Sammy is sleeping now; he looks so peaceful, so happy. Thank heavens for that. Earlier today, he was screaming and sobbing as though he was hurting all over. As though it was me that had made him hurt all over. His first tantrum in two years. And all because of that little toy that I had stolen just a few months before he was born, when I was still pregnant with him.
I had taken to going on
long walks in the woods to stay fit. During these walks, I would prepare myself
mentally for what I was going to tell Sammy (I had decided on his name long
before I even thought of having him) when he asked me who his father was.
I didn’t know too much
about the donor myself. I knew that he was 5’ 10’’, of German descent, his blood group was
B+ve, and that he had a degree in Chemistry – I wanted at least a small shot at
having a kid smarter than me.
The doctor at the bank
had told me that three was a good age to tell a child about his/her origins.
But I hadn't made up my mind about whether I was going to tell Sammy
any of this.
The day I stole the toy,
I was in a lighter mood. I had spent the afternoon buying bed-time story-books
for Sammy and it was such a magnificent day. The sky was a striking blue and a
soft breeze was making a wind mill whir about behind me.
The path I was on had
curved to give way to a narrow road but then I noticed a bridge to my left; one
I’d never seen before. It was almost as if it were hiding something. It was
surrounded by wet mud but I decided that getting to the other side of the
bridge was worth the effort and I walked through the mud.
I came to a mini forest
of sorts. There were trees all around. It had gotten windier and as the trees
danced with the wind, I thought they were alive, talking amongst themselves.
Two lines of barbed wire ran across on one side, almost embedded in the ground
and next to them was a long hedge. A lake stood still nearby, reflecting this
secret place.
I was beginning to feel a little pleased with myself. I had crossed over
from a tarred road into total wilderness.Then I found that the wilderness wasn’t as forgotten a world as I
had expected it to be; there were fresh foot-prints in the mud - people walking
their dogs probably. But right then, there was no one there; just me and
the trees, and the lake.
I saw the clock first: a
blue rusted artifact. I checked my watch – it was four-thirty. The clock seemed
to be stuck but the hands showed four-thirty as well. Normally, I would have
been scared by this coincidence, it was too spooky to be real but I don’t know
what it was about that place. I just felt very peaceful. I placed the clock
back exactly as I had found it.
There were small
porcelain objects lying all around; the kind that you would put in your
bathroom or in your garden: simple statues of a boy and a girl holding hands; a
cow wearing a dress. The tree closest to me had wall hangings nailed on its
bark: little nothings from Christmas - a bell shaped photo frame, a Santa Claus
hat, paper mistletoe.
Someone had lost
something here. Or someone. I closed my eyes and said a small prayer. For some
reason I had a strong feeling that I would have liked whoever had been lost. I
felt an intense affection towards him/her; as though this person was very
familiar to me. I didn’t want to leave.
It was then that my
glance fell over the statue of a small, grinning sheep in a kilt. It seemed to
be in perfect condition. My first instinct told me to reach out for it and put
it in my pocket. I did as my instinct commanded. Once I had the toy, a souvenir
of this place, I felt ready to go home and started walking back.
The air was still, the
wind mill had stopped. Just then, I saw a fox, running across the field at top
speed. He was really far off but I stopped abruptly. I wanted to look at the
fox. But the fox, he stopped too! And he stood there in the middle of that
large field and stared at me. For a moment, I thought he was going to start
chasing me but as I started walking again, he ran away in the direction of the
small forest I had just come from.
I was a little scared but then I thought of the toy I had just found and
felt calm again. When I went home, I washed the sheep and placed it on my book
shelf.
After that evening, every time I went out for an evening walk, a fox
would appear out of nowhere and follow me from a distance for a few minutes. It
was always just for a few minutes and he would always run away after. It took me a while to
connect him with the toy but when he appeared again and again, weeks on end, I
began to wonder if he wanted me to return the toy to its rightful owner.
But I couldn’t bear to even think of such a thing.
Before I found the toy,
I had all sorts of questions about whether I would be a good mother, if I would
be able to love my son unconditionally or if I was just doing this for having
an interesting experience. It would be so difficult to be a single mother without
any help. Was I going to be able to see it through till the end?
The toy silenced all my insecurities. It made me feel positive and
strong, like
I wasn't alone.
And I found the fox more
curious than scary. He always maintained a good distance and I imagine he just
wondered why I was keeping something that didn’t belong to me. I got used to
him appearing on my walks and even began to think of him as a friend.
After Sammy was born, I took him with me on my walks and the fox
continued to visit us every day without fail.
This afternoon, I had
placed the toy on the dining table after dusting it. Sammy had gotten hold of
it for the first time. I watched him play with it and he looked the happiest I
have ever seen him. But then I was scared he might break it so I took it away.
That was when he started crying like he wasn’t going to stop. He had never
cried like this for anything else. Finally, I had no choice but to give the toy
back to him. He stopped crying instantly.
On our walk today, Sammy was still holding on to the toy in his pram.
The fox arrived
as usual. I smiled at him. He stared back. Then he walked away. Something told
me that I wouldn't seem him again.
When we arrived back at
home, I put Sammy to bed. But it's close to 1 a.m now and I still can’t sleep
so I’m in Sammy’s room with the toy, watching him sleep instead.
I hadn't really thought
about the toy that much before. I had just accepted it as a simple, good luck
charm. But today’s events have filled me with questions. The fox’s behavior
especially was very unusual. It was only when Sammy had the toy, that the fox
walked way and now my theory of the fox wanting me to return the toy to its
rightful owner has failed.
I look at the toy, begging for clues. But the sheep just stares back at
me lifeless, grinning as always. And now I can’t stop thinking about this
grinning sheep and that beautiful, strange place that I had picked it
from.
Why was it important? Why had the fox taken one look at Sammy holding
the toy, and walked away quietly? What was it about Sammy that had convinced
him to just let us be?
Sammy lets out a small
sigh. Can two year olds dream?
Sammy. Sammy. Sammy was born at four-thirty. The same time I had picked
up the toy. Why doesn’t that still scare me? Why does that silly toy make
my son and me, both feel so damn warm and comforted. The sort of familiar
affection you could only feel for very close family…
Damnit, Sammy, what am I going to tell you when you ask me who your father
is?