The one silver lining was the tooth fairy. I believed in her very much, especially because she managed to find me no matter where in the world we lived, even the cul-de-sac in suburban Rome where we were at the time.
Except one time she didn't come.
I woke up the morning after another harrowing and messy loss and checked for her present under my pillow. The going rate for a tooth back then was 25 cents, but it wasn't there. I looked inside my pillowcase, behind the mattress, under the bed... nothing. I accused my brothers of playing a trick on me.
My parents explained that sometimes these things happen, that there had been an earthquake in Sicily and that other children needed more help than I did. I tried to be selfless and somehow, somebody managed to console me. We got through the day, but my faith was badly shaken. How could she have forgotten? I mean, there were all those tears and all that blood, how could she not remember that?
The next morning I woke up and took a peek under my pillow in the off-chance that I had missed something. There it was! My shiny quarter! But there was something else too. Underneath the coin was a small piece of folded paper. It was a note of apology from my friend the tooth fairy. The note was written in block letters that only vaguely disguised my father's own handwriting. It was signed "Love, T.F." -- short for tooth fairy. Years later I would receive others notes from my father -- these would be signed "Love, D." -- short for Dad.
3 comments:
Someone told me that their daughter swallowed a tooth which had come loose, and was distraught that she would not now receive a visit from the tooth fairy. A family friend told the little girl, "Well, you will still be able to contact the poo goblin..."
How wonderful that you kept all those!
Also, 25 cents isn't bad. For my first tooth, I got a grain of rice.
This is great info to know.
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