Well thank you! I figured it may be predictable, but I just couldn’t get over the plausibility of it. My after thought was to, after he said “I shared just like you taught me” for the mom to see a “one” above her head. Maybe I’ll be a little more creative next time. Thank you for the kind feedback!

Thank you!

That’s been one of the things with school that I have been SO careful with. So it’s literally like a horror story for me lol

Is it a curse? No, it is not a curse. The numbers above the heads of strangers, it’s a protection. It allows me a little bit of insight into their character. Who they are, what secrets they hold. I have always been somewhat thankful for this “gift” that was involuntary bestowed upon me.

It was a crisp October morning as I dropped my child off at Kindergarten, I waved him goodbye and told him to have a fantastic day. I went about my chores, grocery store, bank, and lunch. The numbers were everywhere, most were zero. Some were one. A few were more than I could bear to look at.

As I waited in the car line to pick up my innocent child, I see all the “zeros” piling out of the school, skipping and hopping. Then I see my wonderful “zero” himself. He hops into the car.

“Hey buddy how was your day?”

“Fun. I learned what sound M makes! Mmmmmmmm!”

“Good job buddy!”

We leave the line. As we are pulling out an ambulance pulls in, sirens wailing.

“Look mom! A bambulance! Weeeoo!” He giggles.

“I see, buckaroo. I hope everything is ok.”

We pull up to the stoplight, singing some Halloween sing-alongs. I glance in the mirror at my sweet boy, blonde curls falling into his face. I am stopped in my tracks. Above his mass of blonde hair I see it. “One” in red.

HOOOOONK

I am startled by the car behind me. I look up and see a “two” impatiently honking his horn. I had no idea the light had turned. I quickly make a u-turn at the light and head back to school.

“What’s wrong, mommy?”

I had tears down my face, white knuckles gripping the wheel.

“Mommy is fine, I am just worried about the ambulance at school.”

I whip into the parking lot. The ambulance is still there, cops are cordoning off the entrance. My mind races.

“What did he do?” I think to myself.

“Ma’am, we have to ask you to leave” spouted a gruff, portly man in a police uniform.

“I’m sorry, my son goes here. Can I ask what happened?”

“I’m sorry, we can’t give out any information, I would expect to hear from the school this evening”.

My son and I drive off. My mind in pieces. I glance in the mirror again. There he was, a massive red “one” still sticking out above his head. He is unwrapping a piece of candy.

“We had a Halloween party today. I got lots of candy!” He says through chocolate covered teeth.

“That’s cool buddy”

We pull into the driveway and I stare at the number.

“What are you looking at, mommy?” He says as he giggles.

“Nothing, hey bud, what did you do at the end of the day today?”

“We had a party, we ate some candy. I shared mine with my friend Dylan!”

“Is that all? Nothing else happened?”

“Ummm, I don’t know”

“Ok, buddy”

He gets out, his Spider-Man backpack unzipped and hanging from his shoulder. What could he have done? What life could he have taken?

I go through the motions. Laundry, after school snack. My boy is blissfully unaware of my concern and my pain.

Ring ring

The sound of my phone startled me.

“Hello?”

“It is with heavy hearts that this announcement has to be made. School will be closed to all students and staff due to a medical emergency that took the life of one of our students this afternoon. Counselors will be on staff all next week for staff and students as we work together to process this tragic incident in our school and community. More information will be released as it becomes available. Rest assured your students are safe with us and there is no immediate harm to anyone in the schools at this time.”

The recorded call ends with a click. I put the phone down as tears stream from my face.

“A medical emergency? How the Hell was he responsible for a medical emergency?”

My hands shake as I make tomorrows lunch for him. I peek into his room as he is playing with his plastic dinosaurs.

“Boom!” He slams a triceratops into a T-Rex. I wince, imagining what is happening in his mind.

As I’m finishing up dinner, I check my emails. There’s a notice from the school.

As many of you received word of the incident at school today, the staff at Lebanon Elementary feel it is crucial to send out this notice. This school is a peanut-free school. We understand that with the excitement of Halloween, minor details can slip through the cracks, but peanut allergies are a serious condition. Although rare, the tragic passing of one of our Kindergartners should serve as a stark and grim reminder that all rules and policies must be adhered to for the safety of our students

The lump in my throat swells. Tears fall onto the screen like rain on a Spring day.

“What’s wrong, mommy?” His little voice cuts like a knife, the number “one” glows brighter than ever. He wraps his arms around my waist.

I kneel down and hug him.

“What candy did you share with your friend today?”

“I gave him one of my peanut butter cups that came in our spooky bags! He had never had one before! I shared just like you taught me mommy, aren’t you proud?”

::This is my first time ever writing one of these, so please don’t be too harsh. I have no formal training or any experience writing other than papers in college. I just thought of a scenario that could plausibly happen, and as the mother of a 5 year old, was fairly relatable and realistic. Thank you for reading!::