In a sea of strangers

There was once a little boy who had a teddy bear. It was grey and furry, and he loved the bear very much.

The boy brought the bear wherever he went; to play school, church, to his relative's place. It would always be by his side, whether he was eating, taking a bath, or sleeping. He knew that his bear will always stand by his side.

One day, his parents, with all good intentions wanted to get rid of the bear. Having the bear around him all the time meant that it was already old and very worn out. One of the bear's button eyes were missing, and cotton stuffing was appearing on its side. They decided it was time for a replacement.

So one night while their son was fast asleep,  his parents carefully took away his old bear and replaced it with a brand new one. They were quite certain their boy would be very happy when he got up.

But alas, the opposite happened. The little boy had such a strong, emotional connection with his old bear that it seemed like he almost couldn't live without it. He cried, screamed and threw tantrums at his parents while trashing the new bear with his little fists. His parents could not believe what they saw and warned their son to keep quiet.

Nonetheless, the boy wasn't amused and continued throwing tantrums. Wherever the parents dragged their child, he would show off his naughty side and cause trouble for all. Relatives and friends were shocked with the transformation of their son, and the parents had a lot of explanation to do.

The little boy tried to reason with his friends and relatives that his parents were doing the wrong thing to him, but no one paid any attention. They shrugged him off because of his young age and the boy became increasingly frustrated.  Here he was, a lost fry, and no one was ever going to listen to him.

The boy has already resigned to the fact that his bear would never return. Will he be able to accept another bear into his life? Who knows, and who cares? Who gives a damn anyway?

After all, he's just a kid in a sea of strangers.