Broken Toy

I found a toy at nursery. It looked fantastic, all shiny and perfect for me. At first we played so well together and spent hours, days and weeks having fun. However, small cracks began appearing if I hugged it too hard or looked too closely. At first I thought I could try to fix it with plasters and a lick of paint, but the cracks were deep and sadly couldn’t be kissed better.

Soon after seeing the cracks and realising how fragile the toy was I put it on a shelf to admire time to time and talk to when I was alone.

Most of the time the toy sits on my shelf out of view and I don’t see it. I know it can’t be played with the same as others. I know it can’t be bent out of shape and will always be delicate.

Yet every now and then when I’m bored or in need of distraction the toy will catch my eye. I’ll give it a little nudge and give the key in its back a few cranky turns. Sometimes the toy will make jaunty little movements like it’s unused but not ‘out of order’. It has even been known to spontaneously bursts into life and we will play happily and everything is smooth and joyful.

But sometimes the rusty key refuses to budge or small nudges cause the intricate and deep cracks from the previous owner to shine through as new as the day they were made.