MY NEIGHBOR\u2019S LITTLE SON CAME TO SWIM IN OUR POOL \u2013 WHEN HE TOOK OFF HIS SHIRT AND I SAW HIS BACK, I WAS LEFT SPEECHLESS
\nIt was a regular Saturday. I was tidying up the yard when nine-year-old Dylan, my neighbor\u2019s son, walked up to the front.
\nDYLAN: \u201cHi! Sorry to bother you, but can I swim in your pool for a bit?\u201d
\nME: \u201cOf course, Dylan! Want some lemonade?\u201d
\nDYLAN: \u201cNo, thanks!\u201d<\/p>\n
He laid his towel on the lounger, and I still decided to bring him some lemonade anyway. Just as I walked over to him, Dylan took off his shirt and hung it on the lounger. When he turned his back to me, I dropped the glass because on his back I saw a huge scar stretching from his left shoulder blade down toward his waist. It wasn\u2019t just a small mark\u2014it was wide, discolored, and looked like it had been there for a while. It took me a few seconds to pull myself together and realize the glass had shattered on the concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cDylan\u2026 goodness, are you okay?\u201d I blurted out, not knowing what else to say. Immediately, I regretted my tone. I didn\u2019t want to scare him or make him feel awkward.<\/p>\n
But Dylan just shrugged. \u201cHuh?\u201d he asked, turning around, eyes going wide when he saw my broken glass on the ground. \u201cOh, sorry. Did I scare you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I put on a small smile and bent down to clean up the shards. \u201cNo, buddy. You\u2019re fine. I just dropped it. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could see concern on his face, so I tried to lighten the mood. \u201cYou know what? Let\u2019s just forget about the spilled lemonade. Go jump in the pool. I\u2019ll be right back with a broom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dylan gave me a shy nod and hurried to the water. He seemed genuinely excited to swim, and I didn\u2019t want to spoil his fun with probing questions. As I swept up the broken pieces, I realized I had never once noticed that scar before\u2014even though I\u2019d seen Dylan around countless times.<\/p>\n
After I finished cleaning, I headed inside to grab another glass of lemonade. My mind was racing. I\u2019d known Dylan\u2019s mom, Carla, for a couple of years since they moved in next door. We chatted over the fence about the weather or collecting mail when one of us was out of town, but we\u2019d never had a long heart-to-heart. I knew Dylan was a bright, friendly kid who loved swimming. But this enormous scar\u2026 how did I miss something so significant?<\/p>\n
Curiosity mixed with worry. There are certain lines you don\u2019t cross when it comes to someone else\u2019s child, but I was anxious. Was he okay? Was there some kind of accident no one ever told me about? A million questions pulsed in my head.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MY NEIGHBOR\u2019S LITTLE SON CAME TO SWIM IN OUR POOL \u2013 WHEN HE TOOK OFF HIS SHIRT AND I SAW HIS BACK, I WAS LEFT SPEECHLESS It… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n