The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven

Soft slippers shuffled across the hardwood floor, an odd sound at such a late time of night. It was just after three o’clock in the morning, and still I was not able to get any form of sleep. I crept around my dining room table to get to the counter-top, hoping a glass of water would at least ease the irritation in my throat. A light lamp was flickered on over my stove-top, brightening up the area enough for me to see more clearly. I looked over my shoulder at the couch, Teddy’s swollen eyes staring back at me. He was outstretched upon my living room couch with a patterned butterfly blanket piled over him. He nearly laughed when I gave him the blanket tonight, but unfortunately I did not have any patterns that suited him. I had no idea the reasoning behind me purchasing that blanket with such a childish pattern, but like everything in life, it seemed right at the time. I raised up a hand in greeting, which only made him bat tired looking eyelids at me. “Hey,” I muttered, since I knew he was still in a sullen mood.

“Hello, Sela,” he uttered in a sad-like voice that nearly broke my heart. I bit down at my lip and then looked upon the floor, feeling at a loss for words to make him feel any better.

“I was- I was going to have water,” I stammered out. “I keep coughing.”

“I heard you.”

“In a couple more hours I’ll take some more medicine for this headache. You will probably want some for the pain.”

“The doctor gave me something,” he softly hushed. Teddy sat up on the couch more to see more clearly. “Have you any tea?”

“I have herbal tea, yeah. Is mint tea fine enough for you?”

“Perfect,” he mouthed out slowly. I went over to the kettle to fill it up with water. The mugs clashed and clanged as I tried to find one that would suit him. Teddy had such elegant things in his home, and I feared my own belongings were a pitiful downgrade. Once I settled on a teal grey mug with thin white lines stretched across it, I set it down next to the kettle with a satisfied air. “I can’t sleep,” sounded behind me. “You mind if you stay with me for a bit?”

“Yes, that’s fine,” I said over my shoulder, though I felt uneasy at the thought of it. The decision to sleep away from him was already hard enough, but then again our relationship status was a little undefined at the moment. I knew that Teddy needed a friend, someone he could talk to, and that I would be the perfect person.

of shame at the amount of attraction I still felt towards him. The entire notion of me liking him had come upon me so suddenly, it was hard to determine when I first began to develop

don’t add anything in your mint tea, do you?” I

was clear as he replied: “No,

of mint filled the air, a welcome fragrance after an extremely long night with the firefighters and then the ambulance workers that inspected the cuts across Teddy’s waist and right arm. He even had to go to the hospital to get a certain wound stitched up. It

cup of tea to cheer up his spirits. A tiny smile graced his handsome face for me, but it could not linger

full attention. He watched me cross my legs upon the couch before I pulled the patterned butterfly

done,” he uttered in a

know how much you

but then I didn’t. I knew she was there waiting for me, all those years trapped inside that house.” He tilted his head to the

she didn’t want to let you go,” I said in

and my newly done self-portrait rested in the center of it. “Everyone

he made your life miserable,”

lips pressed together firmly while he squinted his eyes a little bit. I could tell he was holding a lot of emotions back, but for once

he began. “I am

never thought