So long, Woody

Three installments. Three stories. Three adventures. Now it's goodbye.

There is a kid in everyone of us. And in every kid in us, there is a hero we look up to. One who fights for justice. For peace. For Andy, it's a sheriff cowboy.

I have seen the first two films of Toy Story the nth time. The dubbing is superb, the animation is marvelous, the story lines are the best. I am a big fan of it. The comedy and the script are crisply delivered, and the truth in each utterance touches the heart of hearts. It is a magnificent experience.

So I looked forward to the third, expecting a tear-jerker and hearty laugh package. I was not failed. I wept a lot of times in this film than I did in Karate Kid. When Andy decided to leave Woody and the gang for college, my heart was broken. The bad side of being immortal is when the person you love is not, and you get left behind. Woody would always be a toy, but Andy would never remain a child. The most courageous act was when Woody learned to let go. I felt a lump in my throat when the car drove off.

I was in Grade 1 when my father gave me a stuffed toy. It was a blue rabbit with a frame of a human being. I loved it, and I love it till now. It stayed with me all throughout my schooling life and after. My father gave me new ones, even a life-sized one, because my old rabbit is already tattered. I cuddled the new ones. I grew tired of them. And I always came back to my old, reliable rabbit who acquired a new role. It became my pillow.

When I came back home in March, I noticed my ancient precious in my father's room, all wrapped in plastic to somehow avoid its gradual dilapidation. All my sleepless nights, my tears and joy, my darkest moments and sordid secrets, are all hidden in that now graying skin of my loyal rabbit. My mom wanted to preserve the memories, so she wrapped it. I thank her for that.

Change is the only permanent happening in the world. All else is ephemeral. And we move on. But moving on does not mean we acquire amnesia. We may lose contact. But all the memories, all the love and the friendship, all these stay with us. Even if the only thing left for us to do is to step one foot forward, the bond will always prevail. To infinity and beyond.