To Remember You

To Remember You

By Tom Corizzi

“If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.”

Tony looked into the eyes of his old adversary and wondered what game he was playing. In the years since his first confrontation with this man in Afghanistan, they had played cat and mouse. Amir was always one step ahead and always disappeared just as Tony was about to capture him.

Tony was a retired Army Ranger. It was only a coincidence that he had been on a subway heading to visit the new Freedom Tower when he saw Amir and followed him to this deserted mosk three blocks from the Tower. Tony knew whatever Amir was planning it was not good and also knew that Amir would not be alone in the mosk, but he entered anyway and was immediately greeted by three men pointing pistols at his head. He stood still as Amir came out of an office off the entrance.

“What is going on?” Amir said.

Seeing Tony, Amir’s face went from annoyance to recognition, shock and then fear. Amir then said something in Farsi that Tony did not understand but resulted in two of the men taking a step back from Tony, but also strengthening the grip on their pistols. The third man opened the door and looked around outside, he told Amir there was no one else in sight.

Amir’s expression lightened as he said, “Hello old friend. I have missed our little game. How is it you are here?”

“I heard you were in town and thought I’d drop by and say hello,” Tony quipped.

Amir smiled, knowing he would not get much more from Tony. Amir had learned the hard way that torture only made this man angry. Many of Amir’s men had died at Tony’s hand and it was only by running that Amir was alive.

Amir knew he should simply kill Tony, something he had tried to do unsuccessfully in the past. But he could not help playing the game one more time before he did.

“So, can you guess what it is? What I have carried in my pocket all these years to remember you by?”

Tony knew.

Amir was too far away to attack. Tony would surely be shot in the back before he could reach him. Instead, Tony spun to his rear, aligning himself with the man behind him. Tony grabbed the man’s neck with his left hand and the hand holding the gun with his right. Tony manipulated the nerves in the man’s neck, paralyzing him in place. Tony then moved the man so he became a shield to attack from his left while pointing the man’s gun hand at the guard to his right. Squeezing the man’s hand harder, the man pulled the trigger of his pistol and the guard to Tony’s right went down. The man on Tony’s left took a shot, but only accomplished shooting Tony’s shield.

Tony then forced the man he was holding, to point his gun at the guard on the left and again, forced him to pull the trigger. The guard on the left went down.

Amir was stock still while this all occurred. Coming to his senses, he turned to do what he did best, he ran.

Tony charged after. Amir had only taken two steps when Tony dove to tackle him. Tony, caught Amir by the waist of his pants with his right hand and Amir’s pocket with his left, which ripped off allowing the contents to fall to the floor.

Tony landed on top of Amir. As Amir tried to get up, Tony hit Amir with a hammer-fist to the back of the neck, knocking Amir unconscious. Tony stood and reached down to pick up what had fallen from Amir’s ripped pocket. It was his own dog tags taken from him ten years ago during one of his confrontations with Amir.

Tony checked the three guards, they were all dead. Tony then secured Amir leaving him tied up “hog style” and left the Mosque looking for a pay phone. Tony’s knew his old drill Sergeant was working for Homeland Security and Tony was going to call and have him collect Amir. As a final touch, Tony left his dog tags hanging around Amir’s neck.

Kaitlyn and the Tooth Fairy

Kaitlyn and the Tooth Fairy

On Saturday morning, while seven-year-old Kaitlyn was walking to the store for milk, she found a quarter on the sidewalk. Looking at the coin, she thought of the Nun who ran the orphanage where she lived. Sister Louise would want her to put the quarter in the collection basket on Sunday. But in front of the store was a gumball machine. Whenever Kaitlyn passed the store, she wished she had money to buy a piece of gum. Today she did. Feeling only a little guilty, she walked up to the machine, put the quarter into the slot and turned the handle. Feeling excited, she opened the candy door and immediately jumped back. What she saw in the tray was not the gumball she expected, but a human tooth. As she stood looking at the tooth, her feelings of revulsion passed and were replaced by curiosity. Walking back to the machine she reached into the tray, took the tooth, and then held it up to examine it closer. Something about it was very familiar.

Two days earlier, Kaitlyn had lost her first tooth. It had happened while she was eating lunch. She had taken the tooth to the girl’s room, washed it off, wrapped it in a tissue and put it in her pocket. She had hoped to prove Sister Louise wrong by leaving the tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Sister Louise was a conservative Catholic and had told the girls, “There is no such thing as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. The only magic in this world are the miracles that God performs.”

But Kaitlyn could not help but believe there were many types of magic.

When she had returned to her room that day, she reached into her pocket for the tooth, but found her pocket empty. Reaching deeper, she found a hole in the bottom of her pocket where the tooth must have fallen through. She started to cry just as Sister Louise was walking past her room.

“What’s the matter Kaitlyn? Why are you crying?”

“I lost my tooth.”

Sister Louise looked into Kaitlin’s mouth and saw the gap between her teeth. Misunderstanding why Kaitlyn was upset she said, “Don’t cry. Everyone loses their teeth. Soon a new one will grow in its place. Now go wash up for dinner.”

Kaitlyn did as she was told and, even though she stopped crying and hid her feelings, she was still upset about the loss.

As she looked at the tooth from the gumball machine, she couldn’t help but think this was her tooth. But how would it have gotten into the machine?  she wondered.

Remembering the hole in her pocket and not wanting to lose this tooth, Kaitlyn clenched it tightly in her fist and walked back to the orphanage. She went into the girl’s bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she held the tooth to the gap in her mouth. 

The tooth was the right size and color. Could it really be the tooth she lost? she thought. Walking back to her room she wasted no time putting the tooth under her pillow. 

Kaitlyn had trouble falling asleep that night. She kept feeling under her pillow, always finding the tooth. Finally, close to midnight, she fell asleep.

The next morning as she slowly woke, she remembered the tooth. She lifted her pillow and found the tooth was gone. In its place was a shiny new quarter. She smiled, feeling sure that, not only had the Tooth Fairy come and left the quarter, but somehow had arranged for her to get the tooth she lost back by putting it into the gumball machine.

The joy she felt came spilling out and she laughed and cried at the same time. With a big smile on her face, she got out of bed and started to dress for church. 

During the Mass, when it was time for collection, Kaitlyn dropped the quarter into the basket, believing it was the right thing to do. As Mass ended, and Kaitlyn walked toward the exit, she looked up toward the ceiling and thought she saw a fairy looking creature, its wings flapping to keep it aloft, smiling down at her.

She smiled back believing that Gods miracles came in many different forms.