Eloise

1. What is life? Why do we live? How important is life? What comes after life? None of these things ever really mattered to me. I’ve never taken life seriously, after all we’ll just die in the end. Staying alive is just a reminder that we’re closer to death. And that is agonizing. Why give life only to lose it in the end? Pointless. Not that I’ve ever contemplated suicide. Though the facts I’ve stated are clear and painful I’ve never considered killing myself. I just don’t value life and I really won’t care if I died. My name is Eloise. I’m a teacher at Elite Academy, a prominent primary school in Warton. Warton. A very quiet city. So quiet you could hear whispers from the bushes or a squeaking door in your neighbour’s apartment. I wonder what caused the constant silence in Warton. I wonder if it was related to the constant disappearance of children. Probably, yes, that was it. Children disappeared in Warton. They’d sleep in their beds at night and when it’s morning their parents would wake up to an empty and surprisingly well dressed bed. Children disappeared so much that the Police and other security forces stopped searching for them. Slowly and slowly citizens left Warton. I guess that was the reason for the silence in Warton. A handful of people in a big city. Just like I have no value for life I have no value for so many things. My work especially. Very shitty place. A bunch of really dumb kids that should be in special hospitals to reset their screwed brains. They call them special/gifted children. A cover name for their learning disabilities. I hate children. They’re unnecessarily lousy, weak, dependent, deserving. I was once a child, I know that, I hated that. The kids here don’t pay any tuition fee, nothing. The school was established by a Non-Governmental Organization, Tiny Hands, an organization solely for the education and empowerment of children under 18 years of age. I know every pupil in my classroom. They’re ten in number with an average age of 8 years, grade 3. There’s Celina; the noisy little brat, Joseph; everybody’s friend, Katelyn; dumbest questions, how the hell am I supposed to explain why you can’t see your butt without a mirror? Ask your mother! Then there’s Philip and Philippa; twins, Deric; awfully quiet for a boy, Christy; most likely to be a hoe and Magdalene; well, she’s a sweet little girl I guess. And then Esther and Maryam; rarely in school. I teach these students all the subjects they offer, English, Mathematics, Arts, Government and Science. It’s a free school, don’t expect much. I was strolling along one of the corridors when I noticed a ditch at the end of the corridor. There was no sign that a ditch was there and I almost fell into it. It was about 6 ft. deep, very narrow and rough. The school was still under construction which I had complained wasn’t safe though I really didn’t care. I walked around it and headed for the school cafeteria to get lunch. On my way back I still took the same path I took earlier. I heard a soft sob. I turned to see where it came from. There was no one and nothing there. I continued walking and I heard it again. Like a child. It was coming from the ditch. A child must have fallen into it. “Magdalene! How did you get down there?” I yelled, hoping she wasn’t badly hurt. “I was running. My whole body aches! Please help me out Miss Eloise!” she sobbed. “It’s okay. I’ll go get help. Stay here” Like she could go anywhere. “No! Please don’t leave me, please!” She pleaded with me not to leave her. She seemed dead scared like if leave she’d pass out. I quickly made a call to a fellow teacher explaining the situation and where we were. Without thinking I jumped into the ditch. Her left hand was broken. I carried her on my neck. “Reach for the edge Maggie, you can do it.” She held on to the edge and I pushed her. She dragged herself from the edge unto the floor. I kept pushing and she kept dragging until she was finally out of the ditch. She was too small to carry me out. I had to wait in the ditch until help came. That wasn’t something I’d do at all! I risked my safety for a child I obviously had no connection to. What if the ditch had collapsed on me? What if I had gotten badly injured by the rough walls of the ditch while I jumped in to get her? I didn’t even think, I just did it. Dumb! 10 minutes after the call some teachers came and pulled me out safely. 5 minutes later the ambulance arrived and took Magdalene and I to the nearest hospital. While I was there all I could think about was how Maggie was doing and if she was still traumatized. Why was I so interested in this girl? A little while later she came into my room with her father. “This is the teacher that saved me dad. Her name is Miss Eloise, she’s my class teacher.” “Good day sir” He rushed at me and grabbed my arm with teary eyes saying “Thank you so much Ma’am. May God bless you. God will reward you. Thank you for saving my daughter. I owe you so much…” blah blah blah. I really wasn’t interested in whatever he was saying. I was interested in why I suddenly cared about this girl. She stood there staring at me in admiration with her huge deep black eyes. “…will you join us for dinner?” her father asked. “Well umm… I wish… I’m sorry but…” “Please Miss Eloise. It’s our little way of appreciating you. Please please” she pleaded sweetly. How could I say no. “Of course, what time?” I was at their house 7pm sharp. It was nice. A small family. Magdalene, her father and her grandmother; her father’s mother. They bought the food from a restaurant. It was obvious because, well they didn’t look like people who’d have assorted ingredients in their house. They didn’t even have a fridge but the coke was cold. There was a sofa in the living room and the rest were wooden chairs, three. It was a one room apartment. Parlour, room and toilet. Magdalene was overly excited. We, her dad and I, talked about politics, the educational system in the country, sports and food. It was 10pm and everyone was tired. About time for me to take my leave. “Why not spend the night here?” Maggie’s father asked politely. “It’s quite late for a young lady to walk on the streets. I looked at the time on my Android phone, 10:14pm. True. But I barely know these people even though they seem really nice. Should I? “You can stay in the room with Maggie. Grandma and I are okay in the living room.” “I’d hate to inconvenience you and your family sir…” “Nonsense! Please stay” “Okay” It was a beautiful night. I can’t remember when last I shared a bed with someone. Magdalene was beautiful. She had really long lashes and a lot of front hair. Her skin was dark and shining. Her cheeks were full though she was very skinny. She had a smile hanging at the corner of her lips as she slept. “I hope she’s dreaming about me” I said to myself. Weird! I finally decided to close my eyes and sleep. When I woke up Maggie was gone and the bed was well dressed.