Why does the teddy bear have to go?

The teddy bear placed a burnt match on a red napkin with yellow flowers.

"Why do you have to go, teddy bear?" the little boy in pajamas asked timidly, watching his teddy friend's every move with tear-filled eyes.

The teddy bear opened a red plastic drawer and took out a dark cloth. He marched the cloth halfway across the room and placed it carefully on the napkin next to the burnt match.

"Remember when I gave you that sweater, teddy bear?" the boy asked, pointing to the cloth.

"I remember, you don't forget things like that, my little friend," the bear said, then added, looking up at the ceiling. "No one has ever given me anything before...

" "I sewed this sweater myself, especially for you, teddy bear. I made it for almost an hour and had to steal Mommy's thread and needle because I wasn't allowed to play with them.

" "I was sitting next to you," the teddy bear began to reminisce, "and you kept trying on the sweater to see if it fit." It fit...

After these words, the bear looked at the carpet with its black eyes and scratched its head. After a moment, it recovered and moved again towards the drawer.

"Bear, do you really have to leave?

" "I have to," the bear announced. "It's my bear duty.

" "But why?!" sobbed the boy, whose reddened cheeks slowly dripped salty water.

"You're big, my little friend, you don't need a bear anymore...

" "But I need you!" the boy protested.

"Don't make it difficult, friend...

" "Friends don't leave, bear, you're not my friend!" the boy buried his head under the pillow and began to sob.

Hearing this, the bear approached the boy and sat on the edge of the bed. He patted his little friend's leg and asked,

"Why do you say that? I'll always be your friend...

" "You won't!" the boy screamed from under the pillow. "You're leaving me, you're leaving! Why, bear? Why?! He uncovered his head and looked into the bear's coal-black eyes.

"You're already a big boy," the bear said. "My little friend. For now, you still believe in me, but someday you will. You will stop believing in me, you will stop talking to me, then you will be an adult, and I will no longer be your friend, but a piece of cloth with wadding inside.

" "I will believe in you, bear!

" "You say that now, but believe me, I am an old, wise bear and I know about life."

The rays of the morning sun streamed through the window into the room. The birds chirped louder and louder, announcing the dawn of a new, beautiful day full of the wonders of life.

"I don't want to leave you either, little friend, but that is every bear's duty. You will talk to me, but I will no longer be able to answer. That is the bear law.

" "Who established this law, bear?"

The bear didn't answer. He didn't know who had established this rule. He only knew that abandoning the boy was his teddy bear duty, one that was ingrained in every teddy bear's subconscious.

The bear jumped off the bed and marched on straight paws to his personal teddy bear drawer, which the boy had once given him – this was the second thing the boy had given him, and he was very grateful for it. He stuck his paw inside and pulled out an old, tarnished coin; a few moments later, it was lying on the dark sweater.

"Do you want to take much with you, teddy bear?

" "No, I'll just take the bare necessities." As he spoke, he tossed the cap of the banana-orange juice onto a napkin. "I don't need much; I'm just a teddy bear, after all.

" "Here, teddy bear," the boy jumped off the bed and took another matchbox from the drawer, which he handed to the teddy bear. "Take this little box too, I'm sure you'll need it." Remember how I painted them especially for you with glow-in-the-dark markers, so you wouldn't be afraid when you were alone in the dark?

"I remember... Thank you, little friend, now I won't be afraid at night, because this light will protect me from evil ghosts," the bear announced philosophically.

"Don't you want my shoelace?

" "No, I don't... I'm a bear, I don't have shoes, and besides, I couldn't tie them," the bear smiled and took a rubber band from his personal drawer, which he wrapped around a glow-in-the-dark matchbox.

"Teddy bear, tell me what else can I give you?

" "I don't want anything anymore..." the bear replied.

"Or maybe... anything."

The bear scratched his chin, then wiped his eyes and said,

"I'd really like a button. A small one, with four holes in it... Just like the one on your pajamas," the bear pointed to the button. "A button like that will be very useful on my bear journey."

"Why do you need a button on your bear's journey?" the boy asked, trying to tear him away from his pajamas.

"I don't know..." he replied. "My little bear mind tells me the button will be useful on my bear's journey. Because you know, little friend, a teddy bear is like a button; it has to be tied to something, because when it's not, no one needs it. It's the same with people, my little, now big friend."

So the boy used all his strength and broke the thread. He handed the button to the bear, who examined it carefully and said,

"That's a beautiful button... I'm sure it will come in handy. Someday I'll tie it to something and it won't be so lonely, but for now we'll be two lost souls... You know, my little friend, I've always wanted a buddy I could talk to when it's cold and rainy outside, a buddy who'll tell me what to do when I don't know what to do. Do you understand? Your button will be that kind of buddy..."

He placed the gift on top of the most necessary things, and then very slowly and carefully, he grabbed each corner of the napkin and tied them together in a single knot. This was a huge challenge, because teddy bears don't have fingers. Now his package resembled a red onion with yellow flowers, which the teddy bear noticed with great amusement.

"My little friend," the teddy bear said, "believe in magic, because without believing in the impossible, you'll become just another worthless body. Even when I'm gone, be a magician, just as you are now... Believe in miracles and create them; it's easy if you just try.

" "Yes, teddy bear, I'll be a magician!" the boy sobbed. "And I'll never forget you!" "If, as you say, you believe in magic, you won't forget me..." the teddy bear

lied.

He took a red crayon from the teddy bear's personal drawer and walked with it to the package containing the most necessary things. He had trouble connecting the tied horns to the crayon, so he asked the boy for help. After all, the bear's paws weren't as agile as the boy's, and besides, the bear, as I mentioned, had no fingers. When they finally solved the problem, the teddy bear said,

"Well... Time to go, the bear's journey awaits...

" "Where will you go now, bear?" asked the boy, who could no longer hold back his tears and burst into tears.

"Far... I'll go where every bear must go, because it's his bear duty and it's established by bear law that he must go there...

" "Tell me!

" "I'll go to the attic," the bear announced, then picked up the crayon and its package and rested it on his teddy bear's shoulder.

"It really is far," the boy added with conviction. "Mommy never lets me go there..."

But the bear knew it was far; sometimes he even thought it was too far. He didn't want to go where he had to go, but at the same time, it was his teddy bear duty to obey the teddy bear law.

The bear would go to the attic... Into oblivion.

"Believe in magic... Remember what I taught you..."

Those were the teddy bear's last words. He was gone.

***

Soon, the boy sneaked into the attic, out of sight of his mother, and found the teddy bear resting between the old train set and the plastic Christmas tree the family always decorated for Christmas Eve. Next to the teddy bear was the package he'd brought with him, and around its neck was a rubber band with a button tied to it. The boy wanted to talk to his old friend, but the teddy bear didn't answer.