A warm orange glow filled the little shop, illuminating it like the inside of an oven. Displays of magnets, hats, keychains, toys, and t-shirts formed a maze of merchandise, and I sat in its middle, waiting. A bell chimed as the door opened, letting in a gust of icy wind as well as a group of about 5 people, bundled up against the cold Alaska weather. At first, I didn’t see her, she was so tiny, but I heard a small gasp of delight as she scanned the store, ending with her gaze on my shelf filled with stuffed toys. The girl was about four, with frizzy hair tied up in two pigtails by pink ribbons. The moment we locked eyes, she clapped her hands in excitement and ran to pick me up.

     “Mommy, look! Wolf!” she squealed. A few moments later, I was being purchased. The cashier was a kind old man, and he wished me luck in my new life, handing me over to the little girl. As I was carried away, I waved a last goodbye to my friends, and began my story. It was finally my turn.

     Soon enough, I learned who everyone else was. There were the girl’s parents, aunt, cousin, and older brother. They were visiting Alaska for summer break. When their trip ended, I was brought to a foreign land, one where the sun never left. The moment I stepped off the plane, I knew this was where the girl’s family was from, for the girl was seemingly made of sunshine. A few days passed, then I was at the airport again. This time, the girl’s aunt and cousin were returning to China.

     “I’ve heard of China before!” I told the girl. “I was made there!” She promised she’d take me to visit sometime, and she kept that promise. She took me everywhere imaginable. Together, we pretended to fly on a high mountain in Yosemite. We watched with amazement as dolphins leapt out of the ocean on a cruise to Mexico. We looked down upon the world from a plane to China, awed by the endless opportunity it seemed to hold. She showed me magic I had never seen in the most trivial of things. 

     Then, the magic started to fade, dragging me along. The girl and I were once best friends, but now, she had real, human friends. Slowly, I became nothing more than a toy.  

     One day, I found myself laying on the floor, alone. The girl had thrown me into the air, just as she used to always do, but then her mom called her. Rather than dropping me in my special spot as she would have before, she left me on the dirty carpet. It hurt.

     The next day, the family began to pack. They were moving, and I was shoved into a bin with several other stuffed toys. The space was filled with a cold silence, and, once again, I sat in its middle, waiting. I hoped, after we got to the new house, I would begin a new adventure. It never came, and as the time kept flying pointlessly by, I couldn’t help but wish for the bright colors I was once shown.