting on the couch. What is that? why is it here who leaves a blob on the couch. Why is it moving, ohmigod blobs don't move..wait...wait it's Alex! Alex is the blue blob! I started shaking and Alex slid a little ways towards me and talked so softly,

“Mell! no way Mell! I thought I lost you, I was so alone, I swear that boy tried to kill me. How did you get here?!?” He was whispering so fast I swear he wasn't speaking bear.  I couldn't even understand him at times. I explained how I got picked and brought here and I had no idea where he was and how much I missed him.

“Alex, I promised myself that if I ever somehow got to see you again I would tell you that I love you and you make me complete, I thought I was never going to see you, I've missed you so much, I love you, I love you.” Alex looked so happy and I knew that we were going to be happy here and together forever.

     I listened to his stories for hours, we had so much to catch up on. He told me how he missed me everyday he was gone and I told him how Martha was taken yesterday. He told me how Aiden carried him around everywhere they went and that he has seen things that were so amazing that he loved being out. I smiled and gazed upon his blue fur and couldn't of been happier. Finally, everything was perfect, he was here and he was mine, I was his. We were going to live here, with Ally and Aiden and be together till the end. It was so dark outside I figured everyone was asleep. That is until this mass, this growling, drooling mess jumped onto the couch and walked over to Alex and I. We played bear and laid still. The mass’ head grazed over my right ear and went over Alex’s head. In one swift moment it picked up Alex, his entire head in his mouth and started jerking him from side to side shredding Alex to bits. His insides came out and flew across the floor, I watched in horror unable to move or say anything. No, no, no, put him down. God what are you doing, no! no! no! please no!

    The light flickered on and there was the Mom standing in a purple fuzzy looking cloth. Her hair was off her face and she had bunny foot gear on. So inappropriate to wear around, parading in what could've been my sister or something. 

“Buddy! What are you doing! Bad dog, bad dog!” The dog stopped, holding Alex, or what was left in his mouth and sat. The mom walked over and put the dog outside and came back to the remains of what was the love of my life.

“ Aw poor teddy,” she sighed and called for her husband,” Matt, can you please get Aiden.”

“Break it gently to him, he loved that thing.”

So did I.

Aiden walked in and immediately ran to the massacred mess of Alex and began crying.

“Noooo Moomm my bear! How could you let this happeeennn?”
“Hunny, you know Buddy is newer to the family, we have to train him, I'm so sorry, we can bury your bear tomorrow” The mom got a plastic bag and started picking up the pieces of Alex and as Aiden kneeled by the scene of the murder I sat there, my smile sewn on, my eyes bright and glassy, blank and forever staring straight and I was in love.