2- Finding Bear

Another beautiful day poked its way through the trees in the distance and over the fence of the yard. The grass and flowers were wet from the dew and were just beginning to pull their way up to the light from the sun. Spring was in the air. The sun, however, began to disappear just as suddenly as it had appeared. A dark cloud was drifting overhead and a slight drizzle began. Matthew pressed his face against the glass, pouting at the change in the weather. He held a soccer ball under his arm but let it fall in disappointment. There was no way he was going to be let outside now.

Butch trotted around the corner into the living room, closely followed by Mommy who yawned sleepily. She smiled when she saw Matthew. “Good morning, sunshine!” Matthew backed up as she let Butch out. The dog walked confidently out onto the covered pavement and then stopped as he looked at the water falling from the sky. He stood there indecisively. His nose sniffed at the air and he walked forward hesitantly. As a large drop fell onto his head, he jerked back and turned right back around to go back into the house. Mommy had already closed the door so he could only stare through the glass and wish he were inside where it was nice and dry. Matthew could see his jowls inflate and deflate as the dog whined. Realizing that this little human wasn’t going to help him, his ears dropped and he turned to walk grudgingly out into the rain.

Matthew finally turned away from the miserable scene. He went back to his room and saw Mommy changing Luke. “Quit squirming, little one!” she was saying. Matthew went over to his box of toys and dug through them to find some blocks. At first he picked through the toys but quickly became annoyed and dumped the entire box out on the carpet. He heard Mommy groan at the sound but she didn’t turn around to tell him he had done wrong so he dropped the box and looked at the treasure before him. There were an assortment of toys that included baby teethers, foam blocks, and cars. Matthew picked up a foam block and looked at the bite marks that he himself had made when he was younger. Then, not thinking, he threw the block into the air. Something about tossing the toy in the air thrilled him so he bent down and picked up another toy to throw in the air. Mommy didn’t seem to notice. At first he threw them straight up and then, after getting hit on the arm with a toy truck, decided to start throwing them toward the walls. Mommy noticed then. As a rattle flew by her head and landed on the change table next to Luke, Mommy turned around in a fury.

“Matthew! Do not throw toys! You almost hit your brother!” She set the changed Luke down on the floor. “If you throw one more toy, you are going in time out.” With one last look of warning, she turned and left the room.

Matthew sat on the floor and looked at the mess of toys around him. He heard the back door open and Butch run back into the dry, warm home. He picked up a foam football and contemplated if he would get in trouble for throwing something that is supposed to be thrown. Matthew pulled back his arm and threw the ball. Just as it sailed through the open door, Butch came around the corner, happy to be safe and cozy. His cheerful demeaner changed as the football hit him square on the nose. Butch yelped and ran as fast as the slick floor would allow his feet, into the living room. Matthew cringed as he heard Mommy’s angry voice yell, “MATTHEW!”

Luke had been sitting on the floor watching his big brother without moving and he barely moved as Mommy came charging into the bedroom. Matthew looked up at Mommy’s face and instantly regretted his decision. “It was a football…”

Mommy ignored him and instead picked him up and put him in Luke’s crib. “You are in time out.” She picked up Luke, who looked mournfully at his big brother sitting behind his prison bars. They left and Matthew lay back, resigned to his fate. He stared up at the ceiling. So boring. He kicked the wood of the crib with his bare foot and let out an ‘ow’ when his toe hit the crib wrong. Just another thing to regret.

As he lay there, he became more upset. This wasn’t fair. He was just throwing a football. It wasn’t his fault that Butch had been there at that time. The more he thought about his situation, the angrier he felt. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere sunny where he could throw whatever he wanted and not get in trouble. Matthew pouted. He closed his eyes wishing he could somehow will himself to appear somewhere else. Somewhere free. There was one large window on one end that allowed light to pour inside. Blankets were piled around the floor and sitting in the center was Luke. Luke had changed, though. Somehow he had become a small puppy with brown fur. His eyes were still green just as when he was a baby. Luke bounded over to Matthew and hugged him with his paws. “House!” Luke said happily.

Matthew scratched Luke behind the ear. “Luke, you’re a dog and you can talk!”

“I talk!” Luke said defensively.

“Yes but dogs don’t talk.”

Luke wasn’t listening. He had become distracted with his tail and was running in circles. Matthew went over to the window and looked out in amazement. He could see everything from this window. They were surrounded by trees except for the side where the window looked out where grassy hills were laid out before them. Matthew felt Luke nose his way up onto his hind legs and look out the window next to him. “I like this house.”

Any worries Matthew had about getting in trouble vanished as he smiled. They could play all day long and not have to go to bed!

“Come on, Luke, let’s go on an adventure!”

When they had made it down from the treehouse, Luke happily took off running down the field. Matthew laughed and went running after him. It felt so good to finally be outside! He skipped around joyously as Luke pranced, trying to mimic his older brother.

