A Doll of Hope

As a young girl, I found it hard to get close to people. Other girls would often pick on me cause I was very plain and not pretty like them. All the boys would push me around cause I was an easy target for them. My only close friend was a stuffed cat named Maria that my mom had given me as a present. Because I was so nervous around people, I would take her everywhere with me. Even though it sometimes made the teasing worse, I felt warm when I hugged her tightly. Even though she couldn't talk, I felt like she was someone whom I would always be able to turn to when I was down. I can't imagine how I would have made it if it hadn't been for her. After all, it was Maria who brought him to me.

   It was a chilly fall day. The cold winds were blowing away all the colored leaves. I was on my way home from school when a bunch of bullies surrounded and started picking on me.

"Hey there, Christie. What's your hurry?"

"How come you're in such a hurry to get home? Does the scared little girl need her mommy?"

"Dude, what are you talking about? She doesn't have a mommy anymore."

"Oh that's right. Your mommy's long gone, isn't she?" I trembled in my shoes as I held Maria close. It was true. My mother just up and disappeared without any warning one day. I had no idea where she went or why she left. I had been living with my dad since, but all he did was sit around the house all day, watched TV, and got drunk. He never worked a day in his life so I was pretty much forced to fend for myself. We lived on the third floor of a four store apartment building and I often got all the provisions I needed to survive from our kind generous apartment manager, Miss Monica. As I stood there shaking, one of the boys walked up behind me.

"So you've got a mom who's a no show and a dad who's an overgrown couch potato. I guess that doesn't give you much to go on now, does it?" He said as he shoved my shoulder. He pushed me so hard I fell down. Looking to my side, I saw Maria had fallen on the ground next to me. I reached for her paw. Just before I could touch her, the same boy who pushed me down grabbed her and held her up by her tail.

"So this pathetic thing is all you have left of your precious mom? I guess she didn't think too highly of you if all she left you was a dirty old stuffed doll." I was still shaking with fear, but I couldn't let them do anything to hurt Maria.

"Give her back!" I shouted as I rose to my feet. The boy held her high in the air. I tried to reach for her, but he was too tall.

"What's the matter? If this thing is so important to you, you should do a better job at taking care of it." He stated as he pushed me back down. All the boys just laughed at me. Just then, he took hold of Maria's arms and acted like he was going to pull her apart. By now, I had tears in my eyes.

"No! Please don't hurt her!" He formed a sneer on his face as he raised his elbows up to pull. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I sat there too frozen with fear to move.

"Help me...Please...Don't let them...hurt Maria." I thought to myself. The boy's sneer spread across his face as he was just about to start pulling.

"Somebody help me!!!" I screamed as I shut my eyes too scared to look.

"Leave her alone!!!" I heard someone call out. I opened my eyes just in time to see a boy jump in front of me and tackle the boy who was holding Maria. The two of them fell down. I don't really remember what happened after that. What I do remember is the bully leader suddenly shouted.

"Let's get out of here!" With that, all the bullies took off. A second later, the boy who saved me walked up to me and held out his hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I was still shaken and uneasy. But when I looked into his dark brown eyes, I could tell this boy was different from the others.