Innocent Teddy Bear

When passing on from the world of the living to the afterlife, many spirits simply carry on as themselves, bearing no possessions they may have had when they were still alive. This fallacy, however, does not apply to every single spirit that passes. Certain spirits, beyond all reason, pass through holding onto a particular artifact that clearly meant something to them in their former lives. Occasionally, one will see a farmer with their lucky spade or an artist with their palette still in hand. Even children can rarely be seen holding onto toys or memorabilia that pertained to something of their youth. Despite their sources, many of these artifacts end up lost or missing to mischievous hooligans looking to steal these lost treasures for themselves, never to be seen by their owners again.

On a particular boardwalk of Nacre Mollusca, one lined with carnival games as far as the eye can see, a lone stuffed bear sits patiently waiting for something, or rather, someone to come rescue him. Having no clear recollection of how he got there or why he was sitting in the prize section of an obviously rigged carnival game was beyond him. All he knew was to sit still and watch. Watch? Watch for what? The stuffed toy was consistently berated by a mission that felt unique to him and him alone. Over the course of his time down in Nacre Mollusca, the teddy bear had seen his fair share of spirit children, begging their guardians to “play the game” or to “help them get that bear!” However, the bear was never truly content. There was someone out there looking for him. The only question was: who? And how would he know he found the right one? Many kids have attempted to earn the right to claim the bear as their own, all to meet the same fate of failure.