Mail to Mtn and his reply

I was still smarting from the fact that here I have been battling serious health problems and meticulously informing the school why I can't come to work but the so called management hasn't even bothered to inform Stf about me, letting her believe that I am enjoying a vacation in India! Or could it be that Stf just feigned surprise and was actually aware of the whole thing but for some devious reason chose to conceal it? I can never be sure about her. I just hope the parents and the parents committee does not think like this.

There from my hospital bed, I sent a mail to Mtn telling him everything. His response, as always, was quick and prompt. He wrote back the next day telling me that I need not fear for my job as there are special rules in Germany to fire a worker when he is ill and on sick leave; should my job be in any danger, he and the committee would support me. He also offered to officially inform the parents of my group about my health condition just in case they do not know either just like Stf.

I am so grateful for his offer of  help and support. I declined however because I really think my job is not in any danger right now and because I do believe Asy has informed the parents already.

A formal mail coming from the parents committee might make some trouble...

In hospital again

I am in hospital again.
Even after a fortnight of operation, I wasn't recovering as fast as I should and since yesterday was developing stranger pains at and near the operation site. We decided to get checked up. The doctor found infection and got me immediately admitted for next four days to monitor and heal the infection, failing which I might have to undergo another operation!

In the morning, when there was no sign of this development anywhere on the horizon, I rang the school just to find out about some holidays next week. Mr picked up the phone and couldn't understand the simple English that I wanted to talk to Mk. After some struggle, she harped on the word Mk and handed the phone to Mks.

He was happy to hear from me. He informed me that the next whole week is a holiday. And then he informed me further:
"Hey, I have news for you. Stfn is not leaving the school, finally."
"What?" I jumped happily. "That's a good news for the school." I exclaimed.
"No, it's not." He snorted disdainfully." I am pissed off that she is staying. It is not funny that she has been telling everyone that she was quitting only to declare on her farewell day that she is after all not quitting. She is a horrid creature."
I had completely forgotten about this situation between Mks and Stfn...

I obtained Stf's number from him so that I could talk to her about my leave situation and then rang her twice but she didn't pick up the phone. Half an hour later, she called me back. When she heard my voice on phone she cried in complete surprise,
"You? Are you alive?"

She was astounded to know why I was absent since so many days, and I was doubly so to know she didn't know it although the whole school did. In fact she had been believing that either I had gone to India or just left. Talk about management!
I told her everything and she told me in return that Stfn has been coaxed to stay and now probably both Ndn and Mk also won't leave the school as planned.

Then I went to the hospital and got admitted so unexpectedly.

ASy rang me.
She told me yesterday they had a staff meeting which was addressed by Chr, who is Stf's personal acquaintance and friend and who played the part of St. Nikolaus so memorably. He talked or rather counselled all the teachers as to how they should rise above their personal lives in order to be dedicated teachers and how the whole school is a brand new place now without Mz and My. He requested the staff to come to him if they have a problem.

Asy was growing angrier every minute. She told him that there is no problems within the staff and everybody is very nice and supportive for each other but it is the management that is at fault; for example the management discusses her career decisions with everyone except her and all efforts on her part are foiled for a direct conversation.

Next Izb opened up. She started telling everybody in tears how Stf has forced one new Greek teacher to live with her in her single room apartment, without her consent. She doesn't find the experience of being forced to share her single room with someone she doesn't know, very pleasant; the worst part is, that roommate in question, being a new foreigner in this country, plagues her with nonstop questions about the country, city as well as the school which gives her a lot of stress and makes her feel as if she is still working in school instead of relaxing at home. She started crying.

I heard through Asy that Mks is up to his tricks again. He tries to slop his work on other's shoulders on one excuse or the other. He often requests/ demands Asy to clean his wagon( on which we load children's food and utensils and have to clean up after eating) and overtake his duty in the sleeping room when he has to go for break. Technically, he has his break time later but he often used to do the same thing with me when my sleeping room was in the science lab, making me do almost double work every single day. Asy, didn't like it and she straight away told him that this was his job and he should do it rather than asking her everyday to do so.

Now, I know, Mks will never like this reply. He is sure to go to Stf and complain against Stf that Asy is so bad that she doesn't work.

Ah, yes. In the morning Mks had told me how upset he was to know that Stfn is not leaving. In the afternoon however, barely two hours later, he went up to Stfn and said he wanted to apologize for believing some other teachers who kept saying that she was a bad teacher. He has now realised that she is a very good teacher and he is glad that she is staying. And then he kept talking to her in private for whole one hour!

I hope he wasn't telling Stfn that it was I who had been telling him that she was a bad teacher!

Flood from Greece

Bless dear Asy! If it weren't for her, I would never discover all that's going on in school in picturesque detail. Yesterday she rang me and related to me everything.

I was wrong to speculate that Stfn has left already; she hasn't and is very much coming to school in her usual 'Don't ask me to move my butts' style. All my parents have been asking Asy about what has happened to me and when will I come back. They all show plenty of concern and sympathy for me.
The new German teacher from Greece who has joined just two/three days back and is supposed to replace Stfn in my group, is so far hopeless according to Asy's observations. To begin with the very beginning, she does not know German! She had problems understanding and replying to simple German questions asked by Asy. She doesn't know what to do with the children and keeps static and dumb most of time; coupled with Stfn who gets permanently glued to where ever she happens to sit once, poor Asy is having a hard time in the group having to run on her toes all the time.
Poor Jr has also been promoted to Mks' group. He kept weeping and whimpering the whole day frightened to his core by Mks's hundred screamings at him for crying. Mr, the manager was also angry with him for crying without trying to understand a sensitive three year old's subtle mind and emotions.
The rest of the school is doing far worse.

There's an alarming flood of Greek teachers in school - soon to transform into a devastating tsunami. Stf, the genius of this century, has discovered a Greek agency which provides teachers to her on cheap wages. Result? Cheap service and zero outcome.  Most of them landed in the school straight from the airport along with their suitcases. Stf just imports them into Germany like slave cargo, puts them up in cheap student hostel type lodgings and complacently enjoys their grateful services. As described by the girls themselves ( and Stf too, to tell the whole world how benevolent she is) their lodgings are no bigger than a shoe box and have one shower/toilet amongst twenty fellow lodgers! This Mr, our new manager was moved to a room that was so dirty and lacking in comfort that Stf herself brought her personal cleaner to clean the room and provided cushions and blankets to her just to let her believe that she was indeed a human and not an unfortunate chicken in a one square inch pen. I am sure Stf pays them less than 500 or 600 per month with free lodgings. Hence the poor girls, far from complaining, actually feel grateful and indebted to her for being so kind and generous. In the circumstances, they are likely never to run away from this school and in all probability must live under the constant danger of getting sent back to their country on slightest displeasure from the boss.

