The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist

My palms went cold.

It was because I was certain that there was no one around us.

I drew a long, steady breath and gripped my son’s shoulders.

Carefully, almost pleadingly, I asked, “Justin, tell Mommy—when you said Alice finished her task and Miss Never took her to the moon, what exactly did you mean?”

Justin came to his senses and his gaze flickered nervously. “Mom, I promised Miss Never. I am not allowed to tell you.”

I knew forcing him would backfire, so I crouched down, gently brushing a hand over his hair. “Then how about this—when Miss Never leaves, you can tell Mommy. All right?”

He hesitated for a moment.

I decided to tug at his heartstrings. “Justin, didn’t you say the person you love most in this whole world is Mommy? Do you really want to keep secrets from me?”

He thought it over, then darted a glance toward the corner beside me. It was as though he was making sure the Miss Never he spoke of had truly left.

Only then did he lean close and whispered, “Mommy, I can tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else.”

After I gave my word, he finally told me the truth.

“Miss Never gave each of us a task. If we complete them, she will come pick us up and take us to the moon.”

“On the moon there’s a beautiful chocolate factory. We can eat chocolate every single day and go on a grand lunar adventure with the robot cat!”

His eyes lit up as he suddenly spun toward the window, staring at the glowing moon outside. “Mom, look! Alice’s already on Miss Never’s spaceship. They’re about to land on the moon!”

His gaze shone with envy, but I saw nothing at all.

I was debating whether to call Alice’s mother and warn her about what Justin had said when my phone rang.

On the other end, Miss Zinn’s voice was tight with panic. “Mrs. Young, Alice just jumped! Please, is Justin okay?”

I froze for a moment, staring at my boy standing motionless at the window. A chill raced through me, raising every hair on my body.

How could this be such a coincidence?

Miss Zinn told me that Alice had been acting perfectly normal all day. Not once had she mentioned Miss Never.

However, while her mother was in the kitchen, Alice suddenly picked up the little Bamboo-copter she made and shouted, “Miss Never, I’m ready for the moon adventure!”

Then she leapt off the balcony of their fifteenth-floor apartment.

Her mother fainted on the spot and afterward wailed for the police to hunt down this Miss Never.

Still, Alice’s death finally made the kindergarten management take the matter seriously.

Fearing more children might be hurt, Miss Zinn and I gathered every parent whose child claimed to see Miss Never and created a new private group chat.

Together, we started piecing the clues back together.

According to the children, Miss Never had chosen five of them.

Each was given a task, and only by completing it could they be “taken to the moon.

For Alice, the task was to strap on her homemade bamboo-copter and leap from the balcony.

What unsettled me even more was that each of the five children described a completely different Miss Never.