Lockdown Diaries: The Missing Tooth.

It's been four months since I started working from home and it already feels like a decade. I haven’t done my eyebrows, trimmed my hair or visited a dentist since! That my teeth hasn’t given me any major problems yet worries me deeply, like preparing me for an impending disaster. Like the calm before a storm. Perhaps all the teeth (that are left) may be silently plotting for a collective walkout?

Three of my teeth have been under the knife for root canal procedures. The dentist planted them using a screw and it stay put for a while. One month into the lockdown, I was munching delightedly into a chicken shewerma when SNAP! It came off. That is a five digit figure in Indian Rupees I paid for that was uprooted by a 1 rial shewerma.

On a normal day I would have freaked out over a tooth and the gap that is pretty obvious when I smile. During a lockdown that is the least of my worries. Well, who is going to judge me about a gap in my teeth? We are all doomed anyway, we should have our priorities right and not bother about appearances now, thought my lazy ass. Instead of throwing the tooth away, I kept it on a tissue paper on my dressing table, screw still under the tooth and like always, I forgot about it.

Image Courtesy: Here

Hours later when I walked to the hall, two pairs of eyes were scrutinizing me like I was a criminal suspect. As usual, I ignored them, and kept doing my stuff when I caught them still staring at me.

“WHAT?” I yelled.

They were not speaking and still glaring at me with an unusual expression.

Usually they have only ONE expression which says ‘Where is my food?’. It looked rather different this time.

“I found your tooth” said my son, nine, who watches too many animated movies.

“Oh I forgot to throw that out, don’t touch it okay?” I replied casually, continuing to arrange the mats on the dining table.

“It had a screw under it!” he exclaimed.

He looked and sounded very serious, and had an expression like he caught me red-handed for some offence. My husband stifled a laugh and played along.

“I always knew you were an alien!  Explains why you are always so weird!”

Well, atleast now there is an explanation.