Take 4

Take 4

He was missing a finger on one hand. The news spread fast and those who
had missed school that day could not help staring to see which hand was
the cause of so much excitement. He must have noticed all the tension.
He must have seen all those trying not to stare as they did a quick
count.

Yes, he was missing a finger. But then who else was? It was so easy to
miss as all the endless staring at the 'offending' hand before the math
worked out explained. So with the new found twisted curiosity of the
'healthy', every man, woman and child in the line of vision were
submitted to the scrutiny. After a while, it was possible to do a quick
count of fingers and thumb while smiling and holding a conversation.
Those who were found to lack the required digits were not looked upon
with hatred or scorn. No, they just proved that you were alert and
missed nothing. In a perverse way, it was like there was a new world
out there that you had just began to notice. It was cruel. But
innocent.

Then they started to shout it out to each other between sets on the
volleyball court. If they tacked in their thumb to their palms then
they could easily do a 'take four' version of the popular 'take five'
slap. And they did, as often as possible, especially when the game was
not going their way. One 'take four', and they would jump higher, hit
better, win the point.

No one really knew who had started it on the court, but after a few
games they all were hooked. The superstition of the athlete; that was
all it really was. No one consciously thought of him while they were
doing it. The other teams can have their ordinary 'take fives'. But not
them; they could do better. They had something special. They would
'take four'.

Then one day he asked: "Does anyone know why we count in tens?" They
shrugged. And not really waiting for an answer he explained, "Its
because we have ten fingers," and saying so he held up his hands,
"except for me of course as I only have nine." There it was out in the
open. Count now if you still feel like it. Take your time. Did everyone
stop breathing? Seemed like it. The eyes that had almost suspiciously
inspected every hand in sight were now downcast. The mind that had
almost gleefully counted was frozen, unable to conjure up a coherent
thought.

Then a brave and sensitive soul asked, "What happened?".