Image made by me using Canva
Bill the button sat at the face of the jar and watched the seamstress work on her latest project.
He loved looking at her work, watching her hum during her running stitches and sing when doing measurements.
He cleaned himself usually though. Keeping his new glow despite being here quite longer than most of the alive buttons.
Today he cleaned himself extra well as he recognized the shirt the seamstress was working on.
"Say, that's a pilot's outfit. Isn't it?" Bill asked the needles and pin on the pin cushion.
"It is. Isn't it?"
"Isn't it?"
"It is..."
The needles and pins asked themselves, all echoing the same question and answer and getting confused.
"I saw a picture of it in the book of clothes she always looks through. So it is one, right?" Bill asked again.
"It is indeed." Joe the elder needle answered clearly.
He had a long thick body and a lovely wide eye for the thread to pass through, distinctly different from the other needles slimmer shorter bodies and smaller mouth.
As he spoke, the other needles and pins quieted down to listen, for it was common knowledge that the elder needle with the bigger eye was the wisest.
"A pilot uniform, huh?" Bill said dreamingly looking at the tailor sew.
"I've always wanted to go to the skies, I wonder..."
"Hahahaha just forget it." Shouted Chang another button with a swirl shape on his body.
He talked weirdly with an accent that made his vowel sounds a bit lighter and less heard.
"There's no way that she'll pick a plain button like you." Chan said again, laughing and other buttons chuckled with him while most didn't care.
This didn't bother Bill though, he heard what the other fancier buttons said behind his back.
How he was 'the button nobody wanted'.
Although their constant jibes and back talk didn't discourage him. Bill always had one dream, that he would be sewn unto the sharpest uniform and be able to see the skies.
The laughter continued and Joe the elder needle was about to scold Chang then suddenly everybody fell flat.
The seamstress was coming towards the jar.
Bill was slow in responding and tried falling unnoticeably.
He landed with a click on the jar's walls.
Everybody had to hold the position and hoped she hadn't heard the little noise.
She stopped in place and indeed bent her head as though she had heard something.
Just then another person barged into the shop.
"Rachel is it ready?" This other man asked.
"I just finished fixing it right now captain." She said as she hurried and collected the scissors to cut of any loose threads.
"Brilliant!." The man called captain exclaimed.
"You fixed it even better than how it was before it broke." He said trying it on
"You flatter me sir." The tailor replied humbly.
"I'll need your help with this though, the button just fell off." The man asked her, showing his sleeve.
"Come choose any button then." The tailor invited him.
Bill stood at his position bent slightly upwards against the jar.
The man reached into the jar and grabbed a handful of buttons.
He perused them on his hands for a second and picked one out dropping the rest.
Bill watched it all happen in a flash, the man grabbing the handful from the middle, missing him at the edge of the jar.
Looking through all the buttons in his hand and then picking a button, Chang the button.
He couldn't help feel the tears slip from his eyes.
8 years in the jar and it seemed like he wouldn't get out of it. It seemed like he would stay till he's 12th year and become as lifeless as the other dead and mute buttons at the bottom of the jar.
Nobody laughed at him now as he sobbed, everyone somehow had empathy for the old comer.
As the man left the shop blatantly flirting with the seamstress, Bill saw he's dreams and wishes leave with him.
The seamstress hummed as she put the jar of buttons back on the shelf, not minding nor seeing the sad button who had lost all hope.
Or so he thought, for a second later the same man rushed into the shop.
"Pardon me, but it seemed like I forgot to get the button sewed in and my coat which I came to pick up."
At that same moment, due to the rush in which he had opened the door and the fact that the seamstress hadn't pushed the jar in the shelves far enough, the jar of buttons teetered and fell.
Glass and buttons flew everywhere and Bill the sobbing button, flew unto the shoes of the man.
He looked down and saw the plain button, he smiled and picked it up, running towards the seamstress.
"I'm so sorry." The man apologized. "I'll help you clean it up so please help me fix the sleeve, I've found an even better button."
The seamstress readily agreed with the man helping her pick up the broken glasses and buttons, yet the one who was most happy was Bill, for not only has he been chosen, he'd been chosen by a man who was going to the skies.
The seamstress sewed Bill unto the sleeve in a jiffy and the man cleaned up pretty quick too.
"Now I would love to stay and chat but I have a plane waiting for me so..." The man started to run and then he came back for the jacket again. Making sure to wear it before running out of the shop lest he loses it once more.
Bill felt the breeze as he was put to good use as a button holding the clothes together on a sleeve.
As the man was running and swinging his arms, Bill saw the world all around the airline pass him in a blur of color, he was overjoyed to be finally out of the jar after 8 years.
Soon the man stopped running and came to a brisk walk up the stairs. As he stopped running, the jacket sleeves came down over the shirt sleeves and Bill couldn't see anything more than the floor and hear some voices.
"Where have you been?" A female voice asked
"Was held up, mending my uniform." The man answered nervously.
"Held up my foot, you have 300 people waiting for you and you went to flirt." The woman said getting more angry.
After a few more minutes of scolding, the man began walking again, Bill feeling hot and honestly tired of hearing the woman's scolding voice.
The floor seemed to change from white tiles to metal steps and then a black substance.
Suddenly the man reached and removed the jacket and Bill could see his surroundings again, seemed to be in some kind of machine with a lot of buttons.
As the man sat down on the seat and put his helmet on, that's when Bill realized what was happening.
He looked through the screen all around him and all he could see was the clear blue open skies with a few white clouds.
The last thing Bill heard before passing out from the sheer joy of seeing his wish come true were the words he'll come to hear a whole lot more often.
"Good Morning passengers. It is your pilot speaking, please buckle up and get ready for we are about to take off."