Haaaangh, I sighed as I walked home from school. I have so much homework tonight. No way I'll finish it all in time to get eight hours of sleep tonight. If only I were still young…
Suddenly, a horse ran by me. I jumped. I could swear… I had seen that horse before! It was hazelnut brown, with black hair. I recognized it as a brown Arabian. But what was it doing running loose? Where had I seen it before? Curious, I chased after it. As I did, though, it seemed to slow down, as if to allow me to keep up, but didn't stop until we arrived at a small farm.
"Whoa, there, boy!" I called to the horse. "You've finally stopped. This is where you live, huh?"
"Yes," He replied. My eyes nearly came out of their sockets. Did the horse… just speak to me?
"Did you…" I started. "Did you say something, just now?"
"I said 'yes,'" He said.
"But…" I stammered "Horses don't talk!"
"I'm no ordinary horse, Lizzy." My jaw dropped. Not only was a horse talking to me, but it knew my name?! "I see you're shocked."
"Uh, just a little." I stated the obvious.
"I guess you don't recognize me. I've grown quite a lot since you saw me last."
"So I have seen you before." I gasped. "But-"
"Lizzy, do you remember this?" He turned so I could see his leg, where there was a scar from some stitches. I gasped again. That scar… this horse…
"Connor?!" I couldn't believe it. One of my old Webkinz was real, and talking to me?
"Yes," He smiled. "It's good to see you again, Lizzy."
"But… but how?"
"The thing about kids imaginations…" Connor looked off. "They believe in their toys so much, that they become real. That happened to all of us."
"All of us?" Could it be…?
"Yes, all twenty one of us. Come, look." He led me to a house past the field. It was… my Webkinz house!
"Connor!" A white mare came up to the door. "Welcome home. You're late."
"Sorry, Snow."
"Snow White!" I squealed.
"And I see we have a guest" She smiled. "Come in, Lizzy." She led me to the dining room, where twenty three chairs now were. I wondered… I had twenty one Webkinz. Why were there two extra chairs?
"Please, have a seat," Snow encouraged. Soon, all of my Webkinz flooded in, including one I didn't recognize. The faces before me… so grown up, yet so familiar… My sight began to blur my view of them.
"I know this must be a lot to take in," Abby, my Bengal Tiger, now a beautiful grown tigress, consoled. "But that's ok."
"Who's this little one?" I asked, pointing out the little penguin in the other extra seat.
"My son," Waddles, my own penguin, explained.
"Your son?"
"Yep," He smiled proudly. "I adopted him not too long ago. His mother died before he hatched."
"I'm so sorry," I told the little fellow.
"It's ok," he said. "I'm Junior. I've heard a lot about you, Lizzy! All good things, of course. Dad and my aunts and uncles always talk about you."
"Oh?"
"Yes," Giggles, my google, explained. "We wanted him to know about you, even though he never had met you, and might never get to."
"But why?" I asked.
"Why what?" Pinkie Pie and Pinky, my poodles, asked.
"Why all of this? Why are you being so kind? Why do you always talk about me?"
"You raised us." Beluga, my manatee smiled.
"But I left you…"
"At that age," Cashew, my chipmunk, started. "Most animals are grown up, anyway."
"I still abandoned you."
"You grew up," Carl, my turtle, smiled.
"All kids do." May-Belle, ever the lil' cow, said.
"We understood that you had more important things to do." Lucky, my Dalmatian, explained.
"We knew you out grew us," Connor wrapped up. "But we also knew that, deep down, you still loved us. After all, how else would we be here?"
"Yeah?" Hope and Patches, my bunnies, chorused.
I was nearly to tears. "It's true. I still love you, all of you. I may be too old to play with you like I once did, but the memories of you and the joy you gave me will never be replaced. I promise."
"We know," Gyro, my lamb, smiled.
"I should go," I got up. "But I am so glad I got to see you guys. Thank you." I hugged each one of them in turn, including Aslan and Anastasia, my lions, Glitter, my pink googles, Lightning, my Clydesdale, and Snowy, my polar bear. As I left, closing the door behind me, I gave them a little wave. My dear friends, the pets I once considered my children… they were still well, and they loved me as I love them. Our relationship can never be the same, but the memories will never change. I began walking home, smiling, realizing that my wish had been granted.