The Power Of Touch

When I was 18, I had a small boyfriend, real small...maybe he was 5 or 6. I liked to play with kids and he was my special friend, who would play badminton with me every evening. Once he suggested we climb the gate of my house, and though I was not sure, I decided to go after him. As I was coming down however, my skirt caught on one of the railings and as I reached the ground, my skirt was still pinned to the railing with my legs getting exposed for a second or two before I managed to bring the skirt down. I felt very very embaressed, though noone had seen it happen. I got anxious at the possibility that someone looking out of their window in the neighbourhood must have seen my legs, and thought poorly about me (you know how an 18 year old thinks - add to it an overweight, over sensitive 18 yr old). I looked up at my friend still sitting up on the gate, and he just said 'its alright' and gave me a small pat on my head. This small touch had a strong impact on me. First of all I couldnt help but wonder how such a small child could understand that I was feeling bad, though he couldnt understand what had happenned that made me feel bad. Second, he made me look at the situation in its plain simplicity, it was just an embaressing accident, the more quickly forgotten the better.