As we turned a corner, I went flying off the buggy, landing facedown on the rough asphalt, right in the buggy’s path

MY name is Akiva. I live in Eretz Yisrael.

When I was eight years old, my siblings and I finally convinced our parents to let us rent buggies (see picture) for an hour one Erev Shabbos. I was so excited! We went by ourselves, which was very unusual, but my mother wasn’t feeling well and my father was working, so off we went, with my older brother Eli in charge.

It was so much fun to drive the buggy; I could have done it forever. My big brother let me go first, but eventually he also wanted a turn. Because there was only one seat in our buggy, and because I was loathe to miss out on any fun, I didn’t want to wait my turn. So, I made a big mistake. I settled myself on the front of the buggy (where you’re definitely not supposed to sit) as Eli, my big brother, started to drive.

We drove for just a few minutes. We started going faster and faster. Then, as we turned a corner, I went flying off the buggy, landing facedown on the rough asphalt, right in the buggy’s path.

The buggy kept moving automatically. It hit me and started to run over me, but my brother managed to backpedal, and the buggy eased off my body.

I lay stunned on the ground, not quite sure what was going on. Eli leaped off the buggy and raced to my side. There was blood everywhere. “Akiva, are you okay? What happened? Oh, no!” Eli raced to the nearest house, which was the Leibowitzes, a family we hardly knew, to call for help. In the meantime, my big sister Chaya’le, who had been watching, came running over. She asked me if I could stand, and I did, and that is when I suddenly noticed that I’d lost a tooth. My tongue was touching empty space where there should have been a tooth.