Requiem for the Tooth Fairy

I was about 7 when the tooth fairy died. It was a very traumatic experience for me, and even now, almost 73 years later, I remember the moment it happened.

It began when I lost a tooth and placed it under my pillow. The following morning, I excitedly looked under my pillow…and the tooth was still there. Heartbroken, I ran downstairs and in tears told my mother that the tooth fairy never came. She tried to assure me that I must be mistaken, so together we went upstairs to search for the missing money.

I saw my mother slip a quarter between the sheets. And then she triumphantly held it up and said that it must have slipped down when I was looking. Not believing her, I asked why the tooth fairy hadn't taken my tooth? She innocently replied that the tooth fairies' purse must have been full.

But I knew.