Maybe a Little Longer

Gerald the Bunny was her favorite stuffed animal. He had black button eyes sewn on with gold. Made out of a pillow-like material, Gerald went everywhere with her. He was big for a stuffed bunny and had a few stitches from when the cat got a hold of him. She’d take him on road trips and he always sat upright against the headboard on the side of her that she’d get out of bed on. Some grown-ups that she knew thought Gerald was a bit creepy, but she didn’t care. Gerald was her childhood friend. He had tea with her and never left her side.

Gerald’s most important aspect as her companion was that he protected her from the boogieman and the goblins that snuck around her house at night. One time she woke up in the middle of the night to see Gerald with a sword and shield and a feathered helmet at the end of her bed, guarding her from any creature that tried to disrupt her sleep. She smiled at his diligence and made sure that they spent plenty of time together the next day. Though her parents told her it was the cat scratching him that made him need the stitches, she knew that those were his battle wounds from fighting the elusive boogieman every night.

As she grew older, she no longer feared the boogieman or goblins. Gerald was proud of her, for she could sleep fearlessly. But he was also sad, for it meant he no longer had such a grand purpose. She tried to cheer him up by having tea with him, but it didn’t feel the same. One day she overheard her parents talking, “Isn’t she getting a little old to be hanging onto that stuffed animal?”

“Oh, let her have her fun. She’ll grow out of it soon enough, dear.”
“Will she? She’s awfully attached to it. Maybe it’d be best if Gerald went missing one day.”
After hearing this she was afraid that they’d take Gerald away from her and throw him in a river. She told Gerald sorry that she couldn’t play with him any more, put him in a drawer, and pretended that she had lost him, herself.

The next night Gerald heard her crying in her sleep. He pushed open the drawer and saw the boogieman towering over her bed, preparing to devour her. He collected his sword and fought with the boogieman once more, only knowing that he had to protect her from the night terrors.
The next morning, her mother walked in her room to get her up. Before waking her daughter, she saw her curled up and Gerald watching over her, as if to guard her from any creatures of the night.

“Maybe she can keep the bunny for a little longer,” the mother chuckled softly, before letting her child rest a little longer.

Author's Note

Another older story, so not reflective of my current writing.