Description

The Clue in the Old Teddy Bear

Hannah loved yard sales. She liked searching through old things, imagining the stories behind them. But today, as she walked between rows of tables stacked with books, toys, and odd little trinkets, nothing really caught her eye—until she saw the teddy bear.
It was small, a little scruffy, with golden-brown fur and one button eye that looked shinier than the other. It sat on a dusty old chair, almost as if it were waiting for her.
She picked it up, brushing off some lint. “How much for the bear?” she asked the woman behind the table.
The woman glanced up. “Oh, that old thing? A dollar.”
Hannah fished a crumpled bill from her pocket and handed it over. As she hugged the bear close, something inside it clicked. She frowned. That didn’t feel like stuffing. It felt… solid.
That night, after dinner, she examined the bear more closely. She pressed its belly, and again—click. Was there something inside? She turned it over, searching for a hidden pocket. Then she spotted a tiny seam at the back of its neck, stitched up with slightly different thread.
Carefully, Hannah pulled at the loose stitching until she could slip her fingers inside. Something small and cold brushed against her fingertips.
A key.
She held it up to the light, her heart racing. Where had it come from? And more importantly…
What did it open?