Navigating Treacherous Terrain

It's icy and treacherous on the streets of Northampton this here birthday. I stared at the ground in front of me as I walked to FOE - and that reminded me of this story (I also found 26 cents). I have a bunch of stories done for my working title "Martinizing Holyoke" zine. I hopes to get it done someday, but why not put a story here, especially when the weather has re-created the memory for me, right? I mean, I could die, or get swept up in other projects, right? I write stories. I find that so awesome. What's it matter if anyone reads 'em? I can't care about that. They'll get read or they won't. I'm just proud I wrote it down.

MOT

I left my friend’s home and headed up Congress Ave toward our house. I focused on the ground as my white rubber pull-on boots navigated the ice and puddles on the sidewalk.  When I looked up to gage how much treacherous terrain remained, I noticed my little brother. He was sitting in a puddle at the base of the neighbor’s driveway. I wondered if he might be stupid. He was a little kid. At an age where my mother would have tied his hood tight and clipped on his mittens. But still, I wondered.

When I got closer I saw he was bawling his eyes out and feeling around the slushy puddle with his soaking wet mittens. Seeing him so sad and pathetic softened me up and I asked what was wrong. Through snotty, choking sobs he told me he got hit in the mouth with a snowball and his loose tooth fell out. He needed to find it or the tooth fairy wouldn’t leave him a quarter. My little heart was breaking for my sad sack baby bro. I wanted to fix everything. I knelt down and looked in the puddle; I didn’t see a tooth. I don’t know what I said, but it amounted to something like, “The tooth fairy is all-knowing, like Santa. She can hear your cries and won’t forget you tonight.You’ve been brave little brother and did your best to find your tooth. She loves you because you tried. We’ll put a note under your pillow for the tooth fairy and she will leave you a quarter.” He stopped crying. He looked at me with his big blue eyes, totally believing my story.