THE GRAMMARIAN'S DISAPPEARANCE |
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THE GRAMMARIAN'S DISAPPEARANCE WENT INITIALLY UNREMARKED,
reported as it was outside the procedural threshold for vanishing. When an adequate time window had elapsed, investigation proceeded, despite the likelihood of less ominous explanations. She was doubtless so impaired by illness that she neglected to file notice. Or delays had extended her weekend leave longer than planned. She would doubtless turn up during the morning panoptic sweep, fingers guiding the plunger of her French press or adjusting one of her colorful scarves, smiling shyly all the while into lenses she never failed to recognize. This is not the kind of place where people go missing. We can say with certainty, however, that our efforts were consistent with the care at all times taken to safeguard all members of the community.
It cannot be helped, however, if, as the search continues, we reflect on her strange propensities. While never outwardly hostile or critical, we could not help noticing a certain quality of hesitance in the way she performed her duties and adapted to life outside the doors of the continual learning annex. One need only peruse the assignment tablets of her pupils, who were routinely given sentences to complete with concision and professional polish:
Subject-Verb Conformity
The desolate street __________ between abandoned buildings.
Possessives
That drink is __________; when I finish it, can I have __________?
Tense
Today I __________. Yesterday I __________. Tomorrow I __________. One day
__________ into another.
We cherish our long winters for the solace of fire and cabinet furnace. But she was never seen at hearthsong or broth tasting. At the grocer's she wandered the produce aisles, rooting for citrus, melon, pomegranate. Seeing none, she would discard a bloom of flat plastic sleeves at the automated doors.
At false spring, it is customary to shed greatcoat and muffler for lighter hues of flannel. She arrived to her lessons in a gauzy shift that rippled with every step. Her sequined sandals revealed bare toes glazed in vernal rouge. The coming of the late snows did little to modify this extravagance. She bundled her short sleeves under sweaters of a suggestive adhesion. Her flowery leggings left little to imagine of the smoothness beneath.
She gave no sign on last being seen. She completed her lessons with exemplary competence--this was noted on her latest diagnostic. She asked our advice on where to buy galoshes; we explained the many options available, all of which she took care to note in her pocket memorandum. We awaited her return with an expectation we did not place until the hands of the classroom clock wound obtusely around the expanse of her absence.
CC