First day of School

The afternoon sun put the school in shadows as the building emptied itself of children. Cars were lined like so many ants in front of the brick building as traffic moved at a crawl. Uniforms skewed and socks tumbling, Donna saw the kids were ready for snacks and naps. She looked over the sea of faces watching for brown hair and freckles. Slowly, she inched her car along still scanning for some sign of recognition in the crowd.

"I hope she had a good day." she thought."First days are hard."


Donna smiled to herself. She had taken Claudia to a Meet the Teacher day. Now all the little girl could talk about was going to school and Ms. Taylor. The night before school started, Claudia had repacked her backpack six times before Donna could convince her it was perfect. Donna, at Claudia's request, had laid out her uniform where she could see it if she woke up in the middle of the night.

Traffic stopped at a crosswalk, because of the school bus loading in front of her. Donna felt anxiety creeping up on her. She did not see Claudia and most of the smaller kids were out. "I brushed her hair up and put in pink ribbons so I could see her," she continued her musing.  A car beep startled her out of her reverie. The bus finished loading it's passengers and now moved toward traffic.

Donna started inching along again, but now the school moved away from her. Panic started to set in. "I can't find her! What if she thinks I forgot her? Oh my god! What if someone sees her alone while I'm trying to turn around? What if they take her? What am I going to do? " Tears threaten to spill, when Donna saw the crossing guards. "I'll ask them to look out for her till I can make a second pass. No sense in being a drama queen just yet.'' Donna called over one of the crossing guards at the stop sign. The guard was a woman of mature years with a friendly warmth about her.

"Mrs. Williams! How good to see you again," said the lady. "I see you have flowers. Are they for Claudia?"

Something in Donna's spirit eased and broke at the same moment when she saw the daisies.

"Yes, Bea, they are. I'm on my way to see her now. Daisies are her favorites you know."

"I remember," replied Bea. "She always carried daisies to class."

"I guess I better go before I hold you up too long," Donna said as she put the car in gear.

Bea touched Donna's shoulder and said, "Remember me to Claudia, Mrs. Williams."

"I will."

As Donna drove away, Bea gathered the two newer crossing guards for a talk.

"That was Mrs. Donna Williams. She shows up every school year for the first day of school looking for her daughter Claudia. She is always upset and panicked. If you ask her if the daisies are for Claudia, she will calm down. Her daughter died on the first day of school in a bus accident fifteen years ago."

Ruth, one of the newer guards, said, "Fifteen years!? Why does she come every year?"

"Because, she drives by the school every day on her way to the cemetery."