Remembrance

I was teaching 5th grade.
Social Studies and creative writing.
My first year in Nacogdoches.
Back in the classroom as no librarian spots were open.
We mailed our Flat Stanley letters to all 50 states on September 10th.
2 to each state--one to the governor's office, and one to a business that "defines" the state.

Teachers in the hallway.
Passing along the news.
Unbelieving. Horror-stricken.
Accident?
Then we knew.
Knew.
Trying to keep brave faces for the children.
We had little ones.
Too little to begin to understand.
(Is there an age where understanding THIS is easy?)

One of my kids drew this the following week.
I've kept it all these years.
She was right.
No words for what happened that day.
No words.