The Sloth Of The Store

A shriek of metal sliced through the air followed by others just the same. Greasy clamps secured glassy eyes to the body. One by one, beasts emerged from the factory, identical, all, except for one.
The trip to the store was awful, a stench lingering in the air as the truck rolled through the highway. As the vehicle hit a bump, us cargo shook and jumped. I landed in a spot peering through a slit in the large box. I could see streaks of pink and orange dotting the sky. The sun was just barely cresting over the grassy hills. We were off the highway now, rumbling over cracked, barren roads.
Workers dragged us out of the box as the rear end dropped down, displaying the back of a grocery store. There were about six of us left here, and we were hauled onto carts. I was lifted high onto the top shelf, onto the dusty rack with no ledge for support. I glanced around, truly taking in my surroundings for the first time. I was on the highest shelf in the toy section, barely fitting besides a fat bee plushie.
There was a lot like it, yet they were different animals. I read the tag. “Squishmallows” it said. I was separated from all my friends because I was different from them. A tuft of fur was missing from my body, and I was, quote from one of the workers, a “mismatched sloth”. I didn’t understand why that mattered. I could give cuddles all the same as any other sloth.
The Next Couple Days
Through the next couple of days, I sat waiting, patiently, and I watched as the fat bee Squishmallow was taken from the shelf. I watched as the frog Squishmallow was taken next. Then the dog. Then the cat. Soon, the whole aisle of Squishmallows was gone. I was left there, sitting, watching, waiting for anyone to notice. A girl came along.
She looked like the other girls that I’d seen. After a while, you’ve trained your heart to be okay with a girl coming over, petting you, thinking you’re cute, and asking her mom or dad to get you. But every time, they leave with some other animal, as I’m the mismatched, the odd one. Yet the girl brought me down herself, hugging me. She felt the patch of bare fabric on my side, but she just giggled. A man approached.
“Daddy, please could I have this one? He’s unique!” The girl’s dad stared at my patch, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Sure sweetheart. Let’s go check out then.” I was surprised and shocked. After all these months of waiting, this little girl finally made my dream come true.
The ride to her house wasn’t hectic at all, there was a gentle breeze coming from the window, and the girl fell asleep on my lap. Words could not describe how I felt, but I knew that I was home. THE END
Sloth Story
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