Pegg's Story

Written by: Alex

I was a silent observer during the time Edward was in our town, and our home. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision, bringing Edward down to live with us. Then I think about how much Edward had grown, how he had gone on such a major journey, helped out by my daughter, and I know I made the right choice.

I am Pegg.

The lady who discovered Edward alone in his castle, and who brought him home.

From the very beginnning I could tell that there was something different about Edward, something special and unique. Obviously, the sharp scissors in place were the first thing that stood out and marked Edward as an individual. But it was things that went deeper than that. One of my first questions was why was Edward in a castle, all alone? The Gothic-style castle he lived in, upon the mountain, was a stark contrast to the pastel coloured houses in the suburb I lived in.

When I first applied some of my Avon treatment to his face, it looked like he wanted to flinch away from the contact. His face showed fear and nervousness, yet he stood still and let me continue. I feel that this incident was the first step on Edward's journey to believing in others, though he had a number of setbacks along the way.

I think that while Edward spent time looking for love and understanding, something that he longed for, he had been taken away from his comfort zone and placed in a more populated - and for him, a somewhat scary environment. His journey throughout the time he spent with us was for him to learn how to fully trust people, and how to totally understand that sometimes, people with differences are better off alone.

I remember one instance when Edward was helping me chop lettuce for a barbeque, and he watched me open a can of beetroot. This seemed to trigger a flashback for him, and I later asked about it. Edward later told me that it had brought on a memory of an old lab or a factory, where his inventor appeared, and marvelled at a cookie machine. He then picked up a cookie, in the shape of a heart, and held it up to the chest of a robot - one which had scissors for hands and was chopping lettuce. I feel that this showed part of Edward's inner journey, where he had been given feelings, and a heart. This almost gives the suggestion that these inner qualities are far more important than hands.

I also noticed that the community we were in seemed to have varying opinions of Edward. Though he was somewhat of an 'outcast', they quickly learned to accept him once they realised he was useful to them, physically. They were first unsure, yet accepted him once they saw him as merely an object for their own fulfilment.

Sadly, after a short while the members in my community began to change their opinions of him. I supppose they couldn't help it; it's in the human nature to judge others. They were determined to 'abuse' the naive and innocent Edward, who had no idea what was going on, an why the people who had been so friendly towards him a week ago were now staying away from him. Only my daughter kept her faith in him.

Over the time he was with us, I saw Edward go through a number of obstacles - some easy, others harder for him to overcome. Even at the very beginning, it was quite obvious to me that Edward had been out of contact with the rest of the world for some time - though this soon changed.

Since his inventor died, Edward was forced to move on, and live totally by himself. He had to live with the fact that he was simply an invention which would never quite finish - and that he would never change. This within itself was a hard enough task to deal with. Instead, he used the time he had to sculpt plants into beautiful animals, and maintaining a garden, while he carved ice sculptures with his 'gift' and talent using scissors in the winter.

Almost every dinner was a challenge for poor Edward. The whole family would look on as he tried to grasp a pea, or some other vegetable, in the clamp of his scissors, with no success. This, I believe, made him feel like an individual, as well as feeling different, with a sense of not being included.

Along the way, one of the major discoveries made by Edward was just how different he was, especially in comparison to the rest of my neighbourhood, and society as a whole. Once he saw what life was like outside his own home, he began to realise how much of a significant difference he has - and that he is the only one.

Members of my society, after Edward left, couldn't believe that I had taken him, this 'freak', into my house and cared for him as though he was my own son. I ignored them.

Edward, though abnormally different from everyone else, was a wonderfully unique individual, and I feel that my family, especially with my daughter Kim, has learnt a lot from the short time he stayed with us.