Dimensie

We as RedacCie are happy to present to you the winning submission of the writing contest! Enjoy the read! 

The Smiley Child - A Dimensie short story

Long ago in a small village not far away from  here, there was a child born. This child was  not like the others. It did not scream. It did not  cry. Instead this small child was born smiling. The mother, as well as the doctors were concerned. Is there something wrong with this  little child? Is he sick? They were wondering.  

Many tests were conducted to inspect  whether the child was healthy. Specialists in  fields of several Neurosciences scanned the child’s brain and searched for any abnormalities. Different tissue structures, abnormal functionality, or irresponsibility. But  no. Nothing was different compared to other children at this age. They inspected the child’s abilities to create emotional responses, but also these tests were not showing any abnormal results. When  hungry the child complained. When tired it  cried. When wet it screamed. But overall this  child smiled. Always. At any time, when no  other affect was dominant, this abnormal child was smiling.  

Physically the child was healthy. It moved all  its limbs. The arms were moving up and  down. To the right and left. To the front and  back. It was able to do the same with its legs. The head turned when it watched other  people move through the room. The hands  tightly grabbed a finger of the nurse when it  gave the child its bottle. The lungs worked  perfectly fine. It breathed in enough oxygen  and the heart pumped this to its brain. No  abnormalities whatsoever where discovered  about this child’s physical health.  

The parents were scared. They left the child  for more and more tests at the hospital until they finally decided to leave it for good at the  hospital care center. Neither neurological nor  physiological problems were discovered. But the child was not normal. None of the doctors  were able to wrap their minds around this strange child. Many nurses were afraid. They called it The Demonic Child or Descendent from the Devil. Religious or not. Everyone disliked the child. Something, specifically the  smile, was odd. Different. Spooky. Seemingly  dangerous.  

More and more people, from all over the  country, from all over the world came to visit  the mysterious child. The conspiracies about  the child were getting crazier and crazier. Demonstrators in front of the hospital  demanded the murder of the demonic creature. Others requested to dissect the child’s brain in order to better analyze the cause for its strange behavior- The smile on the baby’s face scared people. It made them feel uncomfortable.  

The hospital did not know what to do. Many councils were held in order to come to a  conclusion bout what to do with the child:  Send it away? Kill it? Let it grow up? But what  are the dangers? Will it grow up to become a  serial killer? Will it be a psychopath? They could not know. But morally it is not correct to  kill an innocent child for the simple crime of  smiling. A moral dilemma! 

They decided to ask if anybody would like to adopt the child. With no hope they published  the advertisement. Many responses were sent. From religious cults or experimental doctors. All of these were rejected. Meanwhile less and less nurses and doctors of the hospital itself were willing to take care of the child. The fear spread among the staff. Among the whole hospital. If patients could afford it  they transferred to other hospitals. This child  was a curse!  

An unexpected response to the adoption offer  was received. A former nurse of the hospital  offered to take care of the child. She was a  loving person with a big and generous heart.  With suspicion the hospital council allowed her to take the child home, but she had to  proof its wellbeing once a month. Gladly the  nurse agreed. She knew that the child was no danger to humanity. She knew it was not a demonic creature nor growing up to become a  serial killer. She knew why the child was smiling: It was happy.  

Despite the negativity and cruelty in this  broken world, the child was born happy.  Instead of embracing this gift, the parents, doctors and public mistrusted genuine happiness and misinterpreted it for madness. Luckily, this nurse understood the true nature of the child which was untouched by the rotten society of today. The child did not fit  into the norm. People tried to kill it or find the  cause of its abnormal behavior, while there  was nothing to discover. This miracle child  was simply happy and did not let its toxic environment lay a shadow over its happiness.