Sarah sat at the smooth wooden desk and watched her students file in and take their seats.
There were only eight children this year, the other village children attended the new school in town.
She smiled and nodded as Tommy placed an apple on her desk.

As the students settled in, she gazed around the old wooden schoolhouse.
Built over a hundred years ago by the grandfather of one of her students, it was a classic design.

One large room with her small office off to the side. A tiny kitchen with a pot belly stove that helped take off the chill in the winter months.
Now there was a gas heater, but Sarah still liked to make a fire sometimes.
Above, was her favorite feature. The beautiful pine ceiling. Slats of one inch, tongue and groove ceiling. Painstakingly nailed in, one by one, but the effect was wonderful.
In the afternoon sunlight, the wood turned golden yellow.

The children settled in and looked at her expectantly, ready to begin the class.
She knew and loved each child and their parents and grandparents.

She hoped to have her own child soon. She smiled to think of her new husband.
Well, new husband, but lifelong friend.
She had married Tom in a beautiful outdoor wedding a couple years ago.
The whole village had turned up to wish them the best for their future.

She smiled as she remembered her eight little flower girls and boys, leading her way up the aisle. Dressed in their Sunday best, they took the role very seriously.
A carpet of honeysuckle flowers and rose petals had become a scented path to the alter for the bride.


Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman in a no~nonsense business suit entered. She placed her briefcase and phone on the small table by the door. With her hands on her hips, she looked around and sighed.

She did not greet Sarah or the children, but took out a tape measure and began to measure the windows and small kitchen.

Sarah calmly watched her walk around the room, opening cupboards and rifling through the books and papers. The woman would note the measurements in her notebook as she made her way about the room.
Sarah and the children watched in silence.

The shrill ring of her phone startled everyone in the classroom. The strange woman picked up the phone, then leaned against the wide window sill.

"Good morning, Parker Real Estate, this is Margaret speaking.
Yes, uh huh, well, I am here now. I think that we should advertise it as a fixer upper, great potential for a young couple.
I figure eighty to ninety thousand. No, not much land, needs some landscaping, but there is a beautiful forest nearby."

Sarah would often take the children on field trips to that very forest. The children would gather leaves, stones and bark.
Discovering bird nests and signs of wildlife always brought joy to their excursions.

"Yes, okay, well, I am here now, come meet me in half an hour and we can do the paperwork.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Sad, a real tragedy. The teacher plus all the eight kids perished in that bus crash. Worst accident ever for this small town.
Okay, I will meet you then. Bye now"

The real estate woman continued to go through the cupboards while taking notes. She glanced quickly at the pictures the children had drawn, lovingly pinned to the wooden wall.

The real estate agent walked behind Sarah. She sharply tapped the old blackboard with her knuckles.

The sound seemed to wake Sarah from her day dream.

She looked over at the children sitting before her.

The realization came over her in a clear, melancholy wave.

Now it all made sense.

She closed her eyes, steepled her fingers, and cleared her throat. There were tears in her eyes as she addressed the children.

"Okay, today we are going on a wonderful field trip."

The children whispered excitedly at the great news.
They loved their field trips with Miss Sarah.

Sarah stood up and walked slowly to the front door.
Obediently, the children followed.

This field trip was to finally cross over to the other side.