I told her not to run, that it wouldn’t hurt.
It’s just a tooth and, also, it’s for science.
I told her we’d put it under the pillow, then tonight
we would find out if the tooth fairy really did exist.
I told her it would produce results.
She just screamed and ran.
I yelled after her that it had to be
her tooth because I’d lost all mine
(except for the big ones at the back,
but I didn’t tell her that).
Her teeth would be easier to get anyway,
since the front ones were loose.
And also, since they were in her face, they’d be easier to get.
Easier for me, anyway.
So, I chased her out from behind the sofa
and from under the bed.
I crept slowly towards the closet
but as soon as I opened the door
she slipped under my arm
and shot down into the basement.
We both hate it down there because it
smells like mould and it’s dark and creepy
but I thought actually it’s the right sort of place
to capture a sister. Where no one could hear her.
She wriggled and punched at my ribs,
and she even tried to bite me, which was smart.
But I got the tooth, which was pretty loose anyway.
Once she stops howling, we can sort out night shifts
to see whether there really is a tooth fairy.
I doubt it. I think it’s an ogre.
Because what else would make a habit
of collecting little kids’ body parts?
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