Solmire
Legacy Name: Solmire

"Three, two, one," I counted down. "Here I come!" I yelled pulling my head out from under my paws. "Wimsor! Wimsor!" I howled prancing my way through the garden. "Where are you, Wimsor?"

I pressed my nose to the ground and took in a deep breath. I could smell his scent; it was a mixture of clean sheets and mocha. I continued my search mazing through the patches of roses, sweet peas, sunflowers, and irises. My journey lead me to a large rock nestled in a field of Maiden grass.

"Wimsor!" I screamed, jumping on the rock. And there he was in all of his fluffy teddy bear goodness!

"Oh, Solmire, you found me." He smiled up at me.

"I won again!"I jumped on him and took hold of his arm in my mouth. He was so soft; his fur was a snow white, his eyes small black beads and his mouth a black stitching.

"Could you let go of my arm, please?" he asked. Reluctantly I let go, and he fell to the ground with a soft thud.

"Do you want to play again?" I asked, jumping around him.

"No, not today. You've already won six times in a row." He groaned as he got up and brushed himself off. I sat down in the grass and watched as Wimsor struggled to climb up the rock.

"I got an idea!" I yelled, shooting up to my feet. "Let's explore the garden!”

Wimsor sat on the rock thinking. "Okay," he said after a while, "but I get to ride on your back."

I smiled and jumped around some more, flattening the Maiden grass around me. "Get on, get on!" I squealed with excitement. "Let's go!"

He climbed on my back and we were off. I guess you wouldn't really call this place a garden; it is more like a world. And this place isn't like any other garden. Every day, new toys arrive scattering all over the garden. I call this place "The Garden of Lost Toys," because all the toys that live in the flowers and the grass fields look so lonely and lost.

It was about five days ago when I found Wimsor asleep in a patch of tiger lilies. His fur was all stained up, and he had a poor attitude. I helped him clean up in the creek, and in a couple of days his mood improved. Wimsor was different from other toys that I've found in the garden. He had a sense of old wisdom to him. We started on our journey following a dirt path that twisted its way through the garden and towards the mountain that lay in the distance. We passed a lot of little doll villages on the way; as we passed they would wave and wish us luck in our travels.

After a while of walking I grew tired and we took a break in a patch of dandelions. All at once, a swarm of butterflies rose and took off into the air. I marveled at their diverse color. Reinvigorated, I jumped into the air trying to catch the butterflies as they flew away.

"Stop that!” A high pitched voice yelled at me. I turned my head and it was a fairy doll. "Don't do that, we have places to be!" She hit me on the snout with her wand and flew away with the butterflies.

I stood there a while in shock. Wimsor stood next to me laughing. I started to laugh along with him. In a few moments we were ready to go again.

We kept on our path, most of the time walking in silence, but then Wimsor broke it. "How long have you been here, Solmire," he asked.

"I don't know," I said, strolling up a hill. "As long as I can remember, I've been in the garden chasing rabbits and playing with the toys that end up here."

"Interesting," he said. I could feel him shuffle his position on my back.

"How long have you been in the garden?" I asked.

"Too long," he sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing."

"I—" In that moment my foot hit something hard, and we both fell. "What was that?" I barked, licking my injured toe.

Wimsor got back on his feet, his white fur dusty. We looked at the treasure sticking out of the earth. It was something I've never seen before; it was made of brass that didn't shine, and it had a weird top that connected to the bottom circle with small poles. Wimsor started to dig at the edges buried in the dirt. I helped, digging as fast as I could, trying not to break it. In time we had it dug out.

"It's– it's a carousel." He was breathing hard.

Once it was out of the ground it was lovely. The top was carved with beautiful flowers and clouds. The poles were connected to hand-carved wooden horses of all different shapes and sizes. I blew the dirt from the base and walked around it. I could see faded colors painted on the roof.

"What does it do?" I asked Wimsor, breathless with amazement. He followed me as I walked around the carousel.

"It's a musical carousel," he answered excitedly. On the side of the base was a white knob. Wimsor bent over and with his plush arms he turned the knob ever so gently.That's when it began. Bump, de, de, de, bum, de, bum, de, de bump. The melody repeated itself, the sound filling the air around us. I swayed slowly to the music at first. Then my movements changed to a dance, jumping and swirling around the carousel. Bump, de, de, de, bum, de, bum, de, de bump, it continued. Wimsor sat and watched me a smile on his face, filling me with more happiness. Then the music slowly faded out.

