Story Snippets

Peaches' Biggest Wish

- -{Challenge: "Write a journal from the prospective of an inanimate object."}- - 

Peaches' Biggest Wish (The Story of a Stuffed Animal)

Darkness. That was all that I could see. It was cold, too. Come on, I thought. If I'm correct, the daylights should turn on at any second now. I waited a bit longer in silence. The rack that held my weight began to dig an imprint into my soft, velvety hooves. I always sat here, waiting for someone to love me and the others. The others, I remembered, looking out of the corner of my vision. In the black abyss, I spotted the outline of a smaller, furry version of me. His name was Waddles. Waddles the Penguin. He never moved either, until those giant paws-- or, whatever they're called - picked him up and analysed him. He was never chosen, though, and neither was I.

I felt a pang in my head as the blinding daylights began to turn on, one by one. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the brightness, and so did my mood. Just in time, I thought excitedly. Today; Today I was certain I'd be chosen. I'll finally have a home! I thought.

After waiting a bit longer, those all-too-familiar creatures I had been anticipating began shuffling into the "store", or-- at least, that's what they called it. And, along with them, were my favourite forms of these creatures: Children! I thought happily, as a couple of them began to crowd the rack I sat upon.

A few of their paws began to reach for me, and I silently yelped when I felt my fur being pulled. This happened often, but saying I was used to it by now would be a lie. I knew they didn't mean to hurt me, though, when I heard one of them giggle as they tugged my head towards theirs. It was a pretty creature, with long black hair and a smile that was missing a few teeth. I smiled back at them.

"Hey!" I heard a voice in the distance yell. By the pitch of their voice, I could tell it wasn't a child. The pretty creature in front of me snapped their head towards the sound of the other's voice. Their teeth tucked away as a frown formed on their face. "Put that down!" The voice hollered again. Instead of putting me back where I was, though, the creature's grip on me tightened. My vision turned black again when they stuffed my face into their chest. They felt warm, I noticed.

"Honey," The voice spoke again, only this time it seemed much closer, and they weren't yelling anymore. "You know we can't afford that."

"Hmph!" I heard a softer, higher voice - that I assumed was the child's - hum as the grip they held me in shifted. I heard the other creature sigh.

"What's his name?" The other creature asked as another pair of paws grabbed me, lifting me out of the child's grasp. The paws that took a hold of me connected to the body of my least favourite form of this creature: an adult. They looked exactly like the child, but they were older-looking and had a tired look in their eyes. Their face sagged down into a short, grumpy-looking frown and bulged eyelids weighted down their eyes. Every adult that came to see me looked like this; old and lifeless. That's why children are my favourite form: they were the opposite of adults, happy-go-lucky and hyper.

When the adult finally found the information tag that was attached to one of my ears, they read my name aloud. "Peaches," They said softly, juggling the sound of it in their mouth as if they were tasting it. They looked me in the eyes with a sad smile that almost looked apologetic. And though I wanted to frown at her, I knew that the sewn-on grin of mine wouldn't change shape, no matter how hard I tried.

The adult crammed me back onto the rack and looked back at the child. "I'll think about it," They smiled at the child through half-open eyes. "Now come on," they called as they began to waddle away. The child looked back at me one last time, then skipped off in the direction of the adult.

I looked down at the rack I stood on. "I'll think about it," I repeated their words silently. Every adult says "I'll think about it". They'll never choose me. I sighed.

I heard cries of a small voice as the two creatures from before passed through the doorway. "We'll come back for it," The adult shushed the child. They carried the child in one of their arms, while the other held a bag of groceries, but not me. "Peaches!" The child cried once more. As the cries became more distant, I began to wonder, Will I ever be chosen?

As the day wore on, my mood worsened. No one came to see me after that - in fact, after a while, there were no children in general. It almost seemed time sped up, from dark to light, the daylights came and went. Each day was the same.

To make matters worse, my only company, Waddles, was chosen. I was happy for him, honestly. I was glad that he finally had a home, but the fact that I didn't made me upset. Eventually, they "restocked the shelves" and coincidentally, another penguin replaced the spot where Waddles once stood. Even more coincidentally, his name was Waddles, too! I was convinced Waddles had a twin at first, or he was-- somehow put back, but the loneliness I felt around him told me otherwise. This can't get worse, I thought. Something has to change. And, to my surprise, something would.

---

Part 2? :D