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[TheEmbodimentOfKarma]

Once upon a time, a boy had a toy soldier. He loved that toy soldier, and played with it every day. But one day, he lost his toy soldier. He wept and sulked until his parents found it, and then he was happy and grateful. But that night, the boy had a terrifying thought. What if he lost his soldier and never found it again? So he took his toy soldier and made a cast of it, and created four more toy soldiers.
Now the boy had five toy soldiers, so if he lost one, another could take its place. But now he worried even more. He became attached to every single individual toy soldier, and was now five times as afraid as before.
Another young boy may have just kept making more toy soldiers, but this boy was smart, and knew that the cycle would repeat, so he did not make any more. He loved each and every toy soldier he had, and when he matured, he gave each of the soldiers away to a separate owner.
Happy ending, correct?
Not yet.
The first toy soldier, and also the original, was given to the boy's younger brother. This toy soldier was worn, but stable. The wax that made it up was near unbreakable, and this toy soldier was fine.
The second toy soldier was given to one of the boy's neighbors. It was an off-white, unlike the other soldiers' green color. This toy soldier was thrown around a bit by the neighbor's brother, but other than that, it was fine.
The third toy soldier was given to the neighbor's brother. It was missing an arm. It was also thrown about, but was fairly fine.
The fourth toy soldier was given to the boy who lived by the neighborhood drugstore, and was mostly left alone. It sat on a shelf with a toothpick supporting it, as the base of the soldier was uneven. The soldier, though, was fine.
The fifth soldier had nowhere else to go, and was left on the street. It was half headless, as the wax had melted when left by the stove.
Along came the mayor of the town, who found the fifth soldier and gave it to his son to play with. Now, his son was proficient in some forms of magic, and decided to make the soldier dance. He cast the spell, and as if by cue, the soldier danced, and the boy laughed.
But then, something else happened. Something unplanned. The soldier stood up and walked away, towards the window. The boy considered reversing the spell, but instead decided to see what would happen.
The soldier jumped out the window, and the boy followed, onto the roof, carefully climbing down the gutter, and down the street. The boy followed the soldier all about town. Then, they arrived at the first stop.
They were at the drugstore, and the half-headless soldier entered the house where the fourth soldier stayed, supported by a toothpick. He climbed in through a window, then stopped.
"Pardon me, my boy, but would you mind bringing my brother to life?"
"Sure, why not?"
And the boy did, and the soldiers rejoiced. Then, they walked away, with the half-headless one supporting the other.
One by one, all the soldiers were brought to life. But now, a dilemma was at hand. The soldiers had to be hidden, so no one would destroy them out of fear. The mayor's son took them back to the house.
(The story is unfinished. You can continue it yourself or give me ideas.)