When I was like 4 or 5, I don't even know how long ago, I remember I had this badass apple & worm toy, you know the kind where it's a wooden apple with holes drilled in and a wooden cartoon worm attached by a string to the top so you can push it through the various holes (totally non-sexual, I swear. I was 4, after all).

That toy was my jam. I played with it all the time, just twisting the worm and his string in and around that apple. Of course, like all new toys, it eventually lost its magic and I began spreading my playtime more equally among the possibilities. But bear in mind - I still freakin' loved this toy. My playtime with it may not have been as long as with some of my other toys, but it was still pretty darn long.

But apparently my mom didn't know this. She saw me put it under my bed for safekeeping one night, and immediately assumed I was done with it. First thing next morning, she put it in with the rest of the stuff she'd gathered up in anticipation of our church's next garage sale. Next morning I woke up, looked around for it, and, not seeing anything resembling a toy apple, began to search around the house. After a long and fruitless effort to reclaim my lost toy, my mom called me in for lunch and I probably forgot all about it for the time being.

The next couple days I continued searching, but still, no luck. Finally, I asked my mom about it, but by then it was too late. The garage sale was already over, and my toy was gone for good. (As it turns out, it had actually been purchased for one of my best friends - my realization of this fact was followed by a series of botched attempts to steal it back, but that's a story for another day). Every once in a while, I still think back on that toy and mourn.

N.B. It's 3am here, and I'm a little bit out of it at the moment. This has had 2 effects on the preceding story:

1. My writing is pretty shitty. Sorry. Maybe I'll edit it a little tomorrow, when I'm properly awake.

2. A lot of the details are really fucked up. I realized this as I wrote, but I don't have the energy or will to fix it. If anyone wants I can provide a shorter but guaranteed factual recap of the events.