42- Nelson Gone

Make-up day for school pictures was today. Nelson was the only child on my roster who hadn’t already had his picture taken. He wasn’t absent on the original Picture Day, but I told him he could wait the few weeks for make-up day. I wanted to give the bruises on his face time to heal.
Time did help Nelson’s wounds heal. The bruises faded as the boy spent days collecting classmates’ autographs on his neon-orange cast. Nelson dutifully came to school each day and did his best to preoccupy himself from the drama of his home life. He joked and played with his classmates like a regular child. Nelson’s frequent complaints of the foster home subsided, although he never stopped vocalizing his concerns about when he would be able to see his mother again.
Nelson did not come to school today. He was also absent yesterday and last Friday. Hoping he was just sick, I went to Mr. Thorpe’s office to inquire about the boy. Mr. Thorpe told me not to expect Nelson to ever return to my classroom. A woman from the Department of Social Services had withdrawn Nelson from our school with little explanation. Mr. Thorpe speculated that the mental condition of Nelson’s mother was worse than we had realized. Nelson has probably been placed in a more permanent foster home in another school district.
At the end of the day I decided to clean out Nelson’s desk. I read through his writer’s journal; I laughed at all the silly stories had written and admired his creative spelling. Picturing his face in my mind, with his big, puppy-dog brown eyes, I found it difficult to throw away Nelson’s things. I decided to save his stuff in my storage closet. Kids in this school are transient; they come and go all the time. Maybe, if I keep my fingers crossed, Nelson will come back. And, maybe, if I cross both my fingers and my toes, a loving family will adopt Nelson and he will live a happy and safe life.