Hello, readers! I'm VickyT36,and I thought of this story for this archive. It's in memory of those poor kids in Tennessee. Enjoy!
At a donation store, a worker driving a truck parked in the parking lot, and brought out a box.
"Hey, I got another box." he announced, as he walked inside.
He set it on the counter, and the others went through it.
"Let's see, we got some shirts, a couple books, and this." another worker said.
She pulled out a small stuffed cat that was green with dark green spots, and yellow eyes. She threw the cat back in the box, and took it further into the store. After putting the other items in their place, she placed the stuffed cat with the other donated toys.
She left, and as soon as she was gone, the cat and other toys came to life.
"Hey, newbie." greeted a plastic dragon.
"Hi." the cat answered.
"Welcome to the toy shelf. I'm Raptor."
"My name's Tabby."
"Who's the new cat?" wondered a doll.
"Skipper, this is Tabby." Raptor introduced.
"Hi." Tabby replied.
"So where are you...?"
Before Raptor could finish, they heard footsteps, and froze back into their positions. A worker came, and put a stuffed polar bear on the shelf. Once they were gone, they came back to life.
"Got put in a different aisle, again Puff?" asked Skipper.
"Yep, first they want me, then they change their minds." Puff told.
"This Tabby. He's new here." introduced Raptor.
"Hi." Tabby said.
The day went on normally, and then it was closing time. Once all the people were gone, the toys came to life again.
"Come on, Tabby. We'll show you around." Skipper said.
The toys jumped off the shelf, and started walking around.
The other toys showed Tabby the store. He saw the clothes, gadgets, and furniture.
"This is pretty nice, but any idea how long I'll be here?" Tabby asked.
The other toys shrugged.
"Who knows? Not many toys get bought from a donation store." said Raptor.
"I've been here for two years." Skipper informed.
"One year." Puff told.
"I've been here three years. By the way, what's your story?" Raptor wanted to know.
Tabby looked a little nervous.
"Well..." Tabby started.
"Let me guess, your kid outgrew you?" wondered Puff.
"Actually..."
"Look we understand, kids grow up and it hurts." replied Raptor.
"Well you guys' had your kids outgrow you mine just threw me out when she got a new doll." Skipper piped up.
"Guys..."
"Are you still going on about that Skipper?" asked Raptor.
"Hey, I was replaced. By Barbie of all dolls."
"Guys..."
"When a kid gets a new toy, one of them ends up leaving. It's how things work." Puff told her.
"GUYS!"
The three looked at Tabby.
"My kid didn't outgrow me." he confessed.
The other toys looked confused.
Tabby looked a little sad, and then replied,
"My girl was named Ella. And she didn't outgrow me but I didn't get replaced by another toy either."
"Then...why are you here?"
"The truth is...she never got the chance."
Tabby used to belong to little girl named Ella. The two were very close, and Ella took Tabby everywhere. One day, Ella played with Tabby and the rest of her toys before school. It was fun, and then she had to go.
The toys then came to life, and hung around until the afternoon. But when the time came for Ella to return, she didn't. The toys wondered where she was but suddenly heard something on the TV. They all gathered around it, and saw something shocking.
There had been a shooting at a local elementary school. Many people were injured, and unfortunately some kids had lost their lives. That made Tabby and other toys freeze. Later on, they heard footsteps and the toys quickly went to their places.
The door opened, to reveal Ella's mother. Her face looked completely sullen and pale, and her eyes were red like she was crying. She sat on Ella's bed, and then burst into tears. By the way she was acting, the toys understood what had happened to Ella.
The next couple days were rough. The toys couldn't believe that their girl was gone. They mainly just sat around not doing anything, or just wandering around Ella's room. Tabby mostly just stared at the window, he had been her favorite toy and now Ella was gone forever.
Next thing that happened, was Ella's parents gathered all her toys and put them in a box. Tabby's friends were picked out by Ella's family members and friends, all except him. In the end Tabby and the rest of Ella's belongings were sent to a donation store.
When Tabby finished his story, Skipper, Raptor, and Puff were shocked.
"Tabby...I'm so sorry." replied Raptor.
"If your kids outgrows you you can at least you can have the satisfaction of seeing them grow. But losing one, that's something else." Tabby replied.
He sat down on the bed they were on looking sad. The other toys gathered around him.
"You'll always have memories of the good times." comforted Skipper.
"And who knows, maybe you'll get another kid." Puff told him.
"While that may be. But I'll never forget Ella."
Days went by, then weeks, then months and Tabby enjoyed spending time with Raptor, Skipper, and Puff. Some people did come into the store, but no one looked at them. Then one day, a young girl came in with her mom.
"Okay, Ellie, you can pick out one toy." her mom told her.
"Okay, Mommy." the little girl replied.
Ellie went to the toy aisle, and looked up around.
"This could be our chance, guys." whispered Raptor.
When Ellie came close, they froze back into their positions. She looked at the toys, and then her eyes fell on Tabby.
"I'll take you."
And with that, Ellie grabbed Tabby off the shelf. As she walked away with him, Tabby waved goodbye to his friends, and they waved back. Ellie's mom paid for the items, and the two left.
"So Ellie what are you gonna name your new cat?"
Ellie looked at Tabby, and then noticed his name written on his belly.
"His name's Tabby." Then she hugged him.
"We're gonna have lots of fun together, Tabby."
In the car, Tabby looked up at Ellie. He knew that she would never be Ella, but it felt good to be with a kid again.
The End