A Toast to You

A bright light blinds you as you're being carried from the dark cave you have been living in ever since you were taken from your friends in the warehouse. As your eyes adjust you begin to see the silhoutte of a creature. [[You're afraid... ask what kind of creature it is.|A1]] [[Go with the flow, you'll find out soon enough.|A2]]

You attempt to yell out to the creature to ask it to identify itself but... nothing comes out. As you come to think about it, you realize you've never tried to talk before. In fact, you never even learned how. As you attempt to yell you shake a little bit, throwing the creature off guard and sending you crashing to the ground with a loud CLANG. You fall apart into scraps of metal and wiring. Your adventure was just beginning...

You hold off on trying to communicate until further notice. Who knows, maybe you'll scare it if you're not careful. The light begins to fade and you can see that this creature is large and fleshy. Its piercing eyes and short dark hair define its face, which you notice is now scanning the countertop for an empty space in which to put you down. You see a nice spot in the sun underneath the window that you'd like to sit in, but also a spot on top of the microwave that you want to perch on to get a better view. You wonder which one the creature will choose. [[You hope it's the spot by the window, it's been months since you've see the sun.|B1]] [[On top of the microwave would be perfect for scoping out my surroundings.|B2]]

As you decide you want the spot by the window the creature moves its long arms in that direction bringing you with them. You are set down with the sound of a soft rattle. You take a peek back at the creature's face now that the light is shining on it and begin to recognize the rest of its features. The face, the arms, the legs- that's a human! You heard about humans from others in the warehouse you came from, but have never seen one yourself. [[Don't stare, that's rude.|C1]] [[Keep looking at the human, who cares if it's rude if you've never seen one!|C2]]

You see the microwave get closer- no wait... you're getting closer to the microwave! The creature gently puts you on the microwave with the sound of a soft rattle. You can see the whole room from up here. there's a table and chairs, a fridge with photos of more creatures, and even a sink next to the spot under the window. You would look at the creature for more information but the light is behind it, making it hard to see details. [[Keep scanning the room for clues to find out what the creature is|C3]] [[You decided that you don't care much at all, actually. This is your home and you are content with it.|C4]]

You look away in fear that the human will think you are rude. As you look for something else to focus on you see a birthday card to your right addressed to "Adam". That is a man's name. Maybe this human is a man named Adam. [[Keep looking for more information|F2]]

From your observations and what you have heard from your friends, this human seems to be a man. What is his name? Is he the only one? He doesn't seem to notice or care that you are staring at him. [[Scan the room for clues|D3]]

You look back at the photos on the fridge. After studying a couple of them you recognize the creature as a human with a family. The human is the man in the photographs and you see that he has a wife, a small human, and a weird feathery pet of some sort. Just then, you hear footsteps *CLICK CLICK CLICK* [[Wha-|D4]]

You settle into your spot on the microwave and don't concern yourself too much with anything going on around you. People walk in and out of the room but you pay them no mind. Many years pass and you grow old. Soon, you stop working and your comfortable spot is given to a new appliance.

You take a peek around the room passing your gaze along the counters, the table, and the fridge. As you see the fridge you notice pictures hung up with magnets. You are particularly curious about the small feathery pet wondering what it could be. [[What is that small feathery thing?|E1]] [[Stay focused. Find out more information.|E2]]

You stare at the bright green feathers but nothing is hitting you. You have not seen one of these before or even heard stories about what it might be. [[Back to work!|E2]]

You look back at the photos on the fridge. After studying a couple of them you recognize the creature as a human with a family. The human is the man in the photographs and you see that he has a wife, a small human, and that weird pet. [[Sloothing is a lot of work. I'm not interested anymore.|F1]] [[I want to know more!|F2]]

You settle into your spot on the counter and don't concern yourself too much with anything going on around you. People walk in and out of the room but you pay them no mind. Many years pass and you grow old. Soon, you stop working and your comfortable spot is given to a new appliance.

