In the Education Wing of The Church of What Has Been Forgotten

In the Education Wing of The Church of What Has Been Forgotten

One day our teacher brings in a cardboard box. She holds it from the bottom. She unpacks it and places items on the tables in front of everyone. A green book. A gyroscope with dirty string. A porcelain raccoon.

Everyone stares. She continues. A blue leather pouch. Lump of pyrite. Wooden box that opens only when turned upside down first, a trick. Bundle of yellow pages torn from a legal pad, folded. Small black radio. Transparent cassette tape.

Then the table is covered with objects. Everyone just looks. She says, One of these is yours. Come and claim it.

We hesitate. She laughs. You can’t get this wrong! We stand and approach the table. I pick the box. You choose the radio, shrug at me. We look at the chalkboard but it’s still just a window.