“GOOD MORNING Miss,” a chorus of little voices greeted Marissa as she entered her classroom.
“Good morning, children,” she responded with a warm smile, always loving the sound of their cheery voices.

It was the third week of the new school term and her Grade One pupils were settling in nicely. The first week was always the usual hectic period as the children began transitioning from Nursery to Primary school. Some were always resistant to the change, silent tears, and discomfort with the new classroom and teacher. But Marissa’s patience, calming voice and warmth in her smile wove a certain kind of magic that comforted their little minds.

She was young, just four years in the teaching profession, her natural attributes perfect for she was doing what she loved best, teaching from the heart. She had special ways of enriching their minds with the fun of learning that built their enthusiasm and love for the work they did. There was never a dull moment in the classroom and they now loved their new teacher.
Jared, the bravest of them all and quite talkative, told her one day, “Miss, you look like an African Barbie doll my sister has.”
“Well, thank you, Jared.”

Their sentiments, observations, and questions asked were interesting as their minds developed. But one little boy sat quietly with a sad little look on his face. He was showing little interest in class work and after speaking to his aunt, who had brought him to school, Marissa realised she had to pay extra attention to him.
His mother died in an accident when he was four years old and his father’s business in mining took him away for regular periods. The child was in the care of his grandparents, aunts and uncles, who were taking great care of him but somehow, the little boy seemed to be missing something.

The sad look in his eyes touched Marissa’s heart and she said to herself with certainty, “I’m sure he’s missing his mother.”
He was so cute with thick, bouncy, curly hair, cherub cheeks, and hazel eyes. She sat with him during lunch break to ensure he ate something, held his hand sometimes to guide his fingers in drawing and colouring. He was not doing well, but she commended him for a good effort and showed him how to do better.
He slowly began to warm towards her and she noticed a tiny smile whenever he raised his hand to answer a question. His growing enthusiasm towards his work was quite pleasing, and she thought, “Hope it gets better from here for him.”

Three weeks passed and she was at her desk arranging the day’s work neatly after school had been dismissed when there was a knock on the open door. She looked up and drew in her breath a little at the man standing there with undeniable good looks.
“Oh darn,” she exclaimed silently.
“Good afternoon, are you Miss Marissa Callaway?”
“Yes,” she answered.

“I’m Aryan’s father. Can I speak with you for a moment?”
“Sure, come in.”
He extended his hand, “I’m Aditya.”
She smiled pleasantly and shook his hand, “It’s good seeing his parent now.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t have been here earlier,” he apologised, “But there was a terrible accident on the mining site that caused a long delay.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that. Is everything okay now?”
“Thankfully, yes, for now.”

She noticed a worried look on his face and he asked, “So, how is Aryan doing?”
There was an edge of concern in his voice that she did not miss and she answered, “He’s doing fine now but for the first few weeks, he was withdrawn and sad.”
A flicker of pain flashed across the father’s face and he said, “It’s difficult for me and the families to come to terms with the tragedy and Aryan is at an age when a child needs their mother.”
She felt touched by his pain and said with a sympathetic tone, “It’s not easy for anyone to lose a loved one and I’m so sorry for your great loss.”
He sighed deeply and nodded, “Thank you.”

“I must say, I recognised he was going through some kind of trauma and I’ve been paying special attention to him.”
“Thank you so much, I truly appreciate that.”
“There’s something I want you to see though, because it depicts how he’s seeing things in his life.”
She sifted through a stack of pages and handed Aditya the one with Aryan’s artwork. He looked a little puzzled and Marissa explained, “I asked the class to draw a picture of their family and this is what Aryan did.”

She pointed to the sky with the golden light and said, “This is his mother gone to heaven, the boy is him standing alone and the man far away is his father.”
Aditya inhaled deeply and said, a slight break in his voice, “I’ve been away too much.”
“If I may say this, I think you need to spend more time with him.”
“I know but the bulk of my investment is in gold mining so I’ll have to do some rescheduling so I can be closer to home.”
“That would be good,” Marissa expressed.

They spoke a short while more then he got up to leave.
“Thank you, again. I’m happy that he has you as his teacher.”
She smiled with a little nod and at the door he turned back and said, “Please take my number so you can contact me on anything I need to know on how he’s doing.”
“Sure.”

After he left, two of her female colleagues who had been waiting for her so they could leave together asked in a teasing hushed tone, “And who is that?”
“A student’s father.”
“Gosh!” they exclaimed in unison and one said, “Thought he was your boyfriend.”
Marissa smiled and shook her head, always amused by their expressions when seeing a handsome guy because none of them had boyfriends.
She herself had been struck by his good looks but he was a grieving widower with a young son, and as a teacher, she was working with the child to help him overcome his trauma.
The next morning Aditya brought Aryan to school himself and informed Marissa, “I’ve decided to take some time off now to spend time with him whilst working on something that’s closer to home.”

“That’s wonderful,” she expressed and looking at Aryan she said to the father, “He looks happy.”
“I did not realise how much my regular absence was affecting him.”
“You’re the closest thing to him now despite the loving care by relatives.”
He brought Aryan to school every day and always stayed a little before leaving, talking with her as she settled the children in.
“Your mellow voice and engaging smile seem to add energy to the classroom,” he observed.

“Really?” she laughed a little, “I love my work and love working with children.”
I like that,” he said with an appreciative smile.
Somehow she was beginning to like seeing him every morning and talking with him. The worried look she had seen on his face the first time she saw him was not there anymore.
“It’s so great,” she thought, “What love and bonding between parent and child can do.”
At lunch on the last day of the working week, her friends Cindy and Shivanie stopped by her class as she sat a little lost in thought.
“So, how are things going with your handsome parent?” Cindy asked with a teasing smile.

“What things?”
“Well, he’s here every morning chatting with you.”
“He brings his son to school who is in my class, so obviously he would talk with me.”
Tbeg looked at each other then at her and stated, “Something seems to be happening.”
“Oh boy,” Marissa shook her head, smiling in mock hopelessness.
“Why do the two of you always see something when there is nothing?”
“We have a part-time job with Cupid,” Shivanie said with a little laugh.

“He’s a grieving widower okay, so the two of you will lose your part time job.”
Close friends they were, always jesting with each other but in her mind, Marissa questioned,
“Is something really happening?”
To be continued…