There was an English teacher in the school, from Africa, who was appointed here in February and was working in the baby group with Ndn and Mchl. I am told, she is being fired without notice to make way for a cheap one from Greece. My own replacement, without doubt, will also be a cheap Greek...

With this sort of economy and austerity measures what can one expect as results? None of these Greek imports can speak the decent minimum proper German or English which is required in a school as very instructors of these languages. Asy reported to me that the school has commenced looking like a native Greek establishment instead of a German English Kindergarten with six of them talking to each other in Greek and struggling in German/English with the students and parents! The manager keeps yelling at every teacher in the school and gets a heart attack if a parent on phone cannot speak or understand German; she keeps begging them to speak in German or dashes from classroom to classroom in search for someone who knows English...

I could puke with disgust at this state of affairs in my beloved school....Not that I am against Greece or Greeks or some such stuff. I am sure they are good teachers and hold excellent academic degrees and all. But surely, isn't there a world of difference between appointing selected teacher personnel on account of their education, expertise and required qualification/ experience, and, stuffing teachers like cotton in a pillow regardless whether their capabilities match the requirements of the institution or not?

I wonder how the parents digest this, if they digest it at all. As a parent I would never want to send my child to a school where he won't be able to learn even native German in Germany. As a teacher of this school, I suddenly do not want to go there again. I love my school and I find it deplorable how Stf is ruining the pounds to save her pennies. I wish this school shuts up now. I had been whining over my proposed relocation but I am suddenly very happy about it. I am glad I would soon cease to be part of this sickening situation.

I am glad I am leaving...

Asy is angry with Stf

Asy had something shocking to tell me.

Last Friday night, Asy's boy friend ( while they both were together) received a call from Stf who wanted to talk about Asy with him.
"I am sorry to tell you that I will have to fire Asy as she is all the time ill and doesn't come to school regularly."
"Why don't you talk about this matter to Asy herself? After all it is regarding her job." Her boy friend answered a bit angrily.
"No, no. Asy is a very good girl. She works very hard. The problem is, the educational department of the city has directed me to not to employ any teacher who is not qualified. That's why I might have to terminate her job because she is not qualified."

At hearing this her boyfriend flew into a rage.
"You are telling me two stories, Stf. Tell me which one is correct, the former or the latter?"
Stf started purring like a cat and implored him to not to tell her anything about this conversation.
"Why not? She is my girl friend and you are suggesting that I should lie to her? Okay, I give you one hour time. You ring Asy and tell her all this. If you don't tell her withing an hour, I will tell her everything. agreed?"

Both Asy and her boyfriend kept waiting for the phone to ring but no call came.

Asy was in a rage! The next day in school, she accidentally bumped into Stf and caught her glaring at her (Asy ) in clear, pronounced hatred on her face. Asy overlooked that and greeted her coolly but Stf didn't reply. She greeted again but again no reply. Asy then walked up to her, turned her by the shoulders and punched a loud "Hello".
"Hello"
"Stf, we need to talk. I am coming back in five minutes to talk to you"
"Okay."

After five minutes, there was no sign of Stf in the school - she had left.

Asy is angry with Stf for a variety of reasons, the biggest one: she uses the subject of Asy as a handsome excuse to creep closer to her boyfriend. If she has any problem with her, why doesn't she talk directly to her? Why does she have to call her boyfriend at odd hours of the night and then request him to keep their conversations a secret from Asy? This is just not right.

She too, doesn't want to go to this school anymore. She is desperate because she needs the certificate Stf has promised to give which will help her get a decent job in any school.

I have advised her to maintain her cool and not to confront Stf over these matters as this may anger her and then she might decide to fire Asy altogether.

Wondering what's happening in school...

A lot must be happening up there at school. I am still at home recovering from my recent ordeal and becoming torn between the two spheres of mine, the one in school and the other one at home. Like any greedy person I want to have both.

A quick look at the school's website reveals to me that Stfn has also quit the kindergarten now - without receiving a farewell and without completing her notice period according to which she had to stay till the end of May; can Nn's episode have something to do with this? She has been already replaced by a Greek M.Ed teacher Prm. That means the girl who was friend of Stf and Athn's mother and was promising to help Stf out by replacing Stfn won't come anymore. Its funny because her introduction along with her snap had been flashing publicly since long on the school's website before finally disappearing without having materialized.

So much will have changed in just a span of two and half weeks! Eighteenth of May was supposed to be the last day for Jrn. I will never see him now...! Ksh of my group had to pass on to Mks' group. I had myself scheduled his farewell party for last week. Today would also be Onm's birthday and farewell party. He won't come to this school anymore from tomorrow. Tomorrow will also be Asy's birthday party in school....I wonder if Asy has resumed going to the school or not. I hope her health is better now.

I wonder how my group has been faring without any of it's three teachers present or with only one teacher and that too just brand new who probably does not know how to function yet in a German kindergarten. I did request Ndn to inform my group's parents about my predicament but I am not sure if she did; I don't trust her somehow despite having any concrete base for suspicion. I am sure the parents are largely pissed off and bone weary of a crashed and crippled system and teachers who go-a missing so often whatever their reasons may be.

While here at home everything is topsy turvy too. H feels bored at home. We are trying hard to arrange S' sister/brother in law's visit to us but Visa issue has been muddled and we don't know if they will be able to make it. Meantime, we are also trying to get ready for our transfer. We have already given termination notice to our phone/internet connection and house rental contract and have begun hunting for a house, a new school for H and a new kindergarten job for myself in the new city. To tell the truth, I am least hopeful...

God knows what will happen and where all this will take us.....

Emotional detachment from school

So I am on two weeks medical leave recovering from my unfortunate ectopic pregnancy and wondering what's happening in the world outside or most importantly; my school!

Just prior to my falling so suddenly so sick, I had made huge plans to celebrate the mother's day in the kindergarten in a unique way. The day Stfn had returned and I had left the school early in order to attend my appointment with my gynec, I had gone to the stationary shop and bought stickers, card construction papers, wrapping paper and several other materials for gift making. I had already obtained family pictures and mother's pictures from all the parents and had planned that children would stick their mother's picture on to a big red construction paper and make a collage design by sticking 'I Love You' cut outs from a special wrapping paper which had 'I love You' printed on it as design. This would be like a wall hanging Photo. Further more, I had planned to make a Happy Mother's Day greeting card on a special stiff glossy golden construction paper by sticking bright yellow velvet flowers, bright green velvet leaves, sticker butterflies and sticker hearts. Still further, I had planned to shoot and send videos of all the children singing a short mother's song for their mother and individually saying "I love you mama!" through the email.
All great plans to the trash bin now...!

