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Chapter 2

Author: Perfect Timing
The next morning when I dropped my son off at kindergarten, I made a point of running into Alice’s mother.

Her expression twisted oddly when she heard that Justin had also seen Miss Never.

“Mrs. Young, did he happen to say Miss Never looked like a white-robed angel with black wings?”

I frowned in surprise. “No. My son said Miss Never was an old woman with a cat’s face.”

“A white angel and a cat-faced old lady? That is quite a difference.”

We compared notes carefully, and the more we talked, the more it seemed like two kids just making up stories out of a cartoon.

Still, to be safe, we suggested Ms. Zinn stopped showing the cartoon for now.

After all, both children had said the same thing. Every time the cartoon Doraemon was on, Miss Never would appear and interact with them.

Ms. Zinn agreed. “Then this afternoon I’ll switch to Tom and Jerry instead.”

That evening, when I picked up my son, he suddenly pointed at a loaf of bread in the bakery window, his face was alight with excitement. “Mom! Doesn’t that look just like Doraemon’s gadget—the Memory Bread?”

“Miss Never said if I can figure out how to make Memory Bread, she’ll choose me to be Nobita in Doraemon.”

Miss Never and that robot cat again!

I yanked him off to the side with a stern look on my face. “Justin, if you keep making up stories about Miss Never, Mommy is going to be very angry!”

His mouth turned down in a pout, his whole face sinking. “Mom, I am not making anything up. Miss Never is real!”

“She was the one who put Doraemon on for us this afternoon!”

A flare of anger shot through me.

Did Miss Zinn not say she was switching to Tom and Jerry?

The moment we got home, I pulled up the classroom surveillance footage. I wanted to see with my own eyes who was lying.

The moment that blue robot cat holding the Memory Bread appeared on the TV screen, I completely lost it.

I clipped the footage immediately and sent it to the class group, tagged Miss Zinn, and asked: [Miss Zinn, what is going on here?]

Miss Zinn replied: [Mrs. Young, what is the matter? Is there something inappropriate in this episode of Tom and Jerry?]

Mrs. Jones answered: [Of course there’s a problem. Imagine, the cat cannot even beat the mouse. What kind of nonsense is that for kids to watch?]

Mr. Payne added: [You are all overreacting. It is just a cartoon. My son loves it.]

Their replies left me reeling. The clip clearly showed the cartoon Doraemon playing on the TV. Why did they say it was Tom and Jerry?!

Then, Miss Zinn sent me a private message: [Mrs.Young, do you think maybe Tom and Jerry is not a good choice?]

I replied to her message: [No, Miss Zinn, are you absolutely sure you put on Tom and Jerry this afternoon?]

Miss Zinn answered: [Yes. I even had the kids draw their favorite character afterward.] She then attached a photo of the children’s drawings.

As I stared at those little crayon cartoons, I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach.

I reopened the surveillance feed. No matter how many times I scrubbed through, the eerie Doraemon clip was gone without a trace.

Could it be that I was just being paranoid, that I saw it wrong?

The footage now showed only Tom and Jerry. My son sat neatly among his classmates; eyes fixed on the screen like all the others.

The one thing that stood out was…

He was not looking at the TV at all. His eyes were locked on the classroom door.

It was as though something was standing there.

I stared at the empty doorway for a long time but saw nothing.

Then came the part that made my skin crawl…

When the cartoon ended, what he drew on the blank page was not a cat or a mouse, but an old woman with a cat’s face.

My hands trembled as I slammed the laptop shut.

Something was terribly wrong with him!

I had to talk to him. Nevertheless, as I reached his bedroom door, I heard his tiny, cautious voice, “Miss Never, do you like the picture I drew for you?”

“Oh, Alice has already finished her task? You are taking her to the moon tonight? What about me? When will it be my turn?”

The unease inside me surged into dread. I immediately shoved the door open.

“Justin, who are you talking to?” I scanned the room. It was empty.

