UNWANTED GIFTS

~ Iain Kelly

Why would Santa bring her these, Matilda thought staring at the teddy bears sat next to her in the car. He must know she was six now, already had plenty of cuddly toys, and they were definitely not on the list she had sent him. And why had he delivered them to Granny’s house?

When they got home Matilda stomped upstairs with her new presents and threw them onto her bed. They landed next to her new RayBlaster 3000. She had an idea.

*

Isobel let her daughter stay in her bedroom. Her Gran always tried to get Matilda a nice present, and always managed to get something she had outgrown. There was the occasional thud from upstairs and Isobel could here the sound effects from that annoying toy gun Matilda’s uncle had got her.

Suddenly she heard Matilda screaming. Isobel dashed to her daughter’s room and flung the door open.

‘Matilda, what’s happening…’ she stopped and took in the scene of carnage. Matilda sat on the floor dressed in her doctors outfit. She was pulling the stuffing out of one of the new teddy bears. It was missing an eye and an arm.

‘Not now, Mum.’ Matilda whined, ‘this soldier is badly injured. I’m in the middle of operating. We have to save his life.’

189-01-january-8th-2017

Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). For more details visit HERE.

To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

Published by Iain Kelly

38 year old, avid film viewer and book reader, employed in the media industry.

44 thoughts on “UNWANTED GIFTS”

  6. Matilda is bright if a little spooky. As for me, I’m over 50 years old and would be delighted to get such nice teddy bears. I have a collection of over 200 stuffed animals. To some people, that may be a little spooky.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Haha, thanks for commenting Cara. I know of a few older people who collect stuffed bears and animals – perhaps it’s something to be appreciated when we’re a bit older.

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  13. I’m writing a series of short stories on my blog for my seven-year-old grandson which star him and his friend/mentor a dragon (in my stories, the dragon is slightly larger than an average collie). At my grandson’s request, the dragon teaches him magic (I tried to talk him out of this since seven-year-olds are not mature enough to manage the awesomeness of magic, but he insisted), and one of the spells makes his vast collection of stuffed animals come alive.

    Some kids hang onto their stuffed animals for quite some time, and in my fantasy series, they and the dragon are his watchful protectors.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
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  18. This is really funny. It does seem these days, kids seem to get too many stuffed animals. I like the image of her fixing up her teddy bear, a victim of war. Training for a one day doctor?

    Liked by 1 person

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