It all began one night when Bobo the teddy bear decided that he wasn't really a teddy bear. Just like that.

"I am not a teddy bear."

It got him all the attention a toothpaste peddler at a ballgame would.

"I SAID!" declared Bobo louder this time, startling the other toys. "I said I'm not a teddy bear!"

The toys gave one another knowing looks. It happened every once a while, more so among the insecure newer ones.

"Oh, don't be silly, Bobo." Zyotron the Mega Destroyer patted his shoulder. "Of course you're a teddy bear."

"Yeah!" Jack sprang out of his box, making everyone jump. "I mean...you look like one. You, you...sound like one too! What else could you be?"

Everyone nodded in perfect unison (two counts a second).

Alas, some wise guy decided to then crack a terribly unfunny joke.

"Hey, you never know! The truth is out...bear."

Now, no self-respecting toy would've laughed at such an inappropriate moment, not even the slapstick-prone clown figurines. But Bobo just looked so vexed and beary standing in front that they couldn't help themselves. All the toys bowled over with laughter.

"Oh, why can't you stupid toys be serious just this once?" The laughing stopped at once as Bobo stormed off in a fit of temper.

*****

"Bobo?" Evangeline the fairy princess doll found him alone in a corner. "Is there something wrong?"

"You wouldn't understand." he sulked.

"Sometimes, sharing your troubles with someone who doesn't understand them is better than sharing them with nobody at all."

Bobo sighed deeply.

"Come on, now."

"Promise you won't laugh."

"All right," she raise her right hand in a mock oath. "I promise."

Bobo giggled. She always looked so adorable when she rolled her eyes.

"Well..lately I've been feeling...uh, what's the word for it..."

"You mean all that stuff just now about you not being a teddy bear?"

"I know, I know, it all sounds silly." the bear sank his face into his paws. "But imagine if you, a fairy doll, one day suddenly woke up and found yourself looking just like me. Wouldn't you just feel weird?"

"I...I guess I would." she said very slowly.

"See! I knew you would understand!"

"Come to think of it," he eagerly continued, before she could say anything. "Why do you guys think I'm a teddy bear?"

"Because that's what everybody calls you since the day you came here, my dear."

"Well, I know they're wrong! I'm not a teddy bear just because I'm called one!"

"But what are you, then?"

He thought hard. What was he really?

Harder. A blurry image started appearing in his head. It was utterly different from a pudgy teddy bear.

Harder. Harder still. Then he saw it!

"A fairy with dainty purple-edged wings and sparkling blue eyes!"

"What?"

"I said," Bobo could scarcely contain himself. "I'm a fairy with dainty wings and blue eyes!"

To his utter dismay, Evangeline's face didn't register a single note of emotion. No awestruck eyes. No mouth gaping in amazement. Nothing.

"Maybe you need to sleep over this, Bobo." she frowned as though he was mad.

As though he was mad.

"You think I'm cuckoo, don't you?" his anger spilled over to his voice.

"Huh? When did I say that? Don't you go round making your silly accusations!"

Silly accusations? Even she, the kindest of all the toys, ridiculed him! Bobo was so furious he didn't know what to say. Before allowing the more level-headed voice inside talk sense into him, he jumped off the shelf and stormed to the door.

"Wait, Bobo!" Evangeline called out after him. "I didn't mean to raise my voice at you! Come back here!"

He paused for a moment, wanting to give up the foolishness and slink back into a little corner being the teddy he always had. But then the twisted, ugly faces of the laughing toys flashed before him, prodding him to accept the fact that he was out of his mind.

You'll all be sorry! he yelled inside as he crept out of the house through the crack beneath the door.

*****

Bobo had often heard about and caught glimpses of the outside world, but this was the first time he was actually inside it. Somehow, he didn't quite feel as comfortable as he did in Jamie's home.

This outside world seemed a lot more scary and mysterious, especially at night. It was in a way frightening, not knowing what lay beyond every dark corner and in another kind of way exciting. Either way, Bobo decided, he would prove to the other toys that he was what he said he was...a fairy!

Crash! Bobo heard something...well, crash in a nearby alley. Since fear was a rather unheard of feeling to a teddy bear, the first thought that crept to his mind was checking it out.

"Hellooo...anybody there?"

