The Yellow Eraser
by Josephine Ken-Enwerem
The long-awaited Saturday was finally here. The brothers were happy because they had looked forward to having fun at the beach. That morning, while they packed their stuff into their parents’ car, George had hurriedly pulled out the picnic mat from the corner of the room. In the process, a wooden toy fell out and hit Clem’s bare foot.
“Ouch!” Clem said, hopping on one foot.
George’s eyes filled with concern. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to”.
Clem rubbed his toes and gave a side smile. “It’s okay, George. I forgive you.” With that, they both continued packing, excited about their afternoon at the beach.
Hours later, as the sun beamed warmly over the waves, the brothers played happily on the sand.
“Clem?” said George in a not-so-nice tone of voice, “This is the fifth time you have stepped on my foot.”
“Wow! Look who is counting,” answered Clem in a chuckling tone. “You know it’s not intentional. Moving these rocks to the other side, and with you in my way, only means I need to squeeze through.”
Clem and George’s parents, who were chatting on the other side of the beach, allowed them an extra hour to play since they were having so much fun. As Clem carried the last rock to move it to the other side, George knew he would need to squeeze through the narrow path where he sat doing his painting of the sunset in progress: a blazing orange sun hanging low over the sea. Almost as soon as his brother was close to him, George stood up rather forcefully, making Clem lose his balance, and the not-so-small rock he was carrying fell on his foot.
“My foot, my foot!” cried Clem. “It’s hurting, it’s hurting,” Clem yelled.
Seeing tears stream down Clem’s face made George feel bad about what he did. “If only I had moved out of the way to allow him to move the rocks to the other side with ease, this would not have happened. It’s my fault,” George thought to himself as he put down his paintbrush, walked over, and sat beside his brother.
“Boo hoo hoo,” Clem continued to cry as he sat on the play mat, rubbing his hurting left foot.
George moved closer. “Hey, let me see,” he said softly as he brushed the sand off Clem’s toes. Then he reached into his pocket and brought out a yellow eraser, the one he always carried in his pencil case.
Still having tears in his eyes, Clem looked at George, who was now helping wipe away some of the tears on his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, little bro,” George said while handing Clem the yellow eraser.
“George?” Clem said in a soft and questioning voice. “What am I to do with the eraser?”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” George cleared his throat. “Could you please erase all my today’s troubles towards you?”
“Don’t be silly, George,” Clem chuckled. “I forgive you already. Remember, I even forgave you this morning when you dropped the toy on my foot.” He paused, then grinned. “But on second thought, maybe this eraser can do the job …”
Clem pounced on George and began tickling him with the eraser. The two boys burst into laughter as they rolled on the sand, and their laughter mixed with the sound of the waves. By the time their parents called them to pack up, his foot still hurt, but George was kind enough to do most of what they needed to do.
As they headed home, the yellow eraser was safely placed in Clem’s pocket, not just for mistakes on paper but for mending small mistakes between brothers.
About the Author
Josephine Ken-Enwerem is a Nigerian pharmacist, writer, and Christian storyteller passionate about inspiring young minds with faith-filled narratives. In addition to hosting children for weekend Bible club, she now serves as a teen coach, guiding young people toward hope and purpose. She is happily married with three children: one teenage daughter and two sons.
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