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 The Lady Teacher without a Name
I had waited the whole summer long to see them again, Lizzie, Gwen and theother classmates. Oh, actually I didn’t miss Lizzie and Gwen too much: theycame by quite often and made sure they didn’t miss any of my grandma’scherry pies.And then there was this handsome boy in our school, he was much older,fifteen or so I guess; he called us goslings. But you know what? It didn’tmatter anyway, we all fainted when he passed us by. We sort of got to knoweach other better and don’t ask me how this happened because I’ve alreadytold you he kind of looked down on little students like us.“Smoking herbs, Brad? Won’t you let me try it?”“Fuck off, gosling! This is for tough guys. Well, well, you know I kind of careabout you and this stuff hurts.” Then one day the door opened and she entered the classroom. There was asort of light wrapping her shoulders and spreading inside. That’s why wecouldn’t see her face for a few seconds. I jumped from my desk and drew thecurtains; the sunlight was still dazzling at the end of summer. She had awhite tulle or silky dress and a big belly.“Are you our new lady?”“Our new lady is pregnant!”“Cool! We’ve got a pregnant teacher!”“Sshh!” She put the finger on her lips and made the silence sign.Now we all had a new reason to gossip during breaks. What worried me mostwas that Brad couldn’t think of something else to talk about.“Grandpa, she is so cute! Everyone talks about her, even that naughty Brad.It’ curious she doesn’t have a name. Nobody knows what her name is. Youknow what, grandpa? I asked her if she wanted to be my mother and shesaid yes!”“How come you did such a thing, Daisy? Tomorrow you must…oh, no, I’ll goand talk to her. See how foolish you are? What will she think of you now?”“But grandpa, please, let her be my mother. Don’t talk to her! Please!”My school was near the woods, you know. And a few fellows told us they hadstalked her and found out that she lived in a small house, on the other sideof the swamp.“Take me with you, you said you wanted to be my mother!”
 
“I can be your mother at school.”“Where do you live, miss?” She turned and made a few steps and I did thesame and then she turned at me again.“Go home, Daisy, it’s lunch time. You must be hungry.”She and Brad became very close because whenever I entered the library, shewas there with him and explaining don’t know what sort of things for hisessays. But Brad was kind of illiterate, as far as I know and she took up ahard job trying to make him read and write. She knew he was taking drugsand she spoke to his mother about it.“Where’s your lady, Daisy?”“Take it easy, Brad, calm down!”“Where is she? Why did she talk to my mum?”“Why are you looking for her? Do you want to hurt her?”“Oh, foolish gosling, why hurt her? Me? I…” He dropped his handsome face inboth hands.One morning I woke up with a sudden unpleasant feeling in my chest; it wasso heavy, it nearly choked me. I was jealous. I realized this feeling hadlingered for quite a long while in my belly,without my noticing it.“Grandpa! Grandpa!”“Yes, Daisy, darling, what is it?”“I don’t want her to be my mum any more. I don’t like her.”“You’re joking! You’ve liked her from the very first time you saw her!”“But no longer, grandpa, no longer! I know who she is!”“Then who is she?”“Do you know the swamp in the woods? Everybody knows the swamp is athreshold, grandpa. Her house is on the other side of it. They say shereaches home by night. But she stays with us during the day.”“I still don’t get it, Daisy! What’s wrong with you? Are you alright?”“Can’t you see it, grandpa? She is trapped between two realms. Myclassmates say she is a faery.”“A what? Nonsense, Daisy, nonsense!”“But she is pregnant, grandpa. No, she can’t be a faery! I don’t know whatshe is. You know what, grandpa: I don’t care because I don’t like her and shespoiled my Brad and twisted his mind!”“Daisy, are you alright? Stop talking like that! Look: if you feel bad you canstay home today. Still, you know, you said something; you said she is trappedbetween…”“Yes, I said this.”
 
“How come? You made me curious.”“She told me she was once like us; but then one day she wanted to go to herlover’s house by boat, to the other side of the swamp, though he had warnedher not to. And she reached the threshold and remained trapped.”“I see… now I understand why people fear the swamp so much. They say it’shaunted by a water sprite.”We were stuck in the classroom and very amused, of course. It seemednatural for us to rejoice in anything that distracted our attention and delayedthe classes. Brad was trying to fix the door handle while she stood quiet in acorner, watching us. I left my desk and went to her.“What time do you have to be home, miss?”“Why are you asking?”“Well, you look worried.”“We’ll all be home as soon as someone helps us get out of here”. Then the door opened and the school workman greeted us. “You’re freenow”. We all crowded and jostled one another.“Brad, wait! Come here, they’ll hear us! Listen! I say we’d better stalk her.Who knows what we’ll come across!”“Oh, no! Not again!”“But Brad, it’s the first time…”“Gwen and Lizzie! They’re following us again. Don’t worry! I’ll cooksomething up. Wait here!”“Alright, just don’t make it too long!”He came back in twenty minutes or so and I threw his schoolbag away inanger. “She’s gone now!”“Fine, let’s go to the swamp! Don’t look at me, hurry up! No matter what,we’ll keep it to ourselves, you promise?”“Promise”.Evening came…in one of my English essays I wrote: “and evening came likea thief of silver, with bells tied to his ankles”. Then the faint sound of aflute…closer and closer…till it grew clear. And the water purling…the suddenview petrified us. They were a couple, embraced, their cold feet in the water;and he played the flute. There was something unearthly about it. We wereonly a bough farther. It was getting dark.“Brad, I’m leaving! It’s late, we’re in the woods. Come with me, please! I’llget lost.”
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