They are both tall, and, they both have blonde hair, and, they are both beautiful.

They both were here to teach our children in school.

One, about 4 hours from home, the other, a little over 14.

They asked Mama Jan and I and another couple to help them make supper for their youth group one evening.

Discata, if I remember right.

And, afterward, we sat around until it got dark.

Then, they brought these glow in the dark plastic bracelets out.

They divided into teams by color, and made their home base out of the same color of bracelets, all put together.

And they started running, trying to circle the other team’s base to capture them.

It was a happy time.

Until I heard a terrible scream.

And,  I saw those two, staggering, sometimes against each other, sometimes by themselves.

And, there was lots of blood.

We got them into the light, where we could see a little better.

They had been running around the house, both of them, in opposite directions, and met with extreme force at the corner, where they had no chance of seeing the other in time.

One had a deep gash under her lip, extending up into her cheek.

The other had a front tooth almost knocked out.

Mama Jan and I quickly made a plan.

She and the other couple would take the one whose teeth were knocked loose (and incidentally her niece) to see if there were any dentists who could help at that late hour.

I would take the other, whose face was cut, to an emergency room.

The young men in the group opened their wallets generously to meet the late night fees.

I went south about 30 miles, Mama Jan went east about 30 miles.

After that, we lost contact with each other due to meeting the needs of those we had with us.

A young man by the name of Bob, if I remember correctly, who was not even a physician, did a tremendous job of sewing up the girl I was with.  He was so careful, so gentle.

He said there would be nerve damage, as deep as her cut was, and that nerves take a long time to heal. 

The dentist told Mama Jan a similar story, only that reconstructive surgery would be needed for the girl she was with.

It took about two years for the girl with the gash to start feeling again, and about the same amount of time for the other girl to get her new teeth.

And I wonder, now, if there was more that could have been done, that evening, to help so it didn’t feel so bad, so lonely.

Because it had to have been, for those two girls.