The Little Girl with 12 Fingers & 12 Toes

The young girl eventually turned 13. She was now a little older but still a ravishing beauty—with her long, curly black hair, skin as white as snow, and eyes as green as emeralds. Everything about her was just remarkable and flawless, except for her 12 fingers and 12 toes. Despite this anomaly, she was now a lot more confident in herself than she had ever been.

She had made many new friends along the way over the years… But once in a while, she was often reminded of her abnormality when others made fun of her. And in one particular instance, it was a boy during recess who acted like a complete jerk to her for no reason. This boy was the instigator of that incident during recess where she had no choice but to confront him.

During recess, the girl was playing jump-rope with two other girls when the boy accidentally bounced the basketball in the direction of her jump-rope. As she came over to return his ball, he cruelly snatched it from her hand and glared at her as he saw her 12 fingers and 12 toes.

“What is wrong with your hands and feet? Are you a beast or something?” he retorted. He, along with the other boys with whom he was playing basketball, laughed. They were obviously making fun of her.

The girl, with her built-in confidence, was able to stand up for herself. “Knock it off, you jerk!” she snapped.

“Yeah,” the two other girls with whom she was playing jump-rope said in agreement. They also had her back. They accepted her for who she was, despite her physical flaw of having 12 fingers and 12 toes.

The boy continued to act like a jerk toward her. “Or else what? You’ll cry?” He taunted, and he and the rest of his friends laughed again.

The girl couldn’t stop one tear from falling down her face as she slapped the boy, hard, across his cheek. “I said, knock it off, you jerk! Leave me alone,” she retorted, and this time, everyone else observed this and was fascinated by the whole incident. They were mostly fascinated with the fact that the girl was assertive enough to stand up to the boy who was bullying her, and they commended her for her strength and confidence. It was true that she wouldn’t let anyone get away with putting her down, just like this boy was. It seemed as if he had finally gotten a taste of his own medicine.

But unfortunately, so did the girl… When the boy and his group of friends eventually reported her to the principal, she had no choice but to report to the principal’s office after school. Her mother and her father were also present to meet briefly with the principal to discuss the girl’s behavior, seeing as though they were on their way to pick her up. The girl’s mother apologized to the principal for her daughter’s behavior, but when they got home, they knew that the girl had done the right thing by standing up for herself.

The girl was adamant that she did the right thing. “I know that I did the right thing,” she told her mother and father. “It wasn’t fair that I almost got in trouble for it. That boy was just a real jerk to me for no reason. I wasn’t going to let him get away with mistreating me.”

“We know, sweetie,” her mother said softly as she caressed her daughter’s hair. “You did the right thing, and you were brave. As you get older, you’ll realize that it is important to respect yourself, and you don’t let the cruel words of other people get to you.”

Her father asked, “But did you have to slap him, though?”

“Yes, Father,” the girl replied. “I had to do the right thing to protect myself. If I didn’t do it, then he’d continue hurting me until the end of the time. I wasn’t going to stand for that. I’m a human being, and I deserve to be treated with respect. I shouldn’t have to put up with the constant bullying and harassment just because I’m so much different from other people. Wouldn’t you guys agree with that?”

“We agree,” her father said with a smile. “After all, your mother and I have raised you to be a tough, confident young lady. And you’ve developed into that just fine.”

The girl smiled. “I get it from both of you, and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful. I won’t take it for granted again.”

That was a given. The young girl never took her dignity and confidence for granted, even as she got older. Three years later when she was 16, a routine annual trip to the doctor’s office for a routine check-up became the highlight of the rest of her adolescence. On a particular day, she was visiting her doctor with her mother and her father. As usual, everything turned out well for her, as she was a healthy young person with not a single worry about her livelihood.

That is, until the doctor made an unusual request… About the girl’s 12 fingers and 12 toes.

“I have thought of a way to treat your condition,” he told the girl. “However, you must realize that it involves money and then some.”

The girl stared at her mother with a baffled expression. Her mother then asked the doctor, “What is this about money?”

“It’s for the surgery to have your daughter’s extra toe and finger removed,” the doctor replied. “It’ll give her the chance to have 10 fingers and 10 toes, just like everyone else.”

Then the girl’s father asked, “And how much money are we talking about?”

The doctor replied by writing down the sum of the surgery, which was a considerable amount. The girl’s mother and father were practically broke and were not able to afford it, but they wanted to be open to the idea of having their daughter go for surgery so that she could stop getting ridiculed once and for all.

The girl’s mother replied, “That is a lot of money, but we want to get our daughter’s perspective. Sweetie, what do you think?” she asked the girl. “How do you feel about getting surgery?”

The girl was pretty excited to learn about a way to get rid of her extra finger and toe. But of course, as a wise young person, she needed to take the time to really consider things. “Can I have some time to think about it first?” she asked.

“Of course,” the doctor replied, giving her an understanding smile. “Something like this involves a lot of good thinking. You don’t want to make any rash decisions about your health, after all. It is your wealth, you know.”

“Yes, and we’ll get back to you tomorrow to let you know what we all decide,” the girl’s mother said to the doctor. He was absolutely okay with the fact that the girl wanted time to consider the surgery.

For the rest of that day, the girl took time to consider the pros and cons of surgery and its results. Would she really go back to having 10 fingers and 10 toes, just like everyone else? And if that was the case, did it mean that people would finally stop making fun of her? She wanted to live her life freely without anyone else making fun of her abnormality.

