I remember the day Emily fell to the ground while playing tag in P.E. I didn’t know her yet, since we had just met the first grade class. She had slid while running and now had a long, bloody cut on her knee. She began crying, and before I knew it she was in my arms. I rocked her gently back and forth until we bandaged her knee, yet she still clung to me. The kids of Puma Marca aren’t used to being touched or hugged very much, so this was a new experience for both of us. I held this stranger close to me and waited until her sobs had subsided completely. She was still curled in my arms, so I took off my coat to keep her warm and started to sing every children’s lullaby I knew. After my third time of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" she had relaxed and curved her little body so that she was leaning into me, her tears were long gone. We stayed there for awhile, listening to rain fall. Everything in the kids daily lives they have to work for, nothing comes easy. Yet, if I can give her a moment of being a kid, I would hold her and sing until I lost my voice. Eventually, we both stirred and I helped her outside to finish her P.E. class. The day finished with my head still back at the school with Emily. We were halfway home when I realized I hadn’t learned her name yet.

by Elena