I did hear, through Asy of course, that Stfn has has gone on leave from the kindergarten again, this time for performing some last rituals for her deceased grand mother. Asy herself has not been going to the school as she developed a painful hearing problem in her ear and also because Stf's attitude bothered her so much. She doesn't want to set foot in this kindergarten again because of Stf but probably she will come round in a day or so. I wonder who managed my class and how in the absence of all the three teachers of my group missing at the same time.

The website of the school has now only two old teachers to flaunt about: Mk and myself. Mr from Greece is on number one as she is the manager. Shockingly, there are nearly six or more new Greek teachers from Greece too. Asy had leaked this news to me that Stf has hired a Greek agency which is helping her in providing cheap teachers. At this rate however, our school would soon turn into a Greek one.

I am myself experiencing a strange detachment from this school now, something which I hadn't thought possible a few days ago. Uptill now I had been feeling guilty at being constrained to leave the school at a crucial time, but not now anymore. The day Asy told me Stf is back on her previous practice of blindly committing blunders, I lost all my sympathies with her. In about one and a half month, I shall be heading to another city with a complete set of another problems and situations to think about than a school whose owner has more interest in coveting other's boyfriends or spending long exotic romantic vacations with fresh new partners every time than thinking about the running of the school and which she accomplishes by appointing cheaply paid inefficient people and allows the school and the aspirations of the parents, teachers and the children to flow down the drains like gutter waste.

People like Stf never learn anything; they don't need to; they have enough money to just enjoy the comforts and joys a rich life has to offer much like fish enjoy being in water, without bothering about anything else on the planet. What a waste of life!

Asy's Plight

I have finally returned back home after spending four uncomfortable days in the hospital. H has also returned back home after living in N, Bhv's house for the same period of time. We all marvel at his ability of doing so without the least resistance; it is something unusual for such young children to stay away from their parents in such situations.

Today I rang the school and informed Marcel, who first picked up the phone and told him everything; knowing that it was a feminine problem, he discreetly gave the phone to Ndn whom I told in a bit of detail what exactly had happened to me. I just got an uncomfortable feeling that Ndn has also fallen out with me due to my falling out with Stfn.

Asy rang me to find out how I was. Today we had a very personal chat and I discovered so many shocking news that I am still tingling with sensation. It has given me something else to think about other than my stinging stitches

Asy's boy friend was Stf's boy friend twenty years ago. Then they broke up and each went their own way, ending up in each other's orbit in the present scenario. He is a very rich man and has lent some amount of money to Stf in setting up the kindergarten. Because of his obligations, he requested her to employ Asy in the kindergarten on a minimal salary of just 600 Euros/- a month although she has no teaching qualification or even school degree. Her modelling career isn't exactly thriving and because of no other professional qualification she is in danger of becoming totally unemployed. Stf had promised her boyfriend that at the end of Asy's one year in this school, she would give her a certificate that would enable her to get some decent employment in any school. Asy herself had started working here because she desperately needs that certificate and was doing her best to help Stf in all the ways she could in her position. A few days ago, she had a big fight with her boy friend and broke up for a short time while Asy went to live somewhere else. Later when they patched up and got together again, she learnt that Stf all the time had been talking ill to Asy about her boyfriend but at the same would ring him up every day any time of the day or night, often late at night at around three a.m. and would suggest he and she should go together on an exotic holiday for some days just to relax and just like friends.

Asy, despite being so very young and stunningly beautiful  feels very alone and insecure with this current state of affairs. Stf is trying to (or tried to) set her cap on Asy's fiance and Asy herself is growing older with nothing substantial in her hands, neither a solid career, nor a solid relationship. So far as I can read between the lines, I think she deliberately chose an old and aged boyfriend because of her dire financial straits. To support herself she has also worked as a cleaner once. She desperately wants to get married to someone rich and stable in life to end her woes. This would be possible in her current relationship with her boyfriend by having a child with him but even that hope has been thrice blighted.

She was sobbing on phone. I tried to console her as best I was capable of.  Considering how Stf is trying to damage her relationship with her boyfriend and was actually suggesting to have a romantic jaunt with him makes her hate Stf. She can't bear to look at her without being reminded of her diabolical nature. But she desperately needs the certificate which means she has to continue working here. Stf has made it painfully clear that Asy is not important to her and that she is neither capable of any work in the kindergarten except cleaning soiled diapers, nor anywhere else.

She also told me some stunning stories about her very troubled childhood regarding her past life memories. I am not writing them here in order to keep them confidential. When I heard them I was truly stunned but I fully believe her. I am so sorry for her. I will pray to God to help her.

I am in hospital

The day this episode with Stfn and Nn's news of leaving ocurred, I hadn't the faintest idea how the day was going to end for me.

I went home, drank my coffee, mailed Jr and Fr's birthday party pictures to all the parents all along having acute pain in my abdomen. I had been experiencing sharp pain in my belly since the morning but I had just carried on with it hoping it would subside. In fact since since two or more weeks I had been getting sharp mysterious pains. I had already consulted my urologist who ruled out kidney stone and my gynecologist too had confirmed there was nothing wrong despite my having abnormal bleeding.
Little by little, the pain started growing so badly that I lay down clutching my belly and crying in pain. The pain steadily kept increasing. I was abnormally thirsty, drank 7-8 glasses of water but was not able to pee.
I was afraid now something was wrong. I rang S who was in his German class at that time. When he came back home, I had nearly started collapsing.
He quickly called a taxi, bundled H asleep in his nightsuit and we went in emergency. They checked for the stone everywhere but couldn't find it. Instead they found that I was pregnant! They shifted me in an ambulance to another hospital where I was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy which needed surgery right away.

I was operated at about 1.30 in the night to remove the ectopic pregnancy and now I have to remain in the hospital for four days, today being the third day. We had to leave H with N and Bhv. They are taking good care of H. They even drop H and Bhv together to school and pick them up together. Both Bhv and H are together enjoying themselves and having the time of their life.
I hope to recover as fast as I am capable of but I know that this surgery will be a great speed breaker for me. I am still trying to recover from the shock that I had been actually two months pregnant without either my knowing it or even my gynecologist who is supposed to know or at least to check me for pregnancy. Right now I am just thankful that my tubes didn't rupture; I had come very close to doing just that.

