On a late autumn morning, the pale blue sky stretched endlessly above, and the temperature had been dropping day by day, a quiet reminder that winter was drawing near. Yet the crows seemed unconcerned. They fluttered busily across the sky, calling to one another—one voice answered by another, like a conversation only they understood. Scenes like this appear in this neighborhood a few times a week.

Where am I?
Is it morning already?
But something feels different today.
It’s so cold, and the ground beneath me feels hard and bumpy.
Everything around me is blurry as it has been — I can’t see very well.
Maybe… maybe I really am getting old.
Speaking of getting old, there’s something that’s been bothering me.
When I was young, my fur was bright and pure white.
I used to be proud of it.
But as the years passed, it’s grown darker… and dirtier.
I don’t like it. It’s embarrassing.
And I’m scared.
What if I get even dirtier?
What if Yumi doesn’t love me anymore?

Yumi is my treasure.
When she was little, we were always together.
My favorite place was right beside her pillow.
She would pick me up with her cute small hands and say,
“Ponta is my friend. Ponta is my favorite.”
Then she would press her cheek against mine.
Her soft, warm cheeks always tickled me.
Every night, she kissed me and whispered, “Good night, Ponta.”
That was the moment of my greatest joy.
Watching her fall asleep, I would feel happy too…and drift off beside her.

Oh, and I remember the day Yumi drew a picture of me.
She propped me up with her favorite cushion, making sure I sat perfectly straight.
Then she took some drawing papers and her crayons from her desk drawer.
She started with a white crayon, sketching my shape on the paper.
“Ponta, don’t move,” she said.
So I stayed perfectly still.
Now and then, she glanced up at me, then picked up a red crayon and drew the ribbon around my neck.
“It’ll be finished soon,” she said—starting over again and again, until she was satisfied.
I watched her with a full heart.
I loved her so much.

“It’s finished! See? It looks just like Ponta!” she said, proudly holding up the drawing.
My legs looked a little shorter than they actually were honestly, but I didn’t mind.
Yumi taped the drawing to her bedroom wall.
“It really looks like Ponta!” she said, her bright eyes sparkling with joy.  
And in that moment, I thought: I must be the luckiest teddy bear in the world!

Sometimes, there were moments that hurt my heart.
Yumi was always smiling, but one day she came running to me in tears after being scolded by her mother.
Her little face was all scrunched up, and with tears streaming down her  soft cheeks, she whispered,
“Ponta…” and threw herself into my arms.
She was so precious to me.
I held her as tightly as I could and cried with her.

Do you know?
We too can be sad, happy, talk to our loved ones, hug them, or cry together…
You might not have known, but we can do all of these things—with all of our hearts.
Oh… how fortunate I am…

Little Yumi has grown up so much now.
And she no longer hugs me tight, kisses me, or says, “Ponta is my favorite,” as she used to.
How lonely it feels…
Ever since Yumi started wearing her school uniform, I was moved from my favorite spot, beside her pillow,
to the top of the dresser in the corner of her room.
To tell you the truth, I’d prefer staying by her pillow forever.
But here, when the sunlight comes in, it’s warm and rather pleasant.
These days, the moment my body gets warm, I start to doze off.
Maybe… I’m getting old.

Now that I’m older, I wonder if Yumi will ever say it again— “Ponta is my treasure.”
I haven’t heard those words from her in a long, long time.
But from my new place on the dresser, I still whisper softly every day.
“I love you, Yumi.”

What I will never forget is Yumi’s happy smile yesterday.
Early in the morning, she began tidying her room and cleaning every corner.
Then, one after another, beautiful things I had never seen before were carried in.
Yumi’s mother and father came in and out of the room too.
Everyone was busy… but they all looked happy.

Yumi was wearing a pure white dress with a long, flowing skirt.
She stood in front of the mirror, smiling, and chatting happily with her mother.
I think they called it a wedding gown…
Yumi, wearing the gown adorned with lace and frills, was truly beautiful.
Her mother and her father looked happy as well.
Even the air in the room seemed to have the fragrance of happiness.
Yumi spread out the hem of her dress and looked into the mirror from every angle, sparkling with joy.
The same Yumi who once ran to me crying after being scolded by her mother…
Now she had grown up, so beautiful, that my heart felt warm with pride.

High above, a crow that had just been circling the sky has settled on a power line, resting its feet. It stares quietly downward, as if waiting for the right moment to swoop to the street below. On the street in front of Yumi’s house, office workers walking in a hurry toward the station, while energetic children with schoolbags bouncing on their backs chatter happily as they head to the nearby elementary school. A neighnor sweeps the front of their house with a broom; two neighbors step outside at the same moment and exchange a cheerful greeting. Morning in this quiet neighborhood is always busy in its own peaceful way.

The quiet morning was cut through by a loud, familiar sound:
“Vroom-vroom!”
“Beep-beep-beep!”
“Screech!”

Why is that?
I’ve been hearing strange noises here and there for a while now.
What is that loud sound?
It’s rather a nostalgic sound, one I heard long ago.
Yes, that’s it!
It’s the sound of the drive I went on with Yumi long ago.
It was a beautiful day, with a pleasant breeze.
Yumi sat snugly in the passenger seat of her father’s car, placing me gently on her lap,
and she showed me all the scenery outside the window.
“Ponta, that’s called a traffic light.”
”Ponta, that big car is a Truck.”
Yumi spoke proudly as she stroked my head, saying, 
“Ponta, you’re such a good boy.”
At that moment, I truly felt that Yumi cherished me.
I was so happy—so overflowing with joy—that my heart grew warm.  
Oh, how fortunate I am…

I get it now!
The loud sound I’ve been hearing is the sound of that Truck.

“Good morning!” 
You can hear the voices of children. In this area, volunteers stand at various points along the streets to keep an eye on children’s safety, exchanging morning greetings with the children and instructing them on when to cross the streets with notrafic lights so that they can get to school safely.

Suddenly, a large truck pulled up near Ponta.
Two men in work clothes climbed out and began tossing the plastic bags around Ponta into the back of the truck with quick, practiced movements.

It crossed my mind…
I wonder if Yumi still remembers that drive.
The traffic lights we looked up at together, the trucks, the dog we saw on his walk…
And that bicycle that suddenly zoomed past our window and startled us both….
I have a good idea! When Yumi comes home today, I’ll ask her all about it right away.

One of the men climbed down from the truck and walked toward Ponta. And then, in the very next moment, Ponta’s body lifted gently off the ground.

Will Yumi come home early today?
If she remembers those days?
Will she stroke my head the way she used to?
Will she pick me up in her arms again, kiss me, and say, “Ponta, I love you”?
Will she hold me tight and say, “Ponta is my treasure”?

High above, a lone crow circles the sky.
A faint breeze brushes by, cold and lonely.

The garbage truck stopped in front of Yumi’s house picked up an old teddy bear and the rest of the trash bags left on the doorstep, then drove away in a hurry.