And that’s what kept me going.
Five years went by.
***
It was Monday again. I parked in my usual spot, whispered, “Let me make today count,” and walked into the noise of the morning bell.
Sara at the front desk waved, and I smiled back, shouldering my bag and a sense of calm I worked hard to fake.
My class was already humming. I handed Tyler a tissue and started the morning song. I like how routine dulled the edges of memory.
At 8:05, the principal, Ms. Moreno, appeared in my doorway.
It was Monday again.
“Ms. Rose, could I have a moment?” she asked.
She led in a little boy clutching a green raincoat, his brown hair slightly too long, wide eyes darting around my classroom.
“This is Theo,” she said. “He just transferred. District rezoning shuffled half the kindergarten lists last week,” Ms. Moreno added, like it was nothing.
Theo nodded. He let Ms. Moreno guide him to my side, his small hand clutching the strap of a dinosaur backpack.
“Ms. Rose, could I have a moment?”
“Hi, Theo,” I said. “We’re glad to have you.”
Theo shifted from foot to foot, eyes flicking everywhere. Then he tilted his head, a tiny, careful movement, and offered a small, lopsided half-smile.
That’s when I saw it. A crescent-shaped birthmark, just beneath his right eye. My body recognized it before my mind did — like grief had learned to read faces.
Owen had the same one, same place.
A crescent-shaped birthmark, just beneath his right eye.