I have been prescribed two weeks rest which sounds like two centuries. And at the end of two weeks, S's sister and her husband are coming for a visit of fifteen days. We had been making vigrorus plans of sight seeing with them. Now with this surgery I feel so dampened that I may not be able to do all that I had planned to. It might even strain me beyond my capacity.

And then, as soon as they will leave, it will be time for us to move to new city where S has to join his new company!

So much is happening so soon...

Brawl between Asy and Stf

Asy rang me to find out how I was. We started talking about my health and but naturally drifted on to the subject of school. She had something shocking to tell me and I was eager to know.

Asy has had a fight with Stf - over the new manager!
While Asy reported that the manager isstarting out totally tactless, Stf out rightly refused to believe her by saying she was excellent and hardworking and she just loved her. Her reasons for believing Mr? Mr herself came and reported everything negative/positive to Stf, painted the whole character sketch of every single teacher, discussed the stupidity of different gifts made by different groups, spoke about Asy in glowing terms saying Asy is such a wonderful teacher (when in fact Asy is not a teacher, does no teaching work in class and was the one giving pert replies to her) and proposed a fatal sounding plan of having regular staff meetings every Friday instead of every second Thursday as we have it right now.

"This is not right, Stf." Warned Asy, "You are committing the same mistake again - of believing blindly in just one person and not listening to the others too. You did the same thing with As, Mz and My and now you are doing it again."
"You know nothing about teaching, managing or Mr." Retorted Stf insultingly. "You are not a teacher. You cannot judge what's right and wrong for a kindergarten. I have complete trust in Mr; she is very highly educated and experienced. She is right to suggest that every group should have made the same gift for mother's day and also to have meetings every Friday. She is very very nice. She was saying all nice things about you which surprises me because you are speaking so badly for her. Mk is also very happy with her and can't say enough in her praise."

Asy knows why Mr was speaking nicely about her; because Asy had introduced herself as Stf's friend! Who newly appointed worker would be so foolish as to start by talking ill of his boss's friend to no other than his boss himself? We also know why Mk was praising Mr; because Mk is an ambitious man. He is worming his way steadily deep into Stf's confidence by saying things to her which she wants to hear and he doesn't mean. We all know he was as much pissed off by Mr's insulting manner of speaking as any of us yet he went to Stf and sang hymns in praises of the same instead of plainly telling her what had happened!

I wouldn't be surprised if Mk turns out to be Stf's next new boyfriend. Stf is forty seven and Mk is twenty seven!

Stfn is horrible

Today while I was getting the mother's day craft activity done by the children, Stfn casually told me that Nn is leaving the kindergarten.
"What? Why? When?" I cried.
"Yes, she is leaving though not immediately but at the end of June, just one month before the summer holidays."
"How do you know?"
"I came to know about this just two days ago."
"Just two days ago?" I echoed disbelievingly. "Great! You joined the school just two days after a really really long holiday and you came in at 9 0' clock and got this news? You have been in possession of this information since two days and did not once consider that you should tell me?
"Err...no, I mean I learnt this information while I was away on my leave."
"Really? But you yourself confessed to me that you were so distraught with grief that you switched off your mobile, shut off your computer and were not in touch with anybody at all. You mean, even at that time you entertained Nn's call?"
"Err no, no, it was before that, before I broke my tooth."
"Stfn, you have been absent from the school, off and on since more than a month. I find it insulting to believe that I was present in the school all the time but I didn't know this information, while you have been absent from the school since a really long time and yet you know it."
"Err, no, it was before that."
"Before what? You didn't think it was important for me to know since I am the group teacher?"

I felt I was on fire! I could almost feel myself going up in wild flames. I know she is very close and friendly with both Nn and Onm's mother. I had seen her talk to Nn's mother intimately on mobile and telling her everything that was happening and in fact Nn's mother was even calling her back on mobile. I know that Onm's mother discovered about her resignation long before anyone in the school knew and that was the reason behind her withdrawing Onm away from this school. There have been rumors in the school that Onm is going to the same kindergarten where Stfn has got her job, in fact he is going to be in Stfn's group.
It is not difficult to guess that she has been instigating the parents to withdraw their children from this school.

I asked her point blank:
"Stfn, I have heard Onm is joining the same kindergarten as you and will be in your group as well. Is this true?"
She nodded. Asy jumped up.
"But Stfn, today in the morning you were telling me that you didn't know that Onm was leaving; you discovered just yesterday?"

She had no answer to give to us...!

I was so disgusted with her. She calls herself professional and does everything that is not. She cribs about others doing wrong things or unpleasant things but herself does the same. She thinks her friends don't support her but she herself has no idea how to behave with her friends. She is disgusting!

It was time for me to leave. I went to pick up H from Mk's class.
"I want to say something to you." Said I. "It's about Stfn. I am not complaining because if I wanted to complain I would go somewhere else. I just want to give vent to the pressure building up and blowing my head away. And you are the only one I can talk to in this way."
"What happened?" He asked perplexed.
"Nn is leaving. Its not such a big deal because children do keep leaving for one reason or the other. The point is Stfn is inventing white lies to me so horribly and I am not a pig head to take it." I blazed.
"Nn is leaving?"
"Yes. And she has been in possession of this news since two months or more, knows all the fine details of her leaving date and joining new place but has the guts to tell me that she discovered just two days ago. I know she has been instigating all the parents to leave the group. This is not right."

I turned to say bye to him but he glimpsed tears in my eyes and he hugged me silently knowing that I suffered great emotional pain due to Stfn's double behavior.
"I feel so sorry for you." He said comfortingly. "That Stfn is out of her mind. I am myself so angry with her because of same reasons."

I went to change my shoes and found Mks changing Enrq's diapers. He guessed I had been crying. He asked me what was wrong.
"You were right...about Stfn. I was wrong. I eat my words."
"What happened?"
"Nn is leaving."
"Whatt? That's not possible. Nn's parents are Stf's lawyers and close friends. If Nn is leaving Stf should be the first one to know and I am sure she doesn't."
"I know nothing about Nn's parents. As to they being friends with Stf, unfortunately they are greater friends with Stfn. I mean that's what I guess." I laughed wryly.
"Tell me the whole thing. How do you know Nn is leaving. I am sure if Stf comes to know this she would be very upset."
"Well, today Stfn told me she discovered this news two days ago but she is lying and actually she has known this since a long time. She has been instigating all the parents to leave."
"I am going to tell this to Stf right now."

