The Car Door

Hassan was riding his bike home when the car door opened. He hit it hard and fell onto the road. His foot hurt. There was blood on his leg.

A woman called an ambulance. While Hassan was waiting, he looked at his ankle. It was the wrong shape. He felt cold and afraid.

At the hospital, a nurse came quickly. “What's your name?” she asked.

“Hassan,” he said. His voice was small.

“Okay, Hassan. You're going to be fine.” She was looking at his ankle while she spoke. “Can you feel your toes? Move them for me.”

He moved them. It hurt, but he could feel them.

“Good,” the nurse said. “That's very good. Nothing in your foot is broken, I think. No bone is broken. We'll do a picture to be sure.”

Hassan started to breathe again. “I thought it was bad,” he said.

“It is bad,” the nurse said, and she smiled a little. “But you're alive, you can feel your toes, and you're getting all my attention. That's a good day for a man who met a car door.”