Reactions of Children to Me II

Outside of a church, I found a girl of eight or nine who laughed hysterically when I spoke. All kids laugh a little when I talk, but this one found my voice deeply hilarious. It wasn't my presence alone that was funny: when I wasn’t speaking she would stand and watch me silently. But after she’d prompted me with a “How are you?” she would lean in, up on her toes, rigid with anticipation. When she heard my voice, her laugh would explode out, uncontrollable. Genuine delight, waves of it rippling off her. The kind of laugh that makes other people laugh without knowing why. The force of it would push her backwards, turning away from me. A self-sustaining chain reaction.