There is something serious and comical about this murder scene. On one hand, it’s terrifying and disturbing. How anyone could do such a thing, and why they would do such a thing, will always remain a mystery to me. I may play the sick, twisted card in Tour Books and other fictionalized outlets, but to actually go out and do this sort of thing, well, I don’t have it in me. And I’m relieved at that. But someone did.
This brutal beheading of an anonymous bear took place in the early evening hours of December 5. I stumbled upon the crime scene following the first annual children’s holiday at work. It was a heartless wake-up call after such a lovely afternoon of holiday bonhomie. The body had been stuffed in a garbage can. while a few feet away the head rested on its side, eyes agape as if still in shock.
Darkness lurks, even at Christmastime. Sometimes I think things become more sinister when the majority of people are doing their best to be good. Maybe it just seems that way in comparison.
The sad and serious part of this unhappy ending is that the bear looks well-worn and loved. In the realm of the Velveteen Rabbit, he or she would be considered ‘real.’ That’s the heartbreaking aspect of this scene. Was this an adult playing a joke on the world? Was it someone’s parent or care-taker menacing an actual child? I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. I had to work hard to quell my imagination from running away with all sorts of possible atrocities. In the end, it will remain a mystery. I turned my back to it and shuffled off into the night.
Being observant is sometimes a curse.