“This is amazing,” Matthew laughed, “There aren’t any parents here so that means no rules! No bed time, no timeouts, nobody to tell you what to do!”

Luke stopped and tilted his head in thought, “No Dada?”

“No Daddy!” smiled Matthew.

“No Mama?”

“No Mommy!” smiled Matthew even wider.

Luke looked around, his bottom lip jutted out as tears began to fill his eyes.

Matthew crouched down and put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “It’s a good thing, Luke! Once we have all the fun we want here, we can go back home. Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” said Luke, still unsure if he wanted to be happy about this news.

“It’s okay, Luke. As your big brother, I’ll take care of you. I’m a ninja!” Matthew looked around then his eyes brightened in excitement. “I know what will cheer you up! Let's explore!”

Luke’s ears perked up.

“I’ve got all the weapons we need to defend ourselves against the enemy!” He moved his arms in swift karate movements and kicked the air. “Come on, let’s go!”

The idea of exploring and having an adventure thrilled Matthew even though he had no clue what that adventure would be. He put on a brave face for Luke, but he did wish that Mommy and Daddy were there on the adventure as well. Daddy kept him safe and Mommy would make sure they were prepared. He shook his head. He didn’t need them! He was more than capable! Up ahead, some tall hedges with a wrought iron gate appeared. The iron was twisted in intricate designs, and when Matthew pushed, it opened with ease. The inside was filled with flowers and trees of all kinds. Two figures could be seen ahead of them. As they approached, Matthew saw that they were large teddy bears. Something about them seemed familiar. As one turned, he saw that it looked exactly like the stuffed bear his Mommy had as a child. He did not recognize the other bear. His Mommy’s bear smiled in greeting, “Matthew and Luke!” He opened his paws wide and embraced them both. Matthew looked at the talking bear in shock. “Do you remember me? It’s Teddy!”

“Mama!” barked Luke happily.

“How are you here?” asked Matthew.

Teddy looked around a little confused. “I was always here. I guess the better question is how you got here.”

Matthew shrugged, “We just woke up.”

“So you could be dreaming then.”

“Why would I dream about you? You’re Mommymy’s bear.”

Teddy straightened proudly. “That I am! She gave me this bowtie many years ago. She says it brings out my eyes.” He tapped the deep blue bow around his neck. “Oh, but you haven’t met Baby yet!”

“Baby?” asked Luke and Matthew at the same time.

The second bear walked over to them. She was larger than Teddy but she had been flatted down so much that her nose blended in with the rest of her face. She wore a lacy white dress. “That’s me!” she said, “I’m your Aunt Amy’s bear!”

“Are we in a land of teddy bears?” asked Matthew. “Where are our bears then?”

“Not in this place,” said Baby, “but if they’re here, you could go find them.

“How do I do that?”

“Well I’m not sure." He tapped a paw to his head in thought. "As your bear, they would be in a place they consider to be their home. Where would that be then?”

Matthew shrugged. “We just came from home. I mean, our bears must have been there, but I don’t want to go back yet.”

Baby smiled. “Well if you came here, then maybe they are here as well! We could find them together!”

“Where do we start?” asked Matthew.

Teddy tapped his chin. “Well if I were to find a place that made me think of home, I think of a cozy fire in a fireplace. Maybe in a nice stone cottage where the smell of baked cookies drift out the windows and tickled the nose."

Luke sniffed. “Cracka?”

Matthew smelled it too. He looked over and a pretty little stone cottage had appeared. Smoke was spiraling out of the chimney and the smell of chocolate chip cookies drifted out of an open window. “How did you do that?”

“I just thought about it and it appeared. Perfect timing too! I’m hungry!”

“Wait, what about my bear?”

“We can’t go on a search mission on an empty stomach.”

“I guess,” Matthew said.

They went into the house and right into the living room. It was so warm and cozy that Matthew wasn’t sure he wanted to leave. Luke went right over and curled up in front of the fire. Baby brought a tray of cookies out of the kitchen and set them on the coffee table. “Oh yes!” Teddy grabbed a couple cookies and sat down contentedly in an overstuffed chair.

“I can’t have cookies,” said Matthew sadly.

“Why?” asked Baby.

“Because-" he stopped in realization as he remembered that Mommy wasn't around to say no. "Oh yeah!” Matthew happily grabbed a cookie and closed his eyes with a smile on his face as he chewed. It was so good. “If only I had a glass of milk, too.” He opened his eyes and a glass of milk sat on the table in front of him.

“How about that?! I’ll have one too!” cried Teddy. He squealed in delight as a glass appeared.

“Hey, that’s easy! So then all I have to do is say that I want my bear to appear.” Matthew looked around in excitement but his face fell as he saw that his bear had not appeared. “I guess that means we’ll have to actually go look for him.”