Suddenly fear didn't seem so alien anymore when he saw two bright green eyes stare back at him from behind a trash bin. "W-Who are you?"

A sleek figure sprang out of the shadows and landed in front of him, almost jolting him out of his skin (if he had any). It was a scruffy looking animal with four legs and a tail, not much bigger than the bear himself.

"Name's Parks. Parks the alley cat."

"And what are you supposed to be?" he narrowed his eyes at Bobo. "Not an overgrown mouse, I presume?"

"No, sir...I mean, Parks. I'm a fairy."

The cat snorted. "You're a what?"

"A fairy!" he repeated himself, louder this time. "Never heard of those before. Are they tasty?"
Well, at least he didn't laugh or find him mad. Bobo couldn't be happier. "Listen here, Parks. I need your help to prove that I'm a fairy, because nobody believes me."

"First off, kiddo, you gotta tell me what a fairy is."

"Let me tell you!" Bobo's face lit up. "A fairy is the most beautiful, beautiful creature in the world. She has long flowing hair, dainty legs...and two sets of purple-edged wings...and, oh, oh, the prettiest face you ever saw, of course, complete with sparkling blue eyes. And her magical powers too, which she uses to help those in need, especially children."

Parks sniggered. "I get it...you're a sissy!"

Bobo was so enraged he would've strangled him if his stumpy paws could. "You...you stupid creature! You're just like the rest of them!"

He took to his heels, wishing that those button eyes of his could shed tears. Here he was, trying to pour out his troubles to everyone and all they could do was make a joke out of it. How mean of them!

"Hey, hey, you there!" Parks caught up to him, a little out of breath. "Sorry, that didn't come across the way I wanted it to. Maybe I can help you?"

"Really?" Bobo loosened up his pout. "How?"

"Let me think about it for a while," he muttered almost to himself. "First of all, what does everyone think you are?"

"A teddy bear."

He just stopped short of asking again what that was, not wanting to repeat the whole episode. "Where do fairies come from, and where do tabby dares come from?"

"It's TED-DY BEARS. Anyway, fairies, like me, are born in Fairyland. As for teddies, I'm not so sure myself...I've never met another one before."

"What about when you were younger? You must have had friends then."

A long silence ensued. "Nothing," replied Bobo. "I can't remember any. I've always been in that big house, together with my other toy friends. Former toy friends, I mean."

Strange, thought Parks. Cats always remembered their kittyhoods and the friends they grew up with. If Bobo couldn't remember his past, maybe he didn't have one at all.

He had no heart to say this to the miserable yet hopeful creature in front of him, though.

"Um, follow me, Fairy."

The cat bounded above the trash bins and balanced himself on a fence with enough grace to turn most ballerinas red. Upon reaching the top, he peered down and saw Bobo struggling to climb a tiny cardboard box. How thoughtless of him.

"Hop on, I'll give you a lift."

*****

Bobo held on tight as they stole past rows of black houses. He was so light, Parks might even not notice if he fell off.

"Where are we heading?"

"Just a minute. I think we're almost there."

They stopped in front of another crummy back alley not unlike to the one Bobo first found Parks in. He gently nudged the bear off his back, and motioned for him to wait.

"Won't be long." Parks disappeared behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

Bobo dutifully sat himself on the ground. It was wet. He hated that.

The moon wasn't at all generous, sparing some pale light every now and then. Already an unfriendly wind was gusting about, making his fur all frizzy and messy. How he wished Parks would hurry up.

Am I out of my mind? I should be snuggling up next to Little Horsey now.

What if I can't find Fairyland? The toys would be right to laugh at me then.

It was funny how there was no inkling of his past in his mind. He'd never even thought about it till Parks questioned him. Try as he could, the only place he could remember ever being in was the big house Jamie lived in.

All those years, never was there any doubt in himself about being a teddy bear. Why would there be? The plastic dinosaurs were comfortable being plastic dinosaurs, so were the superhero action figures, the electric train, the "My First Teacher" set, and every other toy there was; so why shouldn't he be content with his teddy self?

Perhaps it was the way he admired beautiful Evangeline and how much he wished he could be like her. Perhaps.

But then again, he knew it wasn't as simple as that. It had better not be! Not after he had come so far, at least.

