The Red and White Pen

The Red and White Pen.

One day, I gifted my favourite teacher a pen,

A red click pen with delicate white prints on the sides.

A smile, serene and subtle, graced her lips,

And she slid it quietly inside her little purse.

Was she truly happy? I wondered.

Would she ever think I was trying to woo her?

Why would she? She knew me well—

My little sorrow, my tender heart.

Eight-year-old me was not afraid

To express,

To cascade my grief into words.

I couldn’t find her using my little gift;

I was disheartened, a shade of sadness lingered.

But a few weeks later,

While correcting my answer sheets, I saw—

The red-and-white present working perfectly

In her lean, adorned hands.

And in that moment, I was elated.

She knew I was enthralled.

There—right there—I saw my favourite teacher.