"Why did it stop?" I wanted to dance longer.

"The timer ran out," he replied. "I'll rewind it if you want?"

"Oh, please do!" I jumped for joy, wanting to hear the melody again. He turned the knob again and the sound filled the air once more. I danced a while, then turned to Wimsor. "Let's go," I smiled at him.

His face showed pure amazement. "Why, don't you still enjoy the song?"

"I do," I said, "but I want others to enjoy it too."

So we left and continued on our way down the path, the melody ringing in the distance. We were closer to the base of the mountain, and the sun was beginning to set. The sky was filled with shades of purple blending into a pink and orange hue. We made our final resting spot at the base of the mountain in a field of daisies. Wimsor climbed down my back and we sat in the field watching the sun set. We sat in silence for a while then Wimsor spoke.

"I've been thinking," he said. "I think I understand this whole place now."

"What do you mean?" I asked, eager for his answer.

"This place is a garden for lost toys, but when do we leave?" he said, playing with a daisy. "I think we leave this place when we find happiness, or a purpose." He plucked the flower from the ground and examined it. "Let me tell you more about myself." His voice was soft, almost a whisper. "I used to live in a world plagued by war, and the family I lived with all died in a bombing. I was separated from the little girl I cared for. I sat in the rain for days waiting for her to find me. I was forgotten and lost." His voice trailed off and it was a long time before he started again. "One day I woke up in this garden. It was beautiful, but I was still lost. Then you found me and I found happiness again; I found my purpose." He held up the daisy he had been holding in his hand. "In England, the daisy stands for loyalty, love, beauty, patience, purity, innocence, and simplicity." He tucked the flower against my ear. "This flower represents you." He smiled, his beaded eyes shining in the fading light.

His smile was so sweet, it filled me with a feeling I had never felt before. My eyes started to water. "Wimsor," I muttered.

He smiled back at me, his whole face showing such happiness. "I can feel my time coming to an end here in the garden. Don't be sad when I leave. Just know that I love you, Solmire. You showed me what happiness was again." As he said these last words, his body started to dissolve into a sliver mist.

"Don't leave," I barked, biting at his hand. "Please!"

He smiled at me once more. "Solmire, you are the guardian of this place. Other toys need you, like I needed you. Good bye, and thank you."

Then he was gone. He was gone. The sun was almost gone. I sat there in the dim light, tears running down my face. I howled into the night hopping my sounds of sorrow would reach him, where ever he was. As the sun hid away behind the mountain, the moon came out and the stars joined it.

***

I woke up the next morning low on energy and drive. I could still feel the soft pressure of the daisy resting on my head.

"Wimsor," I whined under my breath. I rose from where I laid and started my journey back home. My pace was slow and without meaning, I passed the hole where we had found the carousel. it wasn't there anymore; maybe it had found its purpose and returned to the place it was from, just like Wimsor.

Not far from the hole sat a pull-along caterpillar toy. It slowly moved itself along the edge of the hole. I stood there watching it, when it made a small sound, "Bump," followed by, "de, de, de, bum, de, bum, de, de bump." I smiled, listening to it repeat the melody as it made its way along the path.

I kept moving at my usual pace, humming the rhythm in my head. I came upon a field of short-cut grass covered in balls of all colors and sizes—red ones, white ones, and one that was white with red laces. But there was one ball that sat on the edge of the grass patch, adorned with a black "8." I kicked it over as I looked into the distance.

"I wonder if I'll ever find someone like Wimsor again," I said aloud. I looked back down at the ball at my feet. A hole had been cut out, and through this dark inky haze an answer appeared to the surface: Yes, definitely. I smiled at what it said and continued on my way.

I was almost back home when I saw a small blue rabbit sitting on the edge of the creek. Its floppy ears hung by the side of its head. It looked sad and lost. The stitching on its left arm hung loosely. I trotted over and sat next to it. The rabbit looked at me with sad black button eyes.

"Hi," I smiled, eyes wide with joy. "My name is Solmire!"