"Fairy! You there?" A big paw waved in his face.

Bobo swooshed back to reality, slightly embarrassed.

"Just checking," Parks said. "I told my friend about you, and he claims to have seen a picture of you up on some wall."

"Really? Where is it, then?"

"Hop on again, and pray we don't get lost."

Bobo duly obliged, and in no time found himself on an exhilarating dash through more dark streets and seemingly impossible-to-scale fences.

*****

"There you go!" Parks rather proudly arrived at a greying wall.

"Huh? It's just a wall."

"Wait." A few agile bounds, and they found themselves perched five feet above the ground, right next to a picture stuck on the wall.

Straining his eyes in the dim light, Bobo studied the strikingly colourful picture carefully. A grinning clown popped out with outstretched arms, standing just before some dark haired Evangeline look-alike. Propping up the background were some other toys who resembled those he knew, and...

It was a very familiar figure. Bobo looked harder.

"WHAT?!" he almost fell off Park's back. It was himself in that picture! There was no mistaking those black round eyes, brown thick fur, and that same face who always stared back at him from the bedroom mirror!

"Parks! That really is me in the picture!"

A look of surprise matching Bobo's etched itself on his face. "How can that be?"
Bobo thought hard. Could it be some part of his forgotten past?

"Hey, look," Parks nudged him. "There're some words. What do they say?"

It was a good thing Jamie's toy collection wasn't short on spelling blocks, giving Bobo an impressive knowledge of simple words. Two unusually large words screamed themselves at the topmost of the paper; one was "TOY", and the other was so long Bobo was sure he didn't know it.

"F...A...C...T...O...R...Y...Fa, Fa..."

Well, no matter, one out of two wasn't that bad. He scanned the rest of the smaller words, recognising that odd word or two, but not having any clue what it meant.

"We...open...now...at...new...you...buy...more..."

And the last two words: "Baker Road".

Park's ears perked up. "Did I hear you say Baker Road?"

"Uh-huh."

"I hang out there all the time!"

"So you mean it's a place, and you know where it is?"

Parks nodded hard.

Inside his furry head, Bobo started putting two and two together. That big word beginning with "Fa"- could it be "Fairyland"? Someone once told him that "Fairy" indeed began with an "F" followed by an "A".

And those other characters who looked like toys? They were also fairies who, like him, were stuck in toy bodies! The picture was a message from the fairies who wanted them to return to Fairyland! Himself included!

"I've got it, Parks! Fairyland is in Baker Road! That's where I was born!"

"Whoa, whoa...you sure of this?"

"YES! Those are my fairy friends! Come on, come on, let's go NOW!"

Taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm but not minding it at all, Parks licked his lips and took off as if a pack of snarling dogs were in pursuit.

It was a strange sight to behold; a stray cat dashing at top speed with a teddy bear clinging on for dear life. Whatever few cars there were, plus curious onlookers, were dodged expertly while exhaustion (for Park's part, anyway) swatted away like a bothersome fly. Even Parks didn't know why he was so enthralled by this strange quest. Perhaps this was the most excitement he had had for a long while.

As for Bobo, he didn't know what to expect. Would there be fairies waiting to welcome him to Fairyland? Or would they tell him to go home? He wouldn't! He would never become one of the toys again!

You'll all be sorry, he smiled, remembering his parting thoughts. I'll fly back and dance for all of you to admire.

*****

By the time the buzz in the streets was reduced to a slow trickle of moonlighters, Bobo and Parks were there. Baker Road, home of the Fairies Who Looked Like Toys. Parks was so delighted he sank into the ground. Well, almost.

"Get up, you lazy bones!" Bobo kicked his sides (which doesn't hurt much when you're a teddy bear). "We still have to look for that place!"

Reluctantly the cat got up and dragged his feet round a couple more bends. Each time, Bobo grew more anxious when he imagined what the fairies would say to him.

At last, they arrived. He knew it even without Parks saying.

There they stood, a foreboding building before them. Not just any usual building, but the sort you couldn't miss. It was HUGE, to say the least, maybe even the biggest building in town. With of course, a giant sign in front screaming those exact two words Bobo saw on the paper.

"Toy Fairyland." whispered Bobo in awe. "At long, long, last I'm here, Parks."

