It was a cold Wednesday morning. She was returning back from Newroad. As always, she went to Shankata and it was then, she found him.
There he was, so beautiful, so pure and as white as snow. The moment she laid her eyes on him, she knew he belonged to her. She took him home, wrapped him in a blanket or left him by the window.
Her room was small but bright. The mixture of pink and light green gave a girly feel to the room. Soft toys and picture frames arranged neatly on the side of the bed. A bookshelf beside her bed was enough to prove she was a bookworm. Stars and cards decorated the room. On the corner of the bed was a place where he would stay, waiting for her or staring at her with those lovely brown eyes. He loved sitting on her bed, his only home.
Whole day long when she was around, he would stare at her, silently, fondly and when she wasn’t home, he would wait for her.
She was on vacation and rarely left home. Whenever, she was in her room, she would talk to him, hug him or plant a kiss on his nose. He would never leave her room. He would welcome her with his shining eyes and silent words only she could hear. He was so cute, delicate and soft; it was hard to keep one’s eyes away from him.
They became closer as the day went by. With every passing day, their relationship grew stronger. She had named him Junior, as he reminded her of someone special to her.
He was a friend she always wanted. One, who would listen to her with patience, understood her and never hurt her feelings. He would stay silent as if he understood her. However, he had a problem, he never spoke. Still, they seemed to understand each other very well. They had developed a very unique relationship which was beyond existence.
There were days when she did not like being alone at home so much. But now, being home meant being with Junior. She enjoyed every moment of it. She would talk to him for hours, share her feelings with him, hugged him when she was happy and cried on his arms. In a sense, he was her new best friend with no complaint and no demand. However, she wanted to have a real, interpersonal communication with him. She always wished Junior could speak, respond to her but he could not. It was a bitter truth, Junior could never speak.
She was a quite person who rarely spoke about her feelings with others. She loved travelling but communication was not her area of expertise. However, everything changed after Junior’s arrival. She started talking with people; she began to feel comfortable around them unlike before. She surprised everyone with her changed nature; they were curious but were happy for her. All these changes occurred only because of Junior, no one knew and no one should know.
They were two different creature having world of their own. She did not know where he belonged to. The only way to relate them was via dream. She would dream of him talking, responding to her in a real way. She sometimes wondered if she was falling in love with him, it was impossible but hard to tell, he was really very cute in his own unique way.
They had build a world of their own, no one could imagine, had their own language and a unique relationship that was hard to define. Everything seemed to be perfect when she was with him.
One day, she was having get-together with her best friends from school. They knew everything about her, except Junior, of course. They were curious about her changing nature, like everyone else she knew. Agrata, her cousin and also her best friend, her confidante, in fact, brought up the topic.
She asked “hey, you have changed a lot recently. ”
“ Who? Me?”
“ Of course! Who else? ”
“ Is it good or bad? The change in me? ”
“ Its damn good honey, just wanted to know how it happened all of a sudden. ”
“ Well, that’s a mystery. Maybe I found a fairy god mother or my Prince charming who changed me (wink). And as the change is good, let’s leave it to that sugar. ”
And thus, the topic was closed. She could not tell them about Junior. Not even her most trusted people. She was dying to share it with them, wanted to introduce him to the world but she knew it was the dumbest thing to do. She could not risk it. People would call her crazy. They would not believe her, no one could. It was way out of anyone’s imagination. She was not sure if anyone could understand it except her and Junior, hence, she never mentioned him to anyone.
Their relationship was a secret between them. For the world, junior did not exist but for her, he was an entirely different world, a world she always wanted to live in.
She cared for Junior like a mother, poked him like a sibling and played with him like a childhood friend and loved him unconditionally. She often wondered what she would do without him.
Her brother would often peck into her room and tease her, like younger brothers always do. Maybe he had guessed or maybe he guessed something else. She did not care. He was fond of making up story and everyone knew it very well. No one entered her room without her knowledge except that little brat. Whenever he came sneaking to her room, she would ask him to get lost. And even if he mentioned Junior to anyone, no one would believe him. So, she was on a safe side.
She would whisper to Junior, afraid that someone will overhear them and call her crazy. And she never mentioned Junior to anyone, though she was eager to. She was afraid what they will say. They would call her insane or even accuse her of brain disorder. After all, it was a crazy thing to do for the people living in so called “wise world”. A girl claiming to understand Junior’s feeling, sharing her feelings with him, loving him, caring for him must be crazy. He was just an emotionless bundle of fur and cotton, for the world, he was nothing more than a teddy bear.
A teddy bear for the world but the best friend that she yearned for.
