#59 - Keepsake

Segment Notes: Inspired by the epilogue of my fic Where the Lovelight Gleams. I had wanted this scene to end that story, but I decided it would be better in the short story collection instead. Radley's Eevee is based on my Build-a-Bear Eevee, in size as well as the flopping ear.

Radley smiled as he opened his closet door and took down a well-worn cardboard box. He lifted the lid, looking fondly at the faithful treasure inside.

"Hey, old pal," he said softly. "I think it's time for you to see the sun again. Don't you?"

He reached down, taking out a large Eevee plush. For a moment he held it close. He had gotten it so many years ago, as a wide-eyed kid fascinated with Pokemon. He loved animals and he loved the idea of a world much like his own but with Pokemon in it. The show was always filled with friendship, which he had always longed for but hadn't found for so many years. On so many occasions, Eevee had been his only friend. In some ways he wondered if he had betrayed her by leaving her in the closet. But at least he had held onto her. Nothing had made him want to give her up. And now, thanks to Kalin's encouragement, he had decided to just leave her on display instead of putting her back in the box after another brief reunion.

Kalin suddenly appeared in the doorway. "That's the plush?" He sounded surprised. "It's big."

Radley laughed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I thought it was the greatest thing when they added her to their line-up."

"Is the ear supposed to flop that way?" Kalin eyed the left ear, which was almost horizontal instead of sticking up like the other ear.

"It always flopped on mine, but nah, I'm pretty sure it's not really supposed to do that," Radley said. "Grandma said we should have taken it back, but I loved it and didn't want to replace it."

Kalin smiled a bit. "That sounds like you."

"I should have just left her out to begin with," Radley mused.

"It's understandable you didn't," Kalin said. "You felt you had to be tough. And it was no doubt for the better that Malcolm didn't learn how sentimental you really are."

"I guess," Radley said. He set the plush on his nightstand. "She was such a friend to me that it feels like I betrayed her by putting her away." He shook his head. "I know that's crazy talk, but . . ."

"Who knows," Kalin grunted. "If we're to believe in the Heart of the Cards, your heart can bond with your deck and that bond brings it to life. Why couldn't the same thing be true of anything special you bond with?"

"I never thought of it that way," Radley said in some surprise. "I guess that would make Toy Story real, wouldn't it?"

Kalin shrugged. "It's a nice thought. I know my Dyna Dude figures were like friends to me when I was all alone."

"Do you still have those?" Radley wondered. He had only seen them once, but he felt sentimental about them since they had been the first thing he and Kalin had played with when they had met as kids.

"I do, actually." Kalin held them out. "I couldn't begin to explain why I held onto them before. Now, though, it makes sense."

"I'm glad you have them," Radley smiled.

"So am I," Kalin said. "I took them with me when I left my childhood home, and I found I still had them even as a Dark Signer. Maybe it was my way of trying to hold on to some scrap of innocence even in the darkness."

"And then you brought them here." Radley reached out and touched the one he remembered playing with as a child. "Yeah, these guys . . . they were for you what Eevee's been for me."

"I believed in loyalty," Kalin said. "Thinking my best friend had been disloyal pushed me over the edge. I guess keeping these figures was me being loyal to them after they gave me so much . . . including a first meeting with my other best friend."

Radley smiled. "That's a nice thought."

Kalin studied the plush on the nightstand. It was unusual, and yet it seemed to fit. Its happy smile brightened the room. He smiled too, thinking of Radley holding it and loving it through the years.

"I think she's happy to be out," Radley mused.

Kalin nodded thoughtfully. If anyone's love could bring life to a beloved object, it was Radley's. "I think so too," he said.