As you begin to look for any other clues you may have missed you hear footsteps *CLICK CLICK CLICK* and see another creature walk in gracefully. This one has long brown hair and is wearing a dress. It looks just like the woman in the photos so this must be his wife! "I'm hungry," she says as she opens a cabinet and pulls out a loaf of bread. She grabs two pieces out of the bag and she walks over towards you, bread in hand. Before you know it she's pressing down on the lever and switching you settings. Warmth radiates from within and you feel comfortable. Sixty seconds pass when *POP!* [[WHAT WAS THAT?!?|G1]] [[Stay cool as a cucumber. Freaking out does you no good.|G2]]

You are frantically looking for what could have made that noise. Was it a balloon? Did someone open a bottle of champagne? You don't even know where to begin. When you look back at the woman you see she is now in possession of a plate of toast. It clicks. YOU made that noise. The warmth is now fading and you calm down. Everything goes quiet as the man and woman walk into another room. You are slightly embarassed. You forgot that you are a toaster.

As you remain calm and think, you see the woman reach her empty hands above you and pull them back full of toasted bread. You then realize that YOU made that noise. You finished doing your job and that noise was to alert the woman. In all of the excitement you forgot that you are a toaster and this is your life now. The same thing happens day after day; the man or the woman comes back to you wishing for you to help them make their toast and you accept this responsibility. Since you are happy to have a home, you oblige. [[Years pass...|H1]]

As your days pass you watch the littlest human get bigger and bigger. He grows dark hair like his mother's and has eyes like his father. You learn that his name is Luke but the woman calls him "Buddy" and "Big Brother" because soon he will be one. The man teaches him how to make toast and you feel proud because you are watching one of your humans learn how to live. The man comes back each day with Luke to make sure he does not hurt himself until one day when Luke shows up alone. [[Where is the man?|I1]]

You look and listen but there is no sign of the man. Luke walks over to you with a slice of bread, but while he reaches up for your settings his arm jerks suddenly sends you flying towards the ground. *CRASH* You hear the woman yell, "Buddy what was that?" He responds, "Nothing mom, I'm just making toast!" But then you hear the *Click click click* of the woman's shoes grow louder and louder as she approaches the kitchen. She sees you and quickly scoops you up to see if you are hurt, but you seem to be alright so she puts you back in your spot. The boy runs out of the room and you hear a door *slam*. The woman runs after him. You feel okay except for a bruised ego. [[You won't hold a grudge|J1]] [[You want to seek revenge|J2]]

You realize he is just a young boy so you show him some mercy. You want him to treat you with care so the next time he comes back for his toast you make it just right. There are no hard feelings here. You never touch the floor again throughout the years. You do your job and everyone is happy.

From then on out you vow always to burn the boy's toast. He hurt you so why should he be able to enjoy the results of your hard work? You don't know how badly you want to annoy the boy... How crispy should you make his toast each time? [[A little overdone. He didn't hurt you, afterall...|K1]] [[Turn his bread into coals! You don't trust him anymore.|K2]]

You see another creature walk in gracefully. This one has long brown hair and is wearing a dress. It looks just like the woman in the photos so this must be his wife! "I'm hungry," she says as she opens a cabinet and pulls out a loaf of bread. She grabs two pieces out of the bag and she walks over towards you, bread in hand. Before you know it she's pressing down on the lever and switching you settings. Warmth radiates from within and you feel comfortable. Sixty seconds pass when *POP!* [[WHAT WAS THAT?!?|G1]] [[Stay cool as a cucumber. Freaking out does you no good.|G2]]

You leave his bread in for a little longer than he likes each time and he notices something is off. He tells the man so then the man tries to make toast. What do you do...? Should you leave his in for too long or make his correctly? [[He is the one who brought the boy to me. Down with his toast too!|L1]] [[He didn't do anything wrong. Give him what he wants.|L2]]

Every time the boy comes back you serve him up an extra dark and crispy piece of toast. He discovers that he hates the taste of it and gets frustrated. His father never has this issue, what is he doing wrong? He tries telling the man but the man thinks it it the boy's mistake. He attempts to make toast again and again until eventually he stops trying and never bothers you again.

You leave his bread in for a little longer than he likes. He tells the boy that he thinks you are broken and- What is he doing?! He's picking you up and you see the garbage can getting nearer and nearer... He opens it up and *CLANG*! Everything goes dark. Now there is nothing. You are trash.

You make his toast just how he likes it. He chalks the boy's tale up to him not inputting the settings right and walks off without helping him, shaking his head. You keep up this charade for years and years until you stop working as well and you accidentally mess up everyone's toast. They all get sick of it so they replace you with a newer model.

Rachel Thieman

A Toast to You by Rachel Thieman [[Begin|Beginning]]