Tooth Koala

After having posted a rare story about her father, Herself thought it might also be nice to tell a short story about her mother, too.

When Herself was little, she was extremely fond of koalas.  She had several stuffed koalas (in fact, she still has the same ones now, tucked away in storage in the house), and would usually take one of them on every family trip.  She took a larger stuffed koala on a plane trip to visit her grandparents one time.  When asked why she had brought that particular koala with her, she replied:  "Koala had his heart set on going."

When Herself began losing her baby teeth, she would, as is traditional, leave them under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy.  Except, for her, there was no Tooth Fairy:  it was the Tooth Koala.  The Tooth Koala would faithfully leave a quarter every time. The Tooth Koala never forgot.

When Herself lost her very last baby tooth, she wrote a small note to the Tooth Koala, thanking her for her years of service and telling her that she would be missed.  The Tooth Koala -- for the first and last time -- left a tiny note in return. 

Herself knew by then that the Tooth Koala was, in fact, her mother.  The unwavering diligence of every toothy visit, and the daintiness and kindness of that miniscule, carefully drawn missive from the Tooth Koala, are heartwarming and unforgettable.

She still has that note, too.