“I guess so,” said Baby.

They looked over at Teddy. “Oh you go ahead. I’m perfectly content here.”

“Teddy!” Baby’s face was stern and her paws on her hips.

“Oh okay fine.”

They got up and left the house, Teddy more grudgingly than the others, and finally walked back out of the gate. “So home can mean anything then?” asked Matthew, “Because you made a place out of thin air and that was not what our house looks like.”

“Yes,” said Baby. “Home can be a physical place but it can also be a feeling. Where do you feel at home?”

“Like where I’m the most comfortable?”

“Sure.”

Matthew tapped his chin. “Well…I like to be outside but outside is such a big place. We’ll have to narrow it down.”

“What do you like to do outside?” asked Teddy.

“Play in the sandbox and the water.” As he spoke, the scene before them adjusted and they found themselves on a beach. The waves pushed and pulled through the sand at their feet. “Awesome!” cried Matthew and he ran forward to play in the water. Luke and Teddy ran to follow.

Baby shook her head, “I’m not getting my fur wet!” She crossed her arms. “And I am not going to risk losing another nose.” She tapped the small black button. “I’ve lost count how many noses I’ve replaced and I’ve grown fond of this one. Look how dainty it is!”

After a bit, Matthew walked out of the water and looked around. “I still don’t see my bear.”

“Then where should we try next?” asked Teddy, pulling a squirming Luke from the water.

Matthew looked down at his wet ninja suit. “Maybe a ninja castle!”

A tall building began to appear in the distance. Teddy shook his head, “Your bear is there?”

“Maybe?”

They all jumped as a ninja figure appeared and bowed before them. “Lord Stormrider! I am glad you have returned! Our forces are failing against the Swatters. We need to deploy the Danger Army Defenders. It’s our only hope!”

“Swatters?”

“Yes, my lord. They are attacking the castle in full force. We aren’t able to hold them off much longer.”

They looked up and found black specks high up in the sky flying down in a huge mass to slap against the castle. Matthew looked over at Luke, Teddy and Baby. They all looked at him expectantly. He looked at the Stormrider outfit and after a second’s hesitation, he tightened the belt and pulled the mask over his face. “Deploy the Army. Let’s go save this castle.”

Teddy and Baby cheered as the ninja disappeared.

Matthew turned to look at the group of them. “I don’t know what it is exactly we are going up against or how to take them down but we are going to fight them with everything we’ve got,” he looked at Teddy’s bowtie, Baby’s dress and Luke’s confused puppy dog eyes, “which really isn’t much…”

“Your confidence is most encouraging!” Teddy exclaimed with a smile.

Matthew looked back at the castle. “Maybe all we need is a little imagination.” He turned back. “First of all we all need to be ninjas so the level of power can be increased by at least 500.” As he spoke, they became clothed in ninja outfits.

“Now what?” asked Baby, “How do you be a ninja?”

“Just wave your arms around and kick stuff. Let’s go!” He signaled them in the direction of the castle. Confidences high, they charged on at full speed. As the momentum built they let out a warrior cry. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The Swatters stopped their attack and turned toward the small group of ninja warriors. With a hiss, they turned their direction of attack toward them.

Matthew’s eyes opened wide and they all slowed down to a halt. “Um…that’s not good.” Turning back, they began sprinting back in the opposite direction, their warrior cry turning into a cry of fear. “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Just as the Swatters were about to reach them, red blurs flashed past their heads and smacked the Swatters full on. Matthew turned and watched. They pushed back the wall of Swatters and didn’t stop until the Swatters finally gave up and retreated, disappearing into the distance. The red blurs joined together and became one man with a long red cape. He turned and smiled. “Daddy?”

“Yes, citizen, I am the Danger Army Defender, or DAD. You are safe now.”

Luke ran over to the DAD and jumped into his arms. “How did you get here?" Matthew asked. "Did you go through the treehouse too?”

The DAD paused scratching Luke behind the ear to look at Matthew in confusion. “I have always been here.”

Matthew’s face fell. “So then you’re not real.”

The DAD put Luke on the ground and kneeled on the ground before Matthew and reached out to place a large hand on his little shoulder. “I’m real if you believe me to be.” He smiled.

Matthew felt the weight and the warmth from the hand on his shoulder and smiled in return. “Yes, I do believe you are real! And you’re a superhero!”

The DAD stood back up and placed his fists on his hips in the superhero pose. “That I am! Protector of Freedom! Protector of Justice! Protector of little ninja warriors who were brave enough to charge a castle undergoing a full-blown attack from some nasty buggers. And for that I award each of you with this special medal.” He bent down to pin a little gold medallion on each of their shirts. “For being kind and decent against some real bullies.”

Teddy, Baby and Luke all beamed happily. Matthew looked at the little medal and frowned. Then, with a sigh, he slowly unpinned it and handed it back to the DAD. “I don’t deserve this. I was a bully and mean.”