Jr and Fr's birthday party

Today we celebrated Jr and Fr's birthday together in the usual way. We were three teachers together which rarely happens now. We sang birthday song in both the languages, presented them gifts, clapped their age and then had a grand party. Jr's mother had prepared special chocolate tipped waffle sticks which were yummy beyond expression.
 Jr's had special magical relight candles which just wouldn't go off and were emitting tiny sparkles. He was so sure of his capability, he kept blowing hard but finally gave up with an exasperated look on his face which made us laugh so much.
We noticed that despite having his big day, Fr looked unmistakably low and lethargic and not really happy. His mother had told us that his actual birthday was last Saturday, when he had a party and ate a lot of cakes which upset his stomach so much that he was in no condition to celebrate his birthday in school at all even after two days.
His mother had prepared a small chocolate cake with gems sticking on top like colorful polka dots. It looked lovely however when we tasted it we were astounded to find it was so so sugary that there was barely any trace of chocolate left; it tasted sickeningly sugary. What's worse, the middle part of the cake had caramel too!
It is shocking that Fr's mother is always very particular that Fr should not eat too much of sugar. She has several times expressed her concern over our kindergarten's frequent birthday parties as every party means just chocolate, sugar and junk stuff. She has specially instructed us to never let him have juice (no matter if the other children are having it ) and to give him only the tiniest piece of cake during parties. She even brings her own home prepared snack for him as she was not comfortable with the afternoon snack provided by the school which sometimes consist of sweet yogurt, biscuits etc. I could not imagine that she would prepare such a damn sugary cake for his own son. None of the teachers could handle more than a spoonful and nor could the children. Only Mnt ate a good portion while the others just nibbled at it.

Two hours later three of them pooped badly....!

Today, in the morning I met Mnt's mother. Mnt is the little two and a quarter year old child who immigrated to our group together with Nn and Stfn. Stfn used to argue with Mz, My and Stf that Mnt and Nn were so attached to her that they would not be able to stay without her, if she left the baby group. So Stf decided Stfn should bring Mnt and Nn along with her! How stupid! Both Mnt and Nn have been perfectly fine.

Mnt's mother was amazed at the changes in little Mnt. "She is speaking such a  lot of English at home now which she had never done before. She says the numbers 1,2,3,..., alphabets, even the days of the week which make us sit up in amazement. It is unbelievable! She keeps singing songs all the time at home and looks forward to coming to school every morning. She talks about you also."

I was very happy at this feed back.

New Revelation Today

I had now begun feeling seriously guilty about behaving badly with Stfn. I have no right to judge her. She really has undergone a difficult time. Losing a close and a beloved family member is serious enough to make one relegate every other thing to the background, be it work or one's life itself. I should not have been so cold and aloof to her.
I would apologize to her today, I promised myself.

Today Asy had also come. After a really long time! I was so happy to see her.

Stfn was in a horrible mood! Ready to beat the life out of you by her deeply thoughtful, serious, gloomy, quiet, sulking expressions alone, looking truly like a tragedy queen in short.
"Are you okay?" I asked matter of factly.
"No. I have a headache and I am not feeling good. My whole body is hurting."
I tried to be good to her the whole day but her sullen expressions just wouldn't go away.
I noticed she was totally disinterested in work, avoiding any molecule of effort that she could and finding ways to rest her butt. She should rather come to school with glue applied already to her bottom.

Little by little, Asy explained everything that had happened during her absence; the thefts, the false allegations, the letter, the whole conspiracy, everything. Stfn was shocked especially to hear that she had been accused of all the thefts in the school.

A new revelation was made today!

Stfn had applied in another school in March and secured a position. Nobody in the school knew about this. Yet,  the day when Mz and My were having their farewell, My came up to Stfn and congratulated her on her new job! How come?
"Hold. Please hold." I cried. " Can you tell me the name of the school in which you have got your new job?"
"LG"
"Asy, did you hear that? LG! LG!! LG!!!"
"So what does this mean?" Asked Stfn thoroughly puzzled.
"LG is the same school where As works.(as told to me by the new Nigerian teacher Tn.)
"Yes, I know. When I went there for my interview, the lady over there smiled at me and said she knew everything about me already because she had been told everything about myself by As who works over there. And My is also going to join that school soon."
"Asy, this proves my another hypothesis. I was guessing that Mz and My were still in close connection with As. The news of Stfn getting employed in LG was conveyed to My by As. I was also guessing that maybe As will arrange for My and Mz to get jobs in the same school. This guess is also right. I can't believe my reasoning was so accurate. I am amazed at myself."

Asy was amazed too not at the news but at the accuracy of my guess.

Good luck, Stfn, you are going to a den of wolves the same ones who wove a wicked plan to get you ousted from this school. Do you really want to go to that place now?

Our New Manager

Our new manager Mr, is a middle aged lady from Greece who is allegedly very qualified and experienced. She however can only speak a broken German and no English at all which means I may not have to do anything with her.

She joined today and started functioning by noting down everybody's name, group and status.

While we were making mother's day gift in our group she came and asked what it was and why all the groups were making different gifts.
"Because all the groups are of different age groups. They have to make gifts according to their appropriate age." Asy replied tersely looking at Mr as if wondering which planet she was coming from to think all the groups would make same gift.

Later, when we all three were undressing the children in the sleeping room, Mr peeped in and asked somewhat suspiciously what three teachers were doing together in one room. That sounded insulting, luckily for me I didn't understand and Asy almost angrily replied that we were undressing the children and putting them to bed.
"But surely, three teachers are too many for this work." She mumbled loud enough for us hear and know that she was trying to point out that we were a pack of lazy people just wasting our time and school's money.

Later, I heard that she scolded Mks for taking too much time to serve food to the children.

Everybody has started grumbling at her invasive management and her insulting behavior, especially about her weird decision about making the same gift for mother's day.
It is weird that she has joined the school just two days ago, doesn't as yet know how this school functions, hasn't talked or held a meeting to decide what needed to be done for mother's day and yet comes down on everyone to tell them what they were doing was wrong! First of all, it is not possible for all the groups to make the same gift; all the groups are of different age group and capabilities. And if she wanted such a thing she should have told us or at least discussed with us in advance.

She seems more like a police on patrol trying to catch thieves and bank robbers rather than a school manager who has to ensure smooth functioning of the institution. I wonder how far she can go with an offensive and totally tactless attitude like that.

Talk with ll's mom

Yesterday Stf sent an email to all the parents declaring officially that Stfn is resigning and 31st of May shall be her last day in the school. The mail, poignantly also mentioned that the school was not going to close down as some parents expressed their concern.

