156. Teddy Bosk

 

156. Teddy Bosk

There is a spot in Minced Forest that is haunted by the teddy bears of fairy children who have grown up. This place is called Teddy Bosk, and fairy teddies head for it as soon as they have been discarded. Those that have not been handed down to a new little owner often grow up themselves. They find refuge in the Bosk, where they  merge with the trees. Others prefer to play all day among themselves, and remain small and cub-like. 

One twilight I wandered into this bosk, where the air is bittersweet,  innocent and knowing at the same time and poignant but soothing too. And   it was in this happy but melancholic haven that I decided to retire from the world, like the gentle, forlorn toy bears. I sat on the ground under a bear tree and let time go by.

Many seasons have passed since Alpin Dullahan was turned into a one-eyed apple. And when I found myself by myself, at first I looked behind me, and returned to my parents’ home. I visited the nursery once in a while, where Gregoria and my sister Valentina were busy telling each other stories. I heard a few, and was amused. Apple Alpin came visiting one of these times, but  when my mother’s white cat, Pusilana, warned him that she might not be able to refrain from pouncing on  him if he kept leaping about like a bouncing ball, Alpin did not return. He found refuge in a bowl of wax fruit and flowers in his mother’s dining room and soon was so sheltered there that he no longer wanted to go anywhere. It was a strange way of life for someone who could see everything with his one magic eye. It seemed a waste of his powers. But he was too scared of the world to venture out. This was strange too, for he had never been prudent when he was himself. But who am I to  say he behaves strangely  when I am sitting night and day under a tree in Teddy Bosk?  

Being at home was not enough for me, and I began to roam about the forest aimlessly. To haunt it, the Leafies said. Like  a soul in silent torment. They never ceased to tell me how it worried them to see me depressed. My parents came after me when they noticed I was quite “gone” but they were not able to persuade me to return home with them. So they decided to wait and see what would become of me and gave me time and space. As for the Leafies, when I stumbled into the bosk, they remained respectfully outside.   

The  only person that comes to see me here where I sit now is my brother Cespuglio. The truth is I don’t know if he comes to see me or if what he is doing here has nothing to do with  me at all. He comes in the gloaming, for you can only enter Teddy Bosk at twilight, though you can leave  whenever you  please.  When Ces comes, he sits within a bush pretending to be its spirit. He never says a word  but stares at me througout the black night. I do not know if he is waiting for me to make a move or if he likes to keep me quiet company. His face is as expressionless as the bush he sits in. He  always leaves  with the moon at cockcrow, without making more noise than that of his feet sliding through grass, or crunching on fallen leaves or on crisp snow.