Hi everybody! Today I'm sharing a story I wrote that won third place in Katja's short story contest. This ties in with my WIP, Yesterday Was Long Ago.

            Just like Winnie-the-Pooh, I’m hanging by one leg, going bump-bump-bump as Steven walks along.  But unlike Winnie-the-Pooh, I’m caught in Steven’s backpack straps, and none of the serious young Marines behind him have time to notice a small, one-eyed teddy bear hanging upside-down.  I wish they would, though, because I keep slipping a little farther with each step he takes.

I’m not exactly sure how I got here, and as Pooh noted, it’s very hard to think when you’re bumping.  One minute I was sitting on Steven’s cot next to his backpack, and then a whirlwind swept me up, and there I was.

Suddenly Steven shifts his backpack, and I feel my leg come free.  Then I’m tumbling down, down, until I land with a splash in a puddle left by the last rainstorm.  Dozens of worn, dirty jungle boots step over and around me, oblivious to the fact that the muddy water is soaking through my worn fur.  At least none of them step on me, though a few come far too close for my liking.

After all the boots pass by, I’m left all alone, lying on my back and staring up into the partly-clouded sky.  Nobody comes for me, nobody notices; a few people walk past on errands, but none of them even look at me.

A shadow falls over me, and a hand reaches down and picks me up.  I find myself looking into the dark eyes of a bronze-skinned young man.

“Who dropped you?” he asks me, in a soft voice touched with what sounds like a Southern or Midwestern accent. “Prob’ly those guys who went on patrol, huh?  You’re soggy,” he continues, gently squeezing some of the water out of me. “Guess I’ll hold on to you for now, until they get back.”

“No!” I want to scream as he shoves me in his pocket and begins walking. “You can’t do this!  I’m Steven’s Boo that he’s had since he was little.  Take me to him, not with you!”

Except, of course, I can’t scream, because I’m just a teddy bear.  Being a stuffed animal has its difficulties sometimes.

So I have no choice but to ride in his pocket, shoved in headfirst so I can’t even see where I’m going.  There’s a Zippo lighter under my head, and the cap of a pen is poking me where my left eye used to be.  I hear a door creak open and slam shut, and my teddynapper sits down.

There are other people in the room, and from snatches of conversation, I learn a few things: this kid is a medic, and he flies around in helicopters.  I’ve been in a helicopter a few times, and I’ve seen them far off before.  I don’t like them – I think they’re scary – but I’d ride in all the helicopters I had to if it would get me back to Steven.

~~~~~

I soon learn why Medic flies in helicopters.  He goes on missions called “medevac” or “dustoff”: flying out to where the fighting is to pick up wounded men and take them back to the hospital at the combat base.

A lot of the men are in pain when they get picked up, so Medic lets them hold me to help take their minds off it.  Tired, smudged faces light up a little when they see me, and sweaty hands hold me close.  Medic talks to me too, sometimes, when no one else is around.

“It’s too much, Teddy,” he mumbles brokenly, hiding his face in his hands. “I hate seein’ ‘em all shot up an’ hurtin’, an’ there’s only so much I can do.  They don’t all make it, sometimes.” He lowers his hands and looks up at me, his dark eyes sad and shiny. “You help ‘em, Teddy.  It’s not much, but you help ‘em.”

My name is Boo, not Teddy, but of course he doesn’t know that.  Even though I’m not where I want to be, I am happy that I can help the wounded men.  I think Steven would approve.

~~~~~

A few days later, the helicopter gets yet another call to fly out and pick up a casualty.  I’m beginning to wonder how many more of these I’ll be able to take.  My fur feels grimy, from all the hands clutching me, and my one remaining eye is starting to come loose.  Medic is nice, but he doesn’t take care of me the way Steven always did.

The helicopter lands, and I hear a confused babble of voices.  Medic helps load the wounded man into the helicopter, and my little stuffed heart wants to burst when I see who it is.

The casualty is my very own Steven – but not the strong, clear-eyed Steven I’m used to, the one who stays calm, the one who always listens when somebody needs to talk.  This Steven is in pain, his lips pressed tightly together in his white face, a triangle bandage tied inexpertly around his chest.

Medic gets right to work. “You had morphine?” he asks, as the helicopter quivers and lifts off the ground.

“No,” Steven answers, very quietly.

“Okay, morphine first.” Medic grabs me. “Here, I got a teddy bear you can hold onto.”

I can’t see Steven’s face, but his fingers curl weakly around me as Medic puts me into his hand.  I snuggle against him, just like I did every time he was sick as a little boy.  Everything feels right . . . mostly.

~~~~~

The helicopter finally lands at the base, and Medic pushes open the door.  Several other men hurry over to help unload Steven.  In the middle of the action, Medic forgets about me, and I’m carried out too, still in Steven’s hand.

Halfway across the airfield, the stretcher jostles, and Steven’s arm flops over the side.  His limp fingers let go of me, and I find myself tumbling down and landing with a splash in a puddle left by yesterday’s rain.  I watch the feet of the stretcher bearers step over and around me – and I’m left all alone, lying on my back and staring at the sky.

I can’t believe this is happening to me all over again.  I had found Steven, only to lose him right away.  At this rate, I’d almost be happy if Medic found me and picked me up again.

The airfield throbs with the sound of helicopter engines and blades.  Muddy water soaks into my shabby fur, and a cloud passes slowly across the sun.

Footsteps approach, and a small pair of jungle boots stop next to me.  A slender hand reaches down, lifting me to face a pair of blue-green eyes in a rosy face.  I know who that is: it’s the girl reporter whom Steven and his men call Miss Johnnie.

“You’re Steven’s teddy bear, aren’t you?” she asks me.  How’d you get here?”

She slips me into her satchel, and it bounces against her leg as she starts walking.  Even though I’m being crowded by film cartridges and a notebook, I feel happier.  She knows who I belong to, and she’ll make sure I get back to him.

~~~~~

Miss Johnnie takes good care of me.  After letting me dry out thoroughly, she wipes my fur clean with a damp cloth and fixes my eye with superglue she borrowed from the medics.  While the glue dries, she holds me out at arm’s length, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“Should I replace your other eye?” she thinks aloud.

To be honest, I don’t know if I want that.  I’ve been without it for so long, it would feel strange.

Miss Johnnie comes to the same conclusion. “No, I’ll leave you as you are, ‘cause I’m sure Parker loves you that way.  Here, though –” She rummages in a box and pulls out a pale blue hair ribbon, which she ties around my neck. “All right, teddy bear, let’s take you to Parker.”

~~~~~

“How’s Sergeant Parker?” Miss Johnnie asks. “I heard he got hurt, but I didn’t know how bad it was.”

“Pretty bad,” another voice, probably a nurse, answers.  I’m in Miss Johnnie’s pocket, so I can’t see. “But he should recover – he got lucky.  He’s sleeping now.”

“I see.” Miss Johnnie takes me out of her pocket. “Can you take this to him?  It’s his.”

The nurse smiles and takes me. “Sure I can.”

Holding me firmly, she walks down a few hallways and into a small side room.  There’s Steven, asleep in a bed and looking much more peaceful than when I last saw him.  The nurse gently tucks me under the blanket next to him.

Steven’s breathing is steady and calm, even if I can’t feel his heartbeat through the bandages wrapped around his chest.  For the first time in days, I know everything will be okay, just like it always was when he was little.  It’ll be okay because I found him again.

YWLA is with beta readers right now, and I'm working on the illustrations. Lord willing, I should be able to publish it in November!