THE TEACHER

God Bless You Forever, Mrs. Flatt💖

Once upon a time, there was a Teacher, and she was a very Good Teacher.

She taught Science, and smelled of Chemicals and Sunshine, the essence of vivacious intelligence. Brown curly hair standing on end, she waved as she talked about potions and notions; she mixed and matched, and blew things up…

she was very popular with her Students.

Day after day, she made the school a place of discovery, a home for fertile brains and inquiring thought; this was her ministry of minds, and she was happy. She was so happy, her Joy leaked out the doors and into the streets of the Small Town, down the Road and across the River, into the Woods where the Wild One grew…

The Wild One heard the Joy, and he longed to have it. But the world is not always very kind to Wild Ones, so he worked diligently to hide himself, learning to speak and look like an ordinary Human. Then one bright August day, the Joy came chirping at his window once more, and the Wild One donned his disguise. He followed the Joy out of the Woods and across the River, down the Road and into the Small Town, leading him to the Hallowed Halls and through the doors.

The halls were festooned with Red and White, the bands played, and the cheerleaders cheered; it was noisy, unlike his quiet Woodland classroom.

The Teacher saw the Wild One… he looked for all the world like an ordinary Boy. She called to him:

“Come to me, Boy, and I will teach you the Magic of Chemistry, the Way of Physics!”

At the mention of Physics, the Boy perked up, for he had not been properly taught Physics since his GrandMother died, and he was quite lonely for it. He followed The Teacher into her classroom and took a seat as the Teacher began her show. And what a show it was -

the sizzle of Reaction, the clink of Beakers, the smashing of Pendulums and other Elemental Wizardry! All was enlightenment, and he felt his Brain grow.

The Teacher was excited to see such a brilliant student, so quiet, so thoughtful, so curious - and so alone. She called the Mother in, and the Mother came, red hair afrizz with worry. The Teacher wasted no time:

“The Boy is brilliant, so quiet, so thoughtful, but he also very alone. I am not sure why, and I was hoping you could tell me.”

The Mother blinked back enormous tears. “My Son is a Wild One. He sees the world through secret eyes, the faces hidden behind smiles, the acts hidden behind words. But he cannot speak the Language of Smiles, and he cannot give the Gift of Tears, for he is a Wild One.”

The Teacher nodded in understanding. “I could tell. I always thought he might be a Wild One, but I wanted to make sure.”

“He did not cry, even when his GrandMother died. He tried, but he could not.” The Mother wiped her own tears. “My Son saw your Joy, and he wanted to come to the School, so he worked very hard to hide his true Nature. I told him it is good to be himself, to be a Wild One, but he doesn’t want anyone to know. He wants to be like the others.”

“I do not want him to be like the others.” The Teacher clasped the Mother’s hands. “ I want him to be himself.”

At this declaration, The Mother burst into sobs; then The Teacher and Mother cried together - and the Teacher came up with a plan.

From that day forward, the Boy always had a date for each main Event at the School. Homecoming brought a Football Game with the Daughter of the Teacher, a willowy girl who graciously allowed the boy to buy her a Gigantic Mum. Winter Dance brought a party with The Teacher’s Students, who taught the Boy to dance to their Hometown Anthem, ‘CopperHead Road’… and Prom brought the kindness of The Teacher’s Smartest Girl Student to be his Date.

The other Teachers heard, and they joined in, helping the Boy learn to become himself. He played Football; he acted in Plays, he sang ‘Be Thou My Vision” on the Stage of Talent Night, as his Mother wept openly with Joy and the rest of his Family in the audience.

The Boy began to blossom, as Wild Ones do when they are allowed to thrive in the presence of understanding others - and he graduated with high marks and a full scholarship to a Major University. The Teacher was there with her Joy when The Boy recieved his diploma, as he stood on the Field of the HighSchool Stadium, surrounded by glorious Red and White.

He went away to college. Always, always, when The Teacher saw The Mother, she would ask: “How’s my Boy?” Then The Mother would tell of the Adventures of The Wild One in College, and when he visited The Teacher would sometimes see him and hug his neck, for he was still her Boy.

The Boy became a Man; he graduated with full Honors from the University, and he came back home to preach in his Small Country Church. He was still a Wild One, and everybody knew it, but he had learned to love himself thanks in large part to his Friends and The Teacher. She came to see his first Sermon as Head Pastor; she wept to hear him, for he was still her Boy, even if he was now a Man. She wept again and congratulated him from afar when he got engaged, and looked forward to meeting his Bride…

then one day, her Heart was so full of Joy it just burst, like a bubble bursting on the wings of an Angel -

and The Teacher was gone.

The Mother wrung her hands. Her hair, now white, had been discretely dyed red but was still frizzed: she called to the Boy-now-Man as he prepared to go to work.

“I am so, so sorry, but your Teacher is gone.”

For a moment, the Man disappeared; all the Mother could see was the Wild One, disguised as a Boy, standing in the School again, and his Teacher calling him with Joy. The Wild One stared into space, his own heart filling with all the Joy The Teacher had given him. The Joy grew and grew, filling him and welling up out of him -

a Tear of Sorrow appeared in his Wild Eye, a miracle for the Teacher who had given him her Last Lesson…

and the Wild One wept, a gift of Tears for The Teacher.

https://www.blair-stubbs.com/obituaries/jill-flatt

.