The little girl tugged at the bottom of her mother’s coat. “Mommy! Look at that big teddy bear. Can I have it? Please!?” The mother looked at her daughter and sighed. “Kate, we came to the mall to get you a new dress for the party next weekend. Besides you have so many toys, you don’t need another one. Now come on.” Kate slowly walked away from the glass window; it was the only thing keeping them apart. Her mother kept a close eye on her to make sure that Kate didn’t slip away. Kate had never liked going dress shopping. She really wasn’t a girly girl. The only thing she really liked was stuffed animals. She cherished them. It all started when her oldest brother went off to college. Every year he would bring Kate a tiny stuffed animal. It soon became a tradition. Then after five years at college, her brother got into a car accident and died. Now Kate loves having stuffed animals around because it reminds her so much of her big brother.

After the dress shopping was done, Kate ran back to the toy store where she first found the giant teddy bear. Her mother was slowly following. Then a little old woman came up to Kate. “Hi dear. Is there anything you need help finding today.” “Yes. That teddy bear how much does it cost?” The old woman smiled and said, “That bear costs only 10 dollars.” The little girl fished in her pocket and found a five dollar bill. “This is all I have and my mommy doesn’t have enough money to get me it. It’s alright. I didn’t really want it anyway.” Kate hung her head low and her mother came up to the old woman. “Sorry if she gave you any trouble. I’m not getting any younger so it took me long to catch up to her.” The old woman looked at the tired mother before her and handed her the bear. “Look, don’t tell anyone but I have a good feeling about you two. So I’ll give you the bear for free,” the old woman smiled, handed the bear to the mother and walked back inside the store.

Later that night Kate ran up to her deceased brother’s room with the bear in her hand. The room had nothing more than a bed and a desk in it. The little girl put the teddy bear on her brother’s bed and said, “Hey Jack. It’s been a year since you’ve been gone and I thought you should have this bear to remember me by. I hope you’re okay.” Kate left the bear on her brother’s bed and walked out of the room. Then closed the door behind her.