Smile

Love is greater than pain

“Smile hold my hand, I have to lift the pants leg up over your knee to see how bad it is. If you start to feel pain just squeeze my hand as hard as you need to.”

“OK but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Don’t worry about me, you’re the one with the banged up knee. OK on the count of three i’m gonna pull it up. 1.... 2.... 3.” Dougly pulled Smile’s pant leg over the cuts on three and Smile technically crushed Dougly’s hand.

This is the first thing she said after that “Is your hand ok? I think I broke it. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to it’s just it hurt really bad and -”

“Smile shut up. I’m fine, I said you could squeeze my hand if you felt pain and you did. I’m fine but you aren’t.”

“What do you mean? Is my knee broken?”

“No just really badly scraped.” Smile had this huge cut in her right knee from one end to the other and tons of little ones all around the big one. Blood was gushing out like a bloody river. She had a giant blood stain in her pants. “You won’t be able to walk without a stinging pain shooting up your leg every time you put pressure on it. I’ll carry you we only have to walk five houses down.”

“But your hand I really badly hurt it and i’m sorry for that plus you can’t carry me five house down with you hand. So I’ll just walk.”

“No call your brother or just let me carry you.”

“If I call my brother he’s gonna blame all this on you -”

“So this is my fault, I’m the one who pulled you to hard and made you fall.”

“No Dougly. This is not your fault, i’m not having my brother come and get me, and you are not carrying me with your hand.”

“Smile please you said it yourself that you hate seeing the ones you love like me sad and i’m sad because you’re in pain and you won’t let me help. Please let me carry you at least two houses down. I’m not letting you walk.”

“OK but only two houses down and that’s it then I walk the rest?”

“Yep. I’ll put you down after we pass house two unless you fall asleep.”

“Fine. But i’m not gonna fall asleep.”

Dougly got up then bent down to pick Smile up. She was light for her age. Dougly started walking and Smile’s knee started to stop bleeding, but after Dougly passed the first house Smile was back in his arms asleep. He had to stop after the second and fourth house to breath but once he got to Smile’s house he wasn’t panting. Smile was still asleep when he got their. He didn’t want to wake her so he climbed the five steps and walked over to the door to realize he was using both hands so hold Smile. So he left the right hand to hold her legs up and put her head on his shoulder and used the other hand to open the door.

When he got in and closed the door he took her upstairs to her bedroom. He set her on her bed then she woke up to say “Do I walk the rest of the way?”

“No Smile we’re in your room, you were asleep for a while so I just carried you all the way here.”

Smile was still trying to wake up. “But, OK. I’m sorry I hurt your hand. Hey can you help me up?”

“Yeah sure whatever you need.” This was one of the first times Smile asked Dougly for help.

“Hey i’m gonna change into my PJ’s if you want to wait outside of my door that’ll be ok.” Smile seemed nicer than normal but Dougly took what he got.

“Yeah cuz i’d rather stay in here and watch you change. I’ll be out here. Knock three times when it’s safe for me to come in.”

“OK. Well you can get out now.”