Chapter 9

“Great!” the man exclaimed, looking at him expectantly. Time had unfrozen, and he had mistakenly responded to her out loud. He felt his face get warm, and quickly moved his hands up in front of his face and rubbed them together furiously. He hoped the exertion and their position would help to hide his blush.

“Next, lets rub the heart on your knee so that if you fall, they will be there to help you back up, and they’ll always be there if you need them.” the man proceeded, smiling at his wordplay.

He complied, thankful that the man hadn’t said anything about his blush.

“Now, I need you to rub that heart on your heart and fill it with all of the love you can muster!”

He took the heart, placed it over his own, and rubbed gently. He didn’t really know how to fill it with love, but he had an idea. He thought of that boy from his memories, and he thought of how his younger self would do this. I guess I can try to give you some of that wonder I felt? Is that right? he thought and suddenly he felt…well, he felt something. He wasn’t sure what that feeling was, but it seemed right, so after a few moments, he stopped rubbing the heart, and awaited the next step.

The man’s voice took on a strangely serious tone as he said “Alright. For this last step I need you to hold that heart and make a wish, kiss the heart, then place it right here inside your new friend.”

He stood stock still, paralyzed. A wish? What did he mean a wish? The confusion must have been plain as day on his face because after a brief pause, the man chimed in “If it helps, you could wish for what you hope this new friend brings into your life?”. His face relaxed, and he thought about his wish for a while. He mulled it over, trying to come up with serious wishes, silly wishes, and just plain nonsensical ones before it hit him. He knew what his wish was. He closed his eyes and made his wish.

I wish you could help me feel like I did back then…when adventure was around every corner, and every day was new.

He opened his eyes, kissed the heart, and placed it inside the bear, nodding to the man who had been his guide. “Ok, I think I did it.” He told the man, who nodded in return and began to stitch up the bear. When the stitching was finished, the man handed him the bear and guided him over to an area that comprised several aisles of clothing and accessories.

“Now, if you would like, you can go ahead and pick out some clothes for your new friend. We have everything from hats to shoes.”

He tried to take it all in, but this was all just too much for him to handle right then. His discomfort was plain, and the man spoke up quickly. “You don’t need to do that on this trip though, just remember it’s here if you need it.”. He guided him away from that section to a small computer kiosk. “This is the last step! You just use this console here to enter in some basic information and you’re all set!”.

He looked down at the console. The information it was asking for was basic and simple. Match the type of bear you had to the one on the screen, color, etc. He got to the last field and his stomach dropped out. On the screen in front of him he saw “Please Enter a Name”.

A name. A name? A name! He hadn’t even begun to think of one…it was just supposed to be a stuffed animal, not a puppy. Why does it need a name he thought.

“Well, all friends should have a name right?” said Inner Child.

I guess you’re right, but naming someone is a lot of responsibility. I don’t even know where to start. There’s so many names to choose from! I just pick the default names for characters in games…

“Well, why don’t you just go with the first thing that pops into your head? No thoughts, no prep, no judgement. Just one, two, three, name!” she suggested, almost giggling.

Well, I guess that’s better than just going with nothing. Alright, here I go. One, Two, Three…

And he had it. He had the name. He didn’t know where it came from. There wasn’t a reason why this name was better than all of the others his mind could have produced, but it felt right. His fingers gently pressed the keys to enter in the name of his new friend.

R-U-F-U-S

With that, the process was complete. The man guided him to the checkout counter and once he had settled up payment, he placed Rufus in a large cardboard house. “Oh, and don’t forget Rufus’s birth certificate!” the man said, handing over an official looking certificate. “I hope your first experience with us was incredible, and I hope that you’ll come back to see us again.”. He couldn’t really find the words to properly express his gratitude to this man who had been his guide. All he could manage was a genuine and heartfelt “Thank you”.