You are listening to the program “1001 green things” of Phuc Khang Corporation. This time, I would like to tell you a story of A BEFRIENDED TEDDY BEAR.

I am a little teddy bear abandoned in a pile of trash at a street corner.

I used to be prominently displayed in a glass showcase. I used to receive several compliments. I used to be arrogant when my owner pinned on my chest the tag of my price which was many times as much as the other ones. I used to be carefully-wrapped in a beautiful box as a gift for someone. I used to be enthusiastically welcomed with a new owner’s sweet smile. I used to have an ideal place inside the owner’s beautiful bedroom.

I felt that my pride was multiplied when I became a milestone in the journey of romance between my owner and her sweetheart – the gift-giver.

I saw my owner’s happiness whenever she looked at me with her sweet and joyful eyes, whispering to me where they had been to and what he had given her. Though he offered her manifold gifts, I maintained my position inasmuch as I was the very first one.

But peace never prevails in life. The pandemic spread, hence, he was stuck away from home and she was expecting him day by day. Yet, absence grows the heart WONDER, not FONDER. She started telling me about him with sad eyes. And qui sera sera – “What will come will come.”

One day, she guided an auntie into her room. “Perhaps she has no time to clean up the room, so she has somebody do it! Maybe!” – I thought to myself. I was right. The auntie cleaned up the room perfectly. She just sat there, observing her without saying anything and then paid her upon completion.

The auntie left and my owner’s room turned weirdly empty because she wiped out all of their souvenirs, including me. She put me in a black bag stuffed with other items. Everything went dark and the last thing I saw in our lovely home was the scene of my owner with a sad face, sitting still in an empty room. She was very much different from herself in their first days.

And then “Thud”. I was dropped from above. I had no idea where I was, I was too long surrounded by darkness. We were lifted, then spun and dropped again in another place which was not hard and rough like before. I heard the sound of a moving vehicle; we were shaken until being hurt by something dropped from above. A few moments later, we were spun and dropped again; our bag was untied; I looked around; the smell of trash directly attacked my nose. I was among the waste. I used to be the priciest in the store; I used to attract a lot of attention from customers; I used to be carefully-handled and welcomed … And yet, I am now throwaway, together with thousands of plastic bottles, nylon bags, vegetables, leftover food, paper tissues and even other more terrible waste …

Shocked! Really shocked! My life seemed done. I was no more than a thing of which people can dispose out of necessity. I comforted myself that I used to, at least, have a glorious time with beautiful memories. Perhaps, I should indulge myself in the past in order to forget the dirty, stinky and ugly present.

The day later, a group of children went to the garbage dump; one picked plastic bottles, one picked beer cans and other ones picked carton boxes … Boringly, I observed the kids make a living, thinking that they paid no attention to me. What they really needed was something that could buy them a little food. I was just an old, stinky and dirty teddy bear, which was unable to alleviate their hunger.

While thinking vaguely, I was lifted up by a tawny little girl with bright round eyes. “Brother, how beautiful this teddy bear is! May I bring it home?” And that was how I, along with stuff of plastic bottles, was saved by the little girl and the other kids. She washed my out and then dried me off. She slept by me. She held me tight, studying and then sleeping. I restored the feeling of being handled with care like a real friend. She told me what happened in class or at school … Despite hardship in life, my little owner studied so well that her certificates of merit were piled, which made me proud. We kept being accompanied until she went to college. I thought I would be once again far from my beloved owner; yet, she neatly arranged me inside her backpack. I had a chance of following her to the dormitory. Time flew and I could not remember how old I was, just knew that my talented and beloved owner graduated and went to work.

Her hard childhood equipped her with many good personalities and polite behaviors. She categorized garbage clearly: a slot for plastic bottles, a slot for soda cans, a slot for food and vegetables and another for old things for sales … She said that the categorization of garbage was for the convenience of sanitation workers or poor people who made a living on garbage.

Right, I think that my life is full of luck. Although I am well-wrapped and carefully-handled as a gift or junk, I fulfill my responsibilities, staying by, sticking to and looking on beautiful values. I am not sad because I was dumped. I am not sad because I was “born” as a small thing in life. But I AM SAD because my “friends” are not as lucky as me. They are too unlucky to be owned by those who lack of compassion. They are broken in pieces, thrown in a warehouse, under a bed, on a sidewalk, which ended the life of ornaments or souvenirs in wear and tear.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

You have just listened to a story of A BEFRIENDED TEDDY BEAR. Phuc Khang would like to imply the emotion of what we use every day in the narration of a normal thing. Whether it is needed or deeded requires your green and civilized behaviors. Categorizing used and reusable products is one of not only your civilized behaviors but also green and sustainable lifestyle trends.

In the next broadcast, our program “1001 green things” will tell you a story about a water purifier machine of a pious child. What was your first gift to your parents? Is it special like that of the girl in the next story? Remember to follow us.