But as she went to bed that night, she began to realize that it was probably for the best that she keep her 12 fingers and 12 toes. She did not want to go through with the surgery after all. Her 12 fingers and 12 toes made her unique. So what if others continued to poke fun at her? She had self-confidence; she was able to stand up for herself and not put up with anyone else’s nonsense. That was her final decision: she didn’t need surgery.

The next day, she informed her mother and father about the decision, and they agreed with her. Well, they mostly agreed with the girl’s own choice, so now that the girl had opted against surgery, they had no choice but to feel comfortable with her decision. It was her body, after all. Her body, her choice.

The three of them paid the doctor another visit to update them on this girl’s decision about the surgery. The doctor was, as usual, very understanding. “Thank you for letting me know,” he said to the girl. “I liked that you took some time to think about it.”

“Yeah, well, I had to,” the girl said with a smile. “I didn’t just want to answer without thinking things through right away.”

“Very perceptive. I like that about you, young lady.”

“Thank you.” The girl grinned. “I’m very confident in myself. I don’t need surgery to make myself look like everyone else. I’m proud of myself just the way I am. I was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes, and I will die with 12 fingers and 12 toes. So that means I get to live my life with all my 12 fingers and 12 toes and not give a rat’s behind about what other people have to say to my face. I won’t let them put me down anymore.”

The girl’s mother and father couldn’t have been more proud of their daughter’s confidence and dignity. They’d done a great job in bringing her up for the past 16 years. The girl had the ability to stand on her own two feet—no pun intended—and not let cruel, unkind words from others get to her.

And that never happened. The rest of her adolescence went by swimmingly, and four years later, she was 19 going on 20. During spring break vacation with a few friends from school, the girl had a chance encounter of a lifetime with someone who would complete her: her future soulmate.

She was spending time with her friends at the beach, and as she was sitting on the sand by the water, she caught the eye of a very attractive young man by the beverage stand, ordering a glass of lemonade. His brown hair was slicked back, like a fifties style, and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. He had a slight tan, but then again, he had been tanning himself not too long ago before he decided to order a cold drink. The girl, with her undying confidence, decided to make the first move by approaching him. Her eager friends watched her take that huge leap of faith.

The girl stood next to the young man in line as he was awaiting his cold drink. His sunglasses were on top of his head, and the girl stared straight into his beautiful eyes and gave him a smile that revealed her gorgeous, immaculate teeth. “So, lemonade, huh?” she said.

“Yes.” The young man smiled back at her. “You want one, too?”

“Definitely,” the girl replied.

The server returned with the young man’s order, and he then requested the girl’s lemonade. The server went back to make another lemonade for the girl and gave it to the girl. “Thanks,” the girl thanked the server as she and the young man went to sit by the water, a few feet away from her friends so that they could observe her make a keen impression on this handsome fella who would eventually become her lifelong companion.

“Do you like lemonade?” the young man asked the girl.

“Of course; who doesn’t?” she replied with a chuckle.

“You’re funny. I like ladies with a little sense of humor.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I like guys who find humor in a woman to be very attractive.”

From there, it was innocent and witty banter between the young man and the young lady. She felt more confident than ever in herself because she finally found a male companion who did not make her feel insecure about her 12 fingers and 12 toes. In fact, this young man barely noticed her extra finger and toes… Or maybe he did, but he just wasn’t judgmental or cruel about it, just like all the previous school bullies in her life had been over the years.

As time went on, a spark formed between this young lady and the nice young man. Within months, they were in a steady, romantic relationship, and the young lady was finally able to confide in him about her 12 fingers and 12 toes. Surprisingly enough, he accepted her for who she was. All of her, including her anomaly, which did not seem to matter much to him. He once told her, “I love you just the way you are. You’re still beautiful, inside and out. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

She was really flattered to hear him say that he loved her, despite her anomaly. No one else had ever made her feel more loved and accepted than this young man, and she was very blessed to have him right by her side. She introduced him to her mother and father, who took an immediate liking to the young man and saw him as a second son. The young man also introduced her to his family, which also consisted of three younger siblings: a brother and two sisters. They also took a liking to the young lady, seeing her as another daughter and sister. Both families lived in perfect harmony with each other, and they rarely noticed the young lady’s 12 fingers and 12 toes. If they did, they didn’t judge her for it; they accepted her for who she was, despite that anomaly.

Eventually, the young lady and the young man got married, and it was a beautiful ceremony with family and close friends. The young lady was the happiest that she had ever been in her life. At this point, her 12 fingers and 12 toes were a distant issue to everyone who knew her. They knew that it was a unique part of her that she’d never give up. Now she was very fortunate to have this amazing young man by her side who promised to love her and cherish her all the days of their lives.

And once they walked down that aisle and said “I do” to each other, the young lady and the young man began the new chapter of their lives together. They lived in a beautiful yet modest part of town that was not too far from each of their families. The young man was working as a Coast Guard, so he would often be out of the house in order to do the things that were necessary for him, while the young lady made a modest living as a piano teacher at the local public school district.

It turns out that her 12 fingers and 12 toes came in handy for her, when it came to serving as a piano teacher. She just had the natural ability to press the keys so elegantly with all her 12 fingers. Her students noticed this incredible ability, but they marveled at it. They dared not poke fun at her extra fingers; she was their teacher, and as a person in authority, they had no choice but to treat her with the utmost respect that she deserved. And in turn, she loved her students.

Approximately a year after the young man and young lady said “I do”, the young lady bore some exciting news: she was expecting.