“Miss Never, of course. She is standing right next to you, Mom.”
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  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 8

    The landlord had no objections and simply pulled out the keys she carried with her.The room was small. There was only one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, but it had everything it needed.Hot water was still running on the stove, evidence that Veren had left in a hurry.We stepped into the bedroom and found a card on the desk, still unfinished.It was clear she had been drawing a boy entering the moon through a Magic Door, and it was meant for Justin.Officer Wayne took a photo of the card, then put on his gloves and carefully placed it into a sealed evidence bag.After a preliminary inspection, he said to us, “Although the evidence isn’t enough to directly label Veren as the culprit, we can trace her real identity through the public records system and issue a warrant for her arrest.”We believed that once Veren was found, the truth would finally come to light.A month later, the police finally tracked down Veren, who had gone into hiding under yet another al

  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 7

    What on earth was going on?I looked at Miss Zinn. “When the kids register for kindergarten, don’t they have to show proof of residency?”Miss Zinn gave an awkward smile. “Yes, but I wasn’t in charge of registrations.”“Right. The phone number,” I motioned for her to give the police Veren’s grandmother’s number.The address might have been fake, but the phone number surely could not be false. If we could trace Mrs. Jones through her number, everything would fall into place.Yet once again, the situation became impossible.The officer shook his head. “I am sorry. That number’s a burner, completely untraceable.”We were rendered speechless.Could it be that Veren and her grandmother had simply vanished?Taken to the moon by Miss Never, leaving no trace of their existence behind?The stranger the events became, the more certain I was that Miss Never had some connection to Veren.So, we had to use the most basic, old-fashioned method.We found the lead investigator on Alice’s

  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 6

    How could this be?My eyes went wide in shock, unable to believe it.Miss Zinn’s eyes were full of guilt. “I told you, there is no way a child could have done this. We nearly accused a five-year-old for no reason.”At that moment, I did not know what to say.Could I have been wrong all along?After some discussion, Miss Zinn and I set up a separate group chat, adding the parents whose children had not yet been affected Mrs. Sherman and Mr. Clark.Mrs. Sherman asked: [Why another group?]Mr. Clark: [Huh? There is one person missing. Why isn’t Mrs. Jones in this chat?]Miss Zinn typed solemnly: [I am so sorry. I just received news—Veren has died in an accident. At the same time, Justin’s mom found a small card given by Miss Never on Justin. Please, check your children carefully for any suspicious cards.]Mrs. Sherman replied: [This is terrifying… and it’s only the second day?]Mr. Clark asked: [I checked my son—no cards. Whoever is behind this is truly evil. How many kids does

  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 5

    Miss Zinn arrived at my house not long after.I laid the card Justin had given me flat on the table.“Miss Zinn, can you see anything unusual about this?”She shook her head. “I can tell it was probably drawn by this mysterious Miss Never too, but beyond that, nothing.”I pointed at the photo of Alice’s card on my phone. “Miss Zinn, look closely. A left-hander very clearly drew Justin’s card.”“Left-handed?” Miss Zinn squinted at it for a long while, then finally nodded. “You’re right. But none of our teachers are left-handed.”I put on a faint smile. “Not the teachers, no. But what about the kids?”“The kids?” Miss Zinn looked genuinely startled. “That’s impossible. The police already determined this wasn’t something a child could have drawn.”“There are always exceptions,” I said evenly, “Alice’s name is simple, so you cannot tell, but the way the J in Justin’s name hooks backward and the s leans left. It is obvious the writer favors their left hand.”I did not know how many

  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 4

    With those words, the entire chat seemed to sink under a suffocating weight.Mrs. Sherman wrote: [My son came home today and smashed the TV, saying he had to find some kind of time machine.]Mr. Clark added: [That’s nothing. At least yours is just clueless. You did not see my boy. He has gone completely off the rails. He drew a door on the wall with crayons, then kept banging his head against it! Said Miss Never gave him a Magic Door, and if he broke through, he could reach the moon. It scared me half to death!]Mrs. Jones chimed in: [Your kids are clearly possessed. Let us come over and cleanse them. Three-visit package, twenty percent discount!]I asked Mrs. Jones out of curiosity: [Mrs. Jones, is little Veren acting strange too?]Veren’s grandmother, Mrs. Jones, answered: [That child is a loner. All she ever does is draw, draw, and draw. What trouble could that cause?] Then, she attached a photo.Mrs. Sherman wrote: [That is exactly the kind of kid you need to watch. The more

  • The Kindergarten Teacher Who Doesn’t Exist   Chapter 3

    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 t

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