Fifty Cent Words

Matthew’s mouth was bloody and disgusting. He was cursed. On the very first day of his life, the doctor gave him to his mother after a hard delivery, and to her surprise, she found he already had a teeny tiny tooth. Her surprise was soon followed by disgust at how very ugly the tooth was. As well as all the others to follow. She made Matthew brush five, sometimes six, times a day. She made him floss and gargle with mouthwash. She routinely plagued the neighborhood dentist with checkups and cleanings. But there was no use. Matthew’s teeth were always crooked and discolored. Always bleeding and infected.  After many years of teasing by others in school, and even more years of study, Matthew graduated from college. He was very talented and quickly rose to the top of his field. Despite his appearance, he found he was very well respected and soon also found himself a very rich man. Still, the shame of his unsightly appearance followed him and he spent most of his days feeling very lonel...