The DAD refused to take it back. “Maybe that was in the past but your past doesn’t define who you are. Only the present. Keep it and let it be a reminder to always do good deeds.”

Matthew hugged the DAD and repined the medallion.

Teddy coughed politely. “Sir, I’m so sorry to bother, but while you’re here, we are looking for Matthew’s bear. Have you seen a bear anywhere around here?”

The DAD tapped his chin. “No bears are here at this castle. Where did you see it last?”

“At home,” said Matthew.

“Well then perhaps it’s still there.”

“If that’s the case, then that means we have to find our way back.” Matthew looked around. “I don’t know how to get back…”

“Maybe we can retrace your steps,” said Baby.

“Tree!” barked Luke.

“Yes!” Matthew’s face lit up. “We were in a treehouse when we first got here. Perhaps that’s the way out.” He looked around expectantly and sure enough, the treehouse appeared off in the distance.

The DAD grinned. “I wish you the best of luck on your quest! Good day, citizens!” With a whoosh, he flew into the air and zoomed off.

Matthew, Luke, Teddy and Baby waved and ran toward the treehouse. Once they reached the bottom of the ladder, they paused. Matthew looked at Teddy and Baby. “I guess this is goodbye.”

Luke stared with big eyes as Baby started bawling, “We’re never going to see you again!”

“Yes we are!” Teddy said with a smile. “This isn’t goodbye! We’re always here and we’ll always be a part of you.” He tapped Matthew’s chest with his paw.

“Oh come here you!!” Baby grabbed Matthew and Luke in a big bear hug. “I look forward to seeing you two again!”

“As do I,” said Teddy, joining in on the group hug as well.

“Then I guess we’ll see you soon.” Matthew picked up Luke and carried him up the ladder. At the top, he looked back down and saw Teddy and Baby wave. He smiled in response and crawled through the door, letting it fall shut behind him.

Matthew felt himself pulled upward and opened his eyes. Mommy was smiling down at him. “You fell asleep, hun. Take a little nap, okay? I’ll get you in a little bit.”

“Where’s my bear?”

Mommy smiled. “He’s still there. You were holding him while you were asleep.” Matthew looked down and sure enough, his brown bear was nice and snug in his arms. He squeezed the animal tight as Mommy lowered him onto his bed. She pulled the covers up and tucked them in around his body.

“How long was I gone?” asked Matthew.

“You mean asleep? It’s only been about five minutes.”

“So I wasn’t in another place? It was all just a dream?” Matthew frowned sadly.

Mommy touched his cheek. “It must have been a good dream, huh?”

Matthew nodded. “I could make things appear so we could go to different places. Luke and I got to play on the beach with Teddy and Baby and then we had to be ninjas to save this castle and –“

“Wait, you dreamed about my teddy bear and Auntie Amy’s bear? I didn’t know you knew about Baby.” She shook her head. “I guess you did. Huh!” She smiled. “That is so cute that you dreamed about them!” Mommy kissed his head and bent down to pick Teddy off the ground. She placed him next to Matthew. “There. Hopefully that makes you feel better.”

Matthew hugged Teddy to his chest too. Mommy got up to leave. “Wait, I’m not tired.”

Mommy smiled. “Okay then. I tell you what? If you clean up the mess you made, maybe you can go outside with Daddy.”

“Okay!” Matthew slid out of his bed as Mommy got up, kissing him on the cheek, and left. He turned and carefully placed his bear and Teddy on his bed and tucked them in. Then he turned and set to work putting the toys away.

After a while, Luke came into the room and watched his big brother putting the things away. He then went over to help while singing, “Clean up, clean up!”

Matthew smiled at his brother then asked, “Did you find your bear?”

“Bear?” Luke pointed.

Matthew looked over and found Luke’s bear almost hidden from view. The bear’s legs were the only things that could be seen as they stuck out from behind a short bookcase. Matthew went over and pulled the bear out of the awkward position and handed it to Luke. This bear had golden fur and a blue and green plaid bow that reminded Matthew of Teddy’s from the dream. He looked over at Teddy sitting all cozy in his bed. Well, maybe it wasn’t a dream. Either way, he decided he wouldn’t throw the toys around. Bears could get lost that way.

With all the toys picked up, Matthew left Luke in the room and picked up the football that had bounced off Butch’s face. He tucked the ball under his arm and found Daddy in the living room, flipping through channels on the TV. Matthew went over and placed the ball on Daddy’s leg with a smile. Daddy looked outside. It had stopped raining and the sun was coming out finally. He smiled. “Alright let’s go!” Excitement filled him as Matthew followed his Daddy out of the house.

As they threw the ball back and forth, Matthew was once again filled with the same kind of delight he felt when he had first met the DAD in his dream. His Daddy really was super!