"This it it, friend," he helped him off his back. "Good luck."

Bobo took a few steps towards the metal entrance. "You really think I'll find the answers inside?"

Parks nodded his head. "Fly home sometime to meet me, will you?"

A warm smile found its way to the bear's face. "I sure will, Parks. Thank you for all you've done, dear friend."

Having said that, they went their separate ways; Parks to find a nice spot for some free lodging and Bobo under the door crack.

Fairyland.

*****

An unpleasant yet strangely addictive odour hung over the place inside. It was too dark for Bobo to see anything. His little teddy mind thought only of two things: fairies and teddy bears. Either he was one or he was the other. Bobo inhaled deeply and ventured further in.

If only he had a light. The only thing he could be sure of was that there were many racks. And there were things about his height on the racks.

Then a sudden sound caught his attention. The door was being opened! Hurriedly Bobo sneaked behind a rack, curious to see who it was.

"Hang in there, dear!" A man's voice could be heard. "I'll just be a few minutes."

It took only two seconds - two ticks of the clock- for Bobo's life to be turned completely upside-down.

Click. The man flipped on the light switch. Flash. The lights blinked twice, then came on. Bobo's plastic eyes grew so wide they almost shattered.

"No...NOOOO!" he screamed for all his heart's worth. "I'M A...TEDDY BEAR!"

Upon the racks lay row after row after row of furry teddy bears that looked EXACTLY like him. All shared the same plastic eyes, same brown fur, same brightly coloured ribbons, same height, same look, same everything!

There even were unfinished ones, with no heads, on a mechanical platform. He could see right through them, cotton stuffing and all. The Bobos grinned menacingly back at him, shooing him back to the house where he belonged. He couldn't bear to look anymore. Shaken out of his wits, the poor bear turned around and ran. He kept running, eyes shut, hoping to be in Fairyland when he opened them again.

Plof! Bobo collided headlong into something soft. Were they fairies? He peeked, and was greeted by the ugly sight of even more disfigured Bobos glaring hideously at him. "Stop it," he whimpered. "Leave me alone."

Reality cut deep into the teddy bear's heart. The toys had been right after all. He never was a fairy, and he never would be one.

So this was how his search would end. He, Bobo, was nothing more than a mass-produced, million-of-a-kind toy manufactured on a factory assembly line, marketed to toyshops everywhere.

Not a fairy. Never a fairy.

For the first time in his life, Bobo felt tears streaming out of his eyes.

*****

Joe hummed to himself, tossing his keys in one hand and catching them with the other.

Suddenly he stopped to bend over, picking up a teddy bear from the factory's reject pile. "Hey, who threw this away? Seems to be in perfectly good shape to me."

The sound of a car honking impatiently interrupted his thoughts. He smiled to himself, turned off the lights and left the building after locking up, bear in hand.

"Oh, did my little princess get bored of waiting?" he grinned sheepishly at his six-year old daughter who had been waiting in the car. "Daddy's so sorry, but...look at what I got you!"

Her face perked up with joy, but turned downcast again when she saw the ragged, dirty old teddy bear. "Couldn't you get a better one?"

"Now, dear," Joe sighed wearily. "Daddy doesn't earn much working in the toy factory, and we can't afford new toys very often till Mummy gets well."

"But you know what? Toys don't mind if they're old or new. They know that by themselves, they can't make you happy."

"They can't?"

"Nope," he pressed a hand gently on her head. "It's your imaginiation as well."

"Now, if you look hard enough at this bear...he could become anything you want him to be!"

"How about a fairy, Daddy?" asked the little girl excitedly. "I love fairies!"

"Of course, my dear," her father beamed. "Even a fairy."

"Hurray! I have a fairy!" she said, happiness eminent all over her face. "I have a beautiful fairy!"

At that very moment, Bobo felt his stumpy paws grow into a pair of dainty feet with twinkling foxglove shoes. A pretty fairy face, adorn by golden hair, shaped itself from his teddy features. His black button eyes sparkled blue into life.

And finally...two sets of purple-edged wings emerging from his back. He was almost sure magic dust filled the air.

And that was the story of how Bobo the teddy bear, at long last, became Bobo the fairy.

...as told by mOkKiEs at 7:33 AM