But when you grew up, you didn't retire me. You didn't thank me. You put me in a box with the broken things and sealed the lid.
The toy is not broken. He is merely forgotten .
His eyes were hand-painted circles of trust. His smile was a fixed, permanent curve of benevolence. He was designed to be hugged, thrown, caught, and kissed goodnight. But children grow. Imaginations shift from wooden soldiers to glowing screens. The hands that once held him tight now scroll endlessly. The playroom becomes a storeroom. The storeroom becomes a landfill.