Age 8
Marma woke with a start. What time was it? Where was Maurice? He always woke her up to help her get ready for school. The sun was up pretty high in the sky. Marma looked at her little digital clock which said ‘10:00 am’. She was sure her school started at nine, which was one less than ten. Oh no! She was late for school. Marma hopped out of bed and moved to her dresser. She stopped midway when something caught her eye. There was someone in her doorway. Carefully she turned and prayed it wasn’t something scary. Her eyes lit up when she saw it was her father. “Daddy! Good morning,” she said happily and ran over to him. He held his arms open and they hugged. “Where’s Maurice?” she asked when her dad had pulled away. A scary look crossed his face for an instant and then he was smiling again.