Today when Ll's mother came to drop Ll, she asked me discreetly casting a furtive glance in the classroom to make sure Stfn was't there.
"Now Stfn is also leaving?"
I nodded.
"I wanted to tell you that before Ll had joined this kindergarten, we had applied in several other kindergartens as well. We got a place in this one and joined. After that I forgot all about it until day before yesterday I suddenly received a mail from one one of them informing us that they have a place now. I am a bit bothered about the situation in this school, the way teachers keep changing. So I am not able to decide what I should do now."
" First of all, I would not advise you to stay in this school or any school if you were not happy with it for whatever reason. As a parent and as a child, it is most important for both of you to be satisfied and happy. If not, then it doesn't make sense if you happen to land in the best kindergarten of the world. On the other hand, the problems that bother you here may exist there as well. I have taught in several schools in other places of the world and I can vouch that frequent leaving of teachers in a school is as normal as breathing. It happens in every school of the world. Teachers keep leaving due to better opportunities or personal grounds like transfer, visa, career change etc. There is absolutely no guarantee that if you choose another school you won't encounter the same problem there as well."
"What do you think about this school?" She asked politely.
"This school? I am in love with it." Answered I vehemently. "I truly am. The school is very nice. The problem creating elements are out now and I am sure there never was anything else wrong with this school."

She was happy and admitted that my opinion sounded unbiased and expert. She very much wants to stay in this school because her daughter is very happy here but the the events happening here on a routine basis is so very unsettling...even frightening at times.

Stfn has come back

I have not stopped bleeding since that day when Stfn had broken her tooth and we all had discovered the conspiracy plan of Mz and My. I went to three separate doctors but they assured me it would be okay. Still hasn't. In addition, due to so much of blood loss I keep feeling dizzy all the time and also feel painfully cold at times when the temperatures are ranging between 15 to 29 degrees.

Today I had to go to the doctor again for a fresh check up. S insisted me to take a leave but I couldn't afford to take a leave when everything in my group is resting on my shoulders alone. I had to celebrate Fr's birthday today, arrange his party, pack his birthday gift, take his pictures and mail them to the parents. I could not even imagine what his birthday would  be like without his teachers. And parents would grumble if didn't get the pictures. I had to go. I promised S however that after the birthday party was over I would leave the school and go to the doctor.

Today was not only Fr's birthday but also Izl's birthday party. As soon as I entered the school I learnt two new things in one breath: first that Izl's birthday party had been cancelled now because her mother fell ill suddenly this morning and had to be taken to hospital; the second, Stfn had come back! Big news indeed.

I had really lost all hope of seeing her again and can't really say I was happy to hear this. I mean not now. I had spent too long a time without her to need her or want her anymore. As it is, her presence is equal to her absence. I was in fact quite incensed at her irresponsible attitude towards her workplace. I know her grandmother passed away and she herself fell ill, but disappearing altogether from her place of work without a message, not even receiving a call or sending a mail is a bit too much especially at this time when the school is undergoing a difficult period. This is just not professional.
I greeted her a bit aloofly and didn't ask her how was she, which normally I, or anybody else, would have done.

She came and sat down at the morning circle place without another word, while I engaged myself in wrapping birthday gift for Fr. Just halfway I received Fr's mother's message that Fr had a stomachache and so would not be able to celebrate his birthday today. Great! Something wrong with all the birthday people today! I put aside the gift thinking pensively about the heavy bag which I had carried to school due to my camera and the lens in it!

We did a normal circle time and everything else that we do everyday in school except asking each other if she and I were okay. I was just not in the mood to listen she was so badly ill that she could't inform us.
I sensed everybody was a bit aloof to her and she sensed it too. She does have a special talent for avoiding work; she had prepared musli and milk for the children. usually parents don't prefer musli or breakfast cereals as they want them to eat fresh fruits. In the last meeting none other than Ndn herself had raised this point that some parents were complaining that we should try giving them fresh fruits rather than something ready made like musli. I gently pointed out to her that we shpuld give them bread and cheese. She indignantly prepared brown bread and cheese for them. Then we went out to the park.

She at last came to me. She was clearly ill at ease and sensing my coldness.
"I want to explain why I was absent."
"I know what happened to you, I am sorry for you."
"I lost my grandmother. She was very special to me, almost like my mother."
"Yes, I know."
"First, I broke my tooth and went to the doctor. As I came out of the clinic, I recieved my mother's call that my grandmother was very serious and I should come immediately. I threw some clothes in a bag and went immediately. On Sunday she passed away. then I became so ill. I had fever. I switched off my phone and computer and totally shut myself. That's the reason why I didn't answer your mail or anybody's call."
"I am sorry for you. I really am. But here in school we had a hard time too. Lots of people were ill, I myself was ill, I still am, I had to do all the work alone. So many other things happened in school. Ndn and Mk must have told you."
"No they didn't."
"Well, a lot happened in school. It was and still is very stressful. I don't know what I should say. Everybody in the school thought we should never see you again."
"But, I am not like this to go away without saying a goodbye."
I shrugged and busied myself in helping the children play. I was actually still feeling bad for a variety of things and didn't have the courage to voice them for fear of hurting her. What's done is done. She has to leave this school in a few days. Let her go in peace.

She is a hazardously lazy woman and has a dangerous knack for utilizing every opportunitty for avoiding movement, action and work. In the playground, she picked up Joris in her arms and sat down under the shed holding him in a her arms like he were a breastfeeding infant, encouraging him to be lazy as well rather than engaging him in active play. It sickens me to see her babishing grown up children. If she had a husband or a boyfriend she would do exactly the same thing with him as well.

I wasn't surprised to see that everyone else in the school is a bit chilled towards her. They all, like me, are tired of hearing that she was ill. She is always either ill or sad; she doesn't know any other state of existence. I was however surprised to find that Mk is angry with her too.
"You too, are angry with her? I find that hard to believe." I ejaculated incredulously.
"Yes, I am angry with her. I don't like her attitude and her irresponsible behavior. She says she is professional but what she has been doing since a few months is far from one. If I were her employer, I would have fired her for remaining absent for so long and not even once bothering to inform. Her grief may have been very deep but still not this deep to forget her real world. And now when she is back, she is displaying such a horrible attitude as if she is the poor tragic girl and everybody a beast. I don't like the unpleasant look on her face when actually she has been wrong but thinks that the whole world is being wrong to her. This is not right."

I love the way Mk speaks his mind: clear, direct, honest and above all, unafraid of anybody and really really true and right as well. He is without doubt one in thousands men to do this. I sometimes get a feeling that Ndn is not really in love with him, but is just using him.

