CHAPTER 10

Santiago

You’re probably wondering why Santiago’s finger fell off. I’ll tell you.

Most of the time, Santiago was sick, sneezing, snotting, and snoring all over the place. But for once, he woke up and felt great. The medicines his doctors prescribed hadn’t worked, but his grandma’s famous chicken soup sure had. His recent flu/cold/allergy thing was finally gone.

“I’m actually hungry today!” he told his mom. “Can I have a sandwich instead of soup today?”

“Of course,” his mom said. “Give me just one minute, and I’ll make it for you.”

“I can make it!” Santiago said.

“Why don’t you let me make it?” his mom asked. “Your father just had the knives sharpened the other day, and they’re very sharp.”

“I’ll be careful,” Santiago said.

Except that he wasn’t careful. He was watching TV while he made his sandwich. So when he went to cut the crust off his sandwich, well…

…instead…

…he cut off…

(you know)

…HIS FINGER.

Ouch.

Don’t worry. They sewed it back on. It’s as good as new. Except for the uncontrollable twitching—which makes picking his nose very difficult.