Toenail -Sebastian Morris ‘22 A part of my body was
It was the last afternoon of
The heat of the sun as I sat across
missing. Every time I looked
our annual spring break stay with
from my mom who was deep in her
down at my feet, all I noticed
my mother’s family in Puerto
spring break novel didn’t come close
Rico. Every March, my family
to the hot pain I was experiencing
would fly down to the island to
where my nail had once been. I put
spend time with four people: Ita,
my hand on the bandage and felt
Ito, Abuelo Antonio, and Abuela
the throbbing pulse of blood passing
Lola. Earlier that day, a nurse at
the damaged area. I looked up to
the hospital had said it would be a
see my brother splashing and
bedroom wall, but the speed at
few days before I could fully go in
spinning with his hands under the
which my leg collided with the
the water again but, to take extra
surface, creating a miniature vortex
marble caused my toenail to
precaution, she wrapped my toe
that would swallow his imaginary
completely rip off. When my
four times in a fluffy, stretchy
monsters. This aquatic battlefield
mom heard me screaming
hospital bandage. Because we
was special to the two of us, and we
downstairs in Palmas, she
were already planning to drive
called it the “old pool,” because of
from Palmas to the airport in San
the ruins that emerged from its floor.
Juan the next day, my family
It looked like an ancient Roman
thought it best to leave Antonio’s
aqueduct, but with a touch of Puerto
then and drive back to Ita’s home
Rican graffiti and fading color to
just outside of San Juan. Back in
decorate its historic frame. Luke
Dorado Beach, and now the late
was playing pretend Pokémon
skin bordering where the nail
afternoon, I sat by the pool
because he had just been given a
had once been. My mom was
discontent with my inability to
game by his Godmother. She didn’t
worried at first, but it did not
submerge myself in the water.
buy me anything that nice at Toys R
was how much bigger one of my toes looked compared to the others. I thought that I had just stubbed it really hard against Abuelo Antonio’s
quickly ran up to his bedroom to console me. I was totally freaking out, curled up on the floor staring at the blood beginning to emerge from the
Us. She wasn’t my god parent I
the wall because I was a very
suppose, so I guess it was okay.
energetic boy. For this reason,
Luke was so lucky to be swimming
it seemed to me that she was not moving at the speed a parent usually should when an accident occurs, and it felt like an eternity for her to get ready to go to the hospital.
-Kyle Murray Smith ‘24
surprise her that I had run into
in the pool, while all I could do was sit in pain on the folded beach chair. My mom wasn’t even watching me.
My toe began to itch. I wanted to get at it and shred all the bandages off. I wanted to cut at
