"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

-The Velveteen Rabbit

Alice held up her favorite stuffed rabbit high up in the air. He was a special little rabbit; her mother had given it to her, or so she was told. She named him after her dear uncle Oswald, but he had a totally different personality. His name was Oz, and he loved her; she knew it.

When she looked into his little beady rabbit eyes, she could see he was much more than a doll. She loved him so much. Every day she'd take him out to play; so often, it actually wore him out. His eyes started to become loose, and his fur started to fall out. That didn't stop Alice though; she kept playing with him and loving him. After all, he was her best friend. He was real to her. She had never met her mother, and her father had passed away. Ever since her mother was "sent away," even her uncle Oswald was no fun. That's why she turned to Oz; her friend that she knew would never leave her.

He was so nice, and always listened when she wanted to talk to someone. He never complained, even when she'd bite his ears or yank on his little arms. Even when he was in terrible condition (one of the maids even suggested throwing him away!), he still kept a cheery disposition around Alice. She was the person he loved most.

After the one who gave him life was sent into the abyss, he shut down, and turned back into "just a doll." However, when he felt that first bite on his ear a few years later, life slowly began to return to him. Somebody loved him, and he loved her back. It was her love that made him exist, and all he wanted was for her to be happy. He was real now, because somebody actually bothered to love him.

Even as he started to crumble and break away, all he wanted was for her to smile. He didn't want to see those tears running down her face as one of his arms disintegrated in her hand. As he felt his short life reach a halt, he whispered to her, "just smile," and then he turned to dust. Even though the others couldn't hear him, Alice could.

The maids just looked at her with pity, feeling sympathy for the little girl who finally lost her old favorite toy. "They're so ignorant," she spat between her sobs. "If only they knew how truly real you were..." And with that, Alice gathered up the remnants of her beloved Oz. She walked over to the window of her isolated tower, put on a genuine smile reserved just for him, and threw the dusty remnants of her best friend out the window, like she was scattering someone's ashes. She loved him, and he loved her, and that's all it took to give him an existence.

To her, he would always be real.

A/N: Yes, I did base this whole thing off the children's book, The Velveteen Rabbit. That story always had a special place in my heart when I was a kid... I just loved the meaning behind it.

Feedback is welcome!~ c: