It is time.
Nana stewed the day after the Baptist Church incident.
Samuel recognized
the school immediately and swallowed the gall of panic. Think,
man, think! But events moved too
quickly once the doors closed and Samuel was in the company of Nana and her
friend, Dr. Anna.
After brief
introductions to a saccharine insipid Miss Bethany, Samuel was given
instructions: Create as many colors as he could with the materials provided.
Samuel found
himself in a pleasant circular room, softly illuminated overhead, with white board walls
and tan seamless flooring. He noted a
large mirror curving around part way…Oh,
seriously? One way mirrors?! So old school....
Walking
slowly around the room and running his hands along the white board, Samuel
observed several things: the walls had
no seams; he could just reach the one way mirror if he stretched enough; and,
there were three floor level heating vents with no screws and a metal mesh
covers.
In the
center of the room was a solid round white table made of some strong resin in
one piece. There was a similar chair,
again with no seams, screws, or nails.
Next to the
table were five cardboard boxes, filled with supplies. Samuel squatted down by them, eyeing them
carefully. He began to remove each item
one by one, making mental notes.
Boxes large
kindergarten-type crayons in red, blue, and yellow? Do they
think I need this many?
Chalk, lots
of yellow, blue, and red chalk? Hmmm…an
interesting choice of medium…
Now, let’s see what else: Empty cups, jars of thick peppermint
paste, boxes of tongue depressors, Elmer’s glue, tempura paint in primary
colors…Don’t they realize what I can do
with all of this?
Samuel began
pacing around the supplies and glancing at spots in the circular room. He climbed up on the table, standing tall
over the room. Then he looked directly
into the one-way mirror.
Miss Bethany
cleared her throat. “Clearly he is
overwhelmed. Look at his stillness, at
the lack of expression. Let’s get him
out of there…”
Dr. Anna
spoke quietly, “No, I think we need to give him time.” Another doctor concurred, followed by murmurs
of consent. “Samuel is, after all Nathan’s
son, Dr. Nana’s grandson.”
Nana said
not a word, keeping eye contact with Samuel.
‘Oh, Samuel, they do not know what
you can do…’
Samuel
smiled, a sweet 3 ½ year old smile. Let the games begin…
He jumped
off the table.
What will Samuel do next? What do you think will happen? Where will Samuel go from here?