THE TEACHER WHO NOTICED
Ms. Grennan never embarrassed me.
She never asked questions in front of anyone.
One afternoon, she simply placed a small granola bar on my desk and said, “You might need this later.”
The next day, it was crackers.
Then fruit.
Then, slowly, full sandwiches wrapped in napkins.
She never made it a spectacle.
She made it normal.
Like kindness was just another school supply.
For the first time, I didn’t dread lunch.
THE MONDAY SHE DISAPPEARED
Then one Monday, she was gone.
No announcement.
No farewell.
Just an empty classroom and a substitute who didn’t know my name.
I waited for weeks, convinced she’d walk back in with that same calm smile.
She never did.
No one explained.
But the absence stayed with me.
Long after the hunger stopped.
