Once upon a time, there lived a little girl named Molly who dwelt in the land of Scarcity and Impatience. Although she lived in a safe and snug brick home, surrounded by tall, leafy trees and had a magical grandmother who was able to produce meals from a seemingly empty refrigerator, Molly was afraid that she would never have enough. She also was compelled to control things, believing that not only did that give her power over outcomes, but that the outcomes she envisioned were the best options available.
One day, when she was playing at the home of her wealthy friend, Jennifer, whose father routinely traveled on a silver bird that took him to far away cities, Molly noticed that one of her front teeth had begun to wobble around in its socket. She had heard fables of a generous sprite who visited sleeping children and exchanged their teeth for money, depositing coins beneath pillows.
With visions of riches running through her head, Molly convinced Jennifer to help extract this source of income from Molly’s jaw. But how?
Pliers? No. They were dusty from being stored in the tool box.
They considered a punch to Molly’s face. While this would probably work, Jennifer did not feel comfortable with hitting, so the idea was rejected.
Finally, physics provided an answer: After a few false starts, Molly and Jennifer fashioned a crude engineering solution. Jennifer tied a silken cord to the door knob of the front door of her home. Molly tied the other end around her tooth and backed away from the door until the cord was taut. Testing their theory, Jennifer slowly closed the door. Molly could feel the tooth wiggle as the cord tightened.
Before I continue with this tale, it’s worth noting: Molly’s permanent tooth wasn’t yet ready to descend from her jaw. It was still planning its emergence. Therefore, it was actually sideways as it lie dormant in Molly’s gum line. It hadn’t fully rotated to face forward like its sister incisor, who had arrived earlier that year.
Molly neither knew this fact, nor cared. Her focus was on getting the bounty that her wiggly tooth would provide. Cash in hand. Damn the torpedoes. Giving Jennifer a resolute nod, Molly braced for what was next.
Swinging her arm in a deft arc, Jennifer slammed the front door. The string twanged. The tooth flew. With a shriek, Molly clamped her hand over her mouth as blood began to spurt from between her fingers.
Jennifer squealed in response.
From overhead, they could both hear the thudding footsteps of Jennifer’s father (who happened to be between trips), as he rapidly descended the stairs. Calling out all three of Jennifer’s given names, her father demanded to know ‘what in the blue blazes did they think they were doing?’
Stammering with apologies and excuses, Molly and Jennifer began to backpedal. The tooth was found. Blood was cleaned. A decision was made to not bother Jennifer’s mother with specifics of what had transpired that day.
That evening, Molly cleaned her tooth and placed it gently beneath her pillow, imagining the wealth that awaited her in the morning.
When the dawn broke through her window, Molly immediately swept her hand under her pillow, searching for the Tooth Fairy’s treasure. She found one quarter, and then another. Fifty cents. Four bits.
Time passed, and sure enough, Molly’s permanent tooth arrived. Gangly, awkward and misaligned. For twenty years, Molly hedged when she smiled, embarrassed of her crooked grin. For years, she worked and saved until at last, she was able to pay to have braces applied to her twisted teeth.
At the age of twenty-seven years old, and $3,000 later, Molly finally had a smile of which she could be proud. She had learned the lesson of patience. From that day hence, she loved smiling at people.
She vowed that never again would she force an ending. At last she understood the wisdom of trusting the process.
—The End—
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