In the eveing Asy rang me. Lots of news.

The new replacement of Stfn is one Crn, a firned of Ath's mother who in turn is a freind of Stf. She tried calling Stf several times to tell her that she would be joining one month later instead of now as promised earlier, but her mobile wasn't picked up. She was angry at Stf and rang Asy to tell her this. Asy made an excuse for Stf that she was ill. Stf really was ill. She can't eat anything and can't keep anything down in her stomach. Asy told her that it is Mz's black magic effect that everyone in the school is mysteriously ill and sudden unfortunate incidents are happening with all the people in the school. like Gbt's uncle has been shot dead, Izb's mother was hospitalised, Stfn's grandmother passed away, her tooth broken, Asy had miscarriage and then fell fataly ill, I am myself ill since so many days. Now even Stfi has started believing in this. She informed Asy that on Tuesday she will bring a Christian witch doctor to clean the place.

She also told me Ndn screams badly at children. In the baby group she is all the time screaming at the little babies. Asy told me that that when I was absent and my group children were merged with her group, she was all the time screaming at them which frightened them to freezing point. They were badly handled, shaken and pushed by them. I was not surprised to hear this. I have since long been aware that Ndn is a very harsh and strict with the children. I have seen samples of her temper and rage when Cl had gone to Arabia last before last Christmas. During the Easter egg hunt this year ( the day when Mz and My came unexpectedly to visit the kindergarten after they had been fired), I had seen her scream horribly which which was sooo loud, long and shrillllll that not only numbed my ears but frightened me to death. I hadn't thought such a beautiful neck was capable of producing such an ugly, shrill scream. And not just a scream but a whole bunch of several sentences all uttered together in that loud scream.

My doctor says all is okay, just hormonal imbalance.

Asy is alarmingly ill

Asy is very ill. She had been bleeding since her cleaning after her unfortunate miscarriage. Then she started vomiting and fainting, then diarrhea and then bleeding again so badly that started soaking her bed and clothes.

Her doctor reassured her that some amount of bleeding is normal after miscarriage and actually thought she was exaggerating but when he saw her come into her clinic, talk to him for two minutes and then stood up with blood stains even on the chair, he got seriously alarmed too. He quickly attended her and did something, don't know what but that should stop the bleeding now. If not, she might have to go the hospital immediately otherwise she could well die of blood loss alone.
 Fortunately, after this treatment, her bleeding lessened and by evening it had almost stopped.

She had informed me in the morning that she could not come today. I promised that would talk to her after the school. I was sooo very sorry.

We talked after my school was over; she told me her terrible ordeal in detail. I was so sorry for her. Then I told her about Mz, My's complaint to the Bureau.  She was so shocked. We talked for a long time. She was telling me how happy she used to feel in the group with me and Cl at that time. She admired me for being respectful, kind, trustworthy etc. etc. "I want to become like you. You are so good. everybody praises you. You have so many good qualities." I got very embarrassed and rubbished her praises away.
"No, I am not making this up;" She insisted. " I really feel this way about you. I feel so happy in this school just because of you."
I feel guilty for not telling her that I am soon going to leave. I have promised Stf not to tell anyone so I could not. If Stf thinks she can tell her then she can, but I can't. I just hinted that there are talks afoot of S getting transferred but she replied " If you leave the school, I shall too."


She told me she had many times spoken to Mz and My about her strong desire to have babies and they had always poked fun at her and dissuaded her. She half feels they knew she desperately wanted a baby so they have done something like placing a curse upon her to prevent her from having one. As far fetched as it may sound, it is a matter of fact that everyone in the school is noticing the somewhat eerie and uncanny incidence of everyone falling sick together and unfortunate incidents are happening left and right. 

Stfn has vanished without a trace

Stfn has vanished without a trace!

The last time I had seen her was when she had broken her tooth and borrowed 50 Euros from me. Since then there is no news of her. I did get a snippet of information from Mk and Ndn that her beloved grandmother passed away on Sunday the 19th April but that is all. Nobody in the school knows if we shall ever see her again. We are guessing we won't.

And precisely this makes me so infuriated. What a pathetic woman! Is she the same passionate creature who just two months ago was crying rivers and oceans over her group change as she could not bear to leave the babies in her group. Now even though she is getting a fairly fortunate chance of reuniting with the same babies and reuniting with the same friend-colleague-flatmate, she has not only placidly refused to accept the opportunity but also has been quite comfortably able to accept a new job offer somewhere else - minus her precious babies. Plus, she is not bothered in the least to inform the school about her inability to attend the school or at least give a brief call. She hasn't even answered my friendly mail which I sent her expressing my genuine concern for her health and personal loss. That mail was not official - strictly a personal mail.

Mks laughs at me now. "This is the woman you were singing tons of praises about. Bloody bastard. She can't even ring us to tell why she is not coming; and hey we don't need her to weave fine stories of how ill she was. She is not ill. She has most probably joined a new kindergarten and wants us to believe she was ill so that she gets to pick up her salary decently."
"The truth is she really was a good teacher -"
"- only if you could make her get up from those butts of her's."

When I was talking to Asy, she told me that when I was absent she used to do nothing with the kids - nothing at all. Just the morning circle song and that's it. Asy many times insisted that we could do something like talking about alphabets, animals, shapes, numbers etc the way I do normally, but Stfn would decline saying "No, she is absent. She has made the plan and I don't know what's in the plan so we can't do anything." She even refused to take the children out to the playground even though it was very sunny and cheerful outside saying there was no time to do so. Every single day, that Asy worked with her alone, Stfn remained seated comfortably with the children doing literally nothing and directing Asy to do the cleaning and serve lunch and change diapers and every other form of work. This is true with me as well; I myself had noticed that given the slightest opportunity, she chose to be with the kids, especially Nn, Mt or Onm and shamelessly left most of the work for me. That irked me a bit but I had chosen to be patient with her so didn't complain.

We all had noticed that both Nn and Mt behaved pretty well without her. She just used to baby them all the time. She had spoilt Onm too to quite an extent. Can you imagine, Onm is large sized boy and looks nearly 4 years old and is fully capable of behaving like one too, but Stfn used to carry him in her arms like a two month old for more than half an hour at a time for simple things like crying over a fallen spoon!

