The Teddy Bear Tree

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Say “DIE”

Outside of my town is two trees… These trees are nothing special; they are more like shrubs than trees. My village is on the edge of the desert, so the trees are small and starved of water.

On these two trees are teddy bears; they cover every inch of them… Hanging from every branch is a bear. Big ones, small ones, ones in sailor suits, ones in explorers’ uniforms and every other kind you could imagine.

But one bear is hidden from the sight of the others… It is a special bear nailed to the tree by a not-so-special person. This bear has black fur that was originally a cream colour; it has been singed by fire; its tiny black paws have nails from something that no one knows sown into it, its eyes have been pulled out, and new ones have been inserted… The eyes almost look human… The bear’s cute uniform is all black except for the red six-pointed star embroidered into its breast pocket.

It is said that if you see this bear nailed to the tree with a noose around its neck. It will turn to follow you, watching you walk near the tree. Even if you do not see it, it will still stare at you, its eyes will lock onto you, and your soul will feel like it is shrivelling much like it is now as you read this.

This person who nailed the bear to the tree is not a nice man… He was the one who took great pleasure in burning the bear; when its fur ignited and the smell of burnt hair filled the room, he howled with joy. The eyes of the bear, he was very proud of…

There was a girl who he loved, but she did not love him… He would watch her every night as she came into her room, hiding in the dark green bushes, they would scratch him, but he would show her his love through the pain caused by their sharp branches.

He would leave gifts for her, at first it was flowers, then chocolates, and finally a cream teddy bear…

The last straw was when she started dating him… That man would stay at her house daily; he was always there!

One day, the not-so-special man ambushed him and struck him from behind with a bat. It was a sickening sound as it hit him in the head; what to do with him once he had him? The man decided to take him into the desert…

It was not very far, but he tied him to the ground with eight pegs the rope fed through; he pinned him down by the hands, legs and neck… He could not move! Finally, the not-so-special man covered the man in honey and waited for the ants to come… The screams were like a symphony in his ears; each pain-filled shriek was like a concerto filled with passion.

After the deed was done, he took something special, or should I say he stole two unique things!

The not-so-special man returned to his love’s house and waited for her to leave for the day. Finding an unlocked door, he went inside; sneaking through the house, he eventually found what he was looking for… A cream-coloured teddy bear, she must have thought it was a gift from HIM.

Taking a pair of scissors, he started to do some modifications to the bear.

Leaving the bear on her bed, he opened the bedroom closet and waited for his love to return. He was feeling anxious; he had never been so close to her before, oh how he loved her.

A scream shattered his slumber; it sounded like she found his gift to her… She was kneeling on the floor screaming; tears flooded her eyes as she stared at the bear sitting on her bed.

The not-so-special man left the closet and stared at her; she didn’t even hear him as he put her hands around her neck and squeezed.

His love stopped screaming and was still… Her bear was looking at them both with sadness in its eyes; a blood-coloured tear ran down its cheek.

The not-so-special man left the house; he could smell the smoke rising in the air… Soon his love would be waiting for him in the next World; her firey ghost would guide him there more quickly.

Sirens filled the night sky as they attempted to extinguish the fire; the house erupted into flame…

A few days later, the not-so-special man returned to the house and looked through the ashes; everything had been destroyed. There was no sign of his love; she had been taken away to be laid to rest.

As he turned to walk away, he saw it… A black paw was sticking out from the ash; looking at it, he considered walking away but instead reached down and pulled it out of the rubble.

The bear was now completely black from the fire, the fur was singed and melted… It is funny how the eyes were not damaged by the flames, and they stared directly at the not-so-special man with deep hatred.

The not-so-special man took the bear outside of town, found a tree near the road, and hammered three nails into it. The first was through the bear’s throat, the second was through its stomach, and lastly was through its forehead. The bear was pinned to the tree, and the look of hatred that shone through its eyes grew with each nail hammered into it.

Two weeks later, the man who caused all this terror was found dead in his home. He had three nails driven into his neck, stomach and forehead; small hand-sized black soot covered his face… Worst of all, his eyes were missing…

That day a new teddy bear appeared on the tree…