I am glad she has gone. I had started out with her on a genuine note, encouraging her, motivating her, relaxing her, giving her time to recover from her personal problems, supporting her and allowing her to do as she pleased but that was all in vain. Not that I am feeling bad because of this. If life repeated itself again I would do it again, knowing it would be of no use to me. I didn't do it to turn her to my advantage. This was just my character. But now I am really glad she has gone. Ever since Cl has left, I have undertaken the whole group's responsibility alone and carry out every single work of the group alone. She was with me for about three and half months but worked for actually only two weeks. Apart from those two weeks, she has never done anything in the group.

If anything she only created a rucus by sending parents away and bringing a shame on the school. She is fit to go. I don't want to see any more of her.

A false complaint by My, Mz

I am still not well. Today, I needed to go to my doctor for another check up but I learnt we were to have our usual meeting so I had to cancel the idea of going. Instead, after school, I went to sleep on the staff room sofa.

Asy hadn't come today. She is ill. She rang me early in the morning to inform me that she was going to her doctor. There were no extra teachers to help me out so I managed my group alone. I didn't mind that in the least.

Gbt's uncle in Turkey has been shot so she had to fly to Turkey urgently. She will be away for probably a week or so.

The meeting was an interesting one. It has become a regular feature to have dramatic things happen in our meetings. For the first time the English teachers of the school hugely out numbered the German teachers. There were only three German teachers against eight English ones. Ndn graciously suggested therefore that we conduct our meeting this time in English.

The meeting was started by Stf who broke the news that now Mz and My have filed a written petition in the State Education Authority Bureau, detailing roughly ten serious complaints against our school and as signatures instead of writing their names or someone else', they have written down the email addresses of several parents of the school. They have reported that children are fed disturbingly large quantities of sugary and fast or junk foods, a large number of teachers have been terminated illegally, children often get hurt in school but the information is concealed from parents, children with food or other allergies are not dealt with carefully or effectively, trainees who are not meant to deal with children alone are often made to do so, safety instructions for fire exit or other hazards are not followed, unqualified teachers are employed, there are not enough qualified and trained teachers in the school,  many times the parents have to take their children back home due to shortage of teachers in school and school building contract is inappropriate for a school.

Stf and we discussed in detail for the next whole hour how to answer these questions. While some of the complaints are in fact true, the others are simply a white lie. For instance, it has never happened that children got hurt but the information was concealed, or they are fed sugary foods, or allergies are not handled. We have proper procedure for all this which is duly followed. As to parents taking their children back, it happened just once thanks to stupid Stfn who couldn't decide what she should do so she decided to do this.

Stf has contacted her lawyer to frame a professional reply to this letter. We suggested she needed to file a police complaint against these two bitches but Stf shook her head.
"I will answer this letter and just forget them. I request you all to have no contact with them, no phone call, no email, no messages and no meetings with them. We shall come through. Don't worry."

I have broken the news to Stf

Today was H's birthday party in school. Also, my first day after nearly seven day medical leave.

The first time, I did not send the weekly plan mail to parents this week on dot as I have always done since nearly two years without a single fail; I was too sick. And Stfn never does anything. If anything she broke her tooth two weeks ago and since then has vanished without a trace, like thin air. No mail, no message, no call, not even to her friends or her beloved flatmate. So, technically, ever since Cl left, I have made the plan for every single week and not only this, for every other work of my group, I am alone to do it. If I am present, fine, if absent, I have to do it when I return back to work. I am not complaining because this was what I wanted but still...

As always, I was so happy to be back and felt so bad that soon I have to carry out the unpleasant task of informing Stf of my resignation.

Today was also Kshk's third birthday party in my group. I had to pack his birthday gift, make arrangements for his party etc. all alone. Asy came but she was suddenly became very sick. She threw up a plenty of times, twice in the toilet, once in the kitchen sink, once in the hallway and once right in front of the toilet where Mk's children hang their jackets and shoes etc. She was looking so wane and dark and almost ghostly. She was constrained to go back home in a taxi.

That left me alone with the kids. Luckily there were only nine kids today and just a party so it wasn't difficult but it did prevent me to take pictures of H's birthday.

I was hoping Stf would come today. She did. I was in the toilet with the children when she saw me and she was soo happy to see me. She expressed her gratitude and happiness to see me back. It was heart warming...and it gave me an uncomfortable twinge in my heart....

I went to her when all my work was finished. She had just come in from outside and was going to get a new teacher sign her contract.
"I have something important to say to you."
"Is it very important?" She asked benignly.
"I fear, yes." I nodded.
The other teacher excused herself discreetly and went out.
"Stf, I have a bad news to give to you."
"What?" Her voice sank, as though holding her breadth and fearing the worst.
"I have to leave."
"Oh, no! Oh no! Not you! Not you now!" She stooped and embraced me with an agonizing face which anguished me even more.
"You must know that I am very very very sorry to leave. I love this school and don't want to go. And it is doubly painful to me because I do not want to leave at this particularly critical time. I do not want to cause you any disappointment but....this is the truth. I have to leave. Please don't be angry with me-"
She hugged me again and again and cried vehemently. "No, no, I can never be angry with you."
"Okay", she took a deep breadth. "Are you going back to India?"
"No. My husband resigned from his present company and has joined a new company in Bonn."
"And when is your last day?"
"Aah, this is the only good thing about this. I am not leaving immediately. I have to go there in the first week of July."
"July!" She ejaculated breaking into a relieved smile." So you are not leaving immediately? What a mercy! July is a bit far off. So I have some time."
"Yes. I am telling you in advance so that you have ample time to arrange for a new teacher and I can also guide him or her about all the duties and responsibilities."
"Yes. Yes. This is so nice of you. Thank you so much for being so kind to me." She hugged me yet again.
"I haven't told this news to anyone in the school yet, not even Asy." Said I."Somehow when the teachers come to know of something, the parents get the wind too and then they start panicking."
"Yes, you are right. We shall keep this news secret. Can I tell this to Asy?"
"If you want."
"Okay, so we shall keep this news only between ourselves and meantime I shall start looking for a new teacher to replace you. It is a great mercy that I know well ahead in advance."
"There is one more thing I want to tell you. Our plan of relocating to Bonn is definite but my husband is still considering other offers and...if he comes across something nice then we may not leave Munich after all."
"Really?" She cried joyfully. "You mean your going is just a possibility?"
"No. It is definite. It is 95% definite."
She joined both her hands together and looking up towards the heavens said earnestly.
"I will pray to God that He makes you stay. I will place my trust on that 5% of hope and pray fervently that you do not leave us after all."

I came out of the office feeling light at heart. There is nothing lighter in this world than a stainless soul, nothing happier than to see people around you happy - by what you did.

 I have done my duty and, done it well, I believe. The rest is God's wish.