Margot slowly looked up, a ghost in the darkness. None of the children could make eye contact with her; they just looked down at the floor. Slowly, she stepped out of the closet and walked toward the window. The children watched, looking at each other, then looking away, as if watching a sad movie.

“Margot,…” said William.

“Don’t!” cried Margot. Her voice sounded different. Defeat. Sadness. Despair.

The children looked on, as they watched Margot stare out the window. The silence was deadening. Slowly, Margot walked away from the window and walked to the middle of the room.

“Why? Why are you so mean? How could you do this?” she cried. Just then, the teacher walked into the room and noticed the stillness.

“OK boys and girls, back to your seats,” she commanded. Suddenly, Margot let out a loud wail, and ran out of the room.

The children were speechless. They couldn’t face each other or their teacher. All of the fun they had in the sun was stripped away by the guilt they felt.

“We didn’t mean it,” William whispered.

“Mean what?” said the teacher.

One of the other classmates piped in, “she was just so strange, talking about Earth and the sun all the time, and we were playing a joke. We put her in the closet, and we were going to let her out right away. But then….the sun….and we forgot….,” she trailed off.

The teacher darted out of the room like a lion chasing its prey. Once again, the children sat silently, waiting. Wondering.

A few minutes later, she was back with Margot by her side. It was obvious she had been crying. In walked some rocket men and women; Margot’s parents.

William spoke first. “Margot – I – we – are so sorry.” The other children chimed in, agreeing and apologizing for what they had done. Margot just stood there; looking and listening to the chorus of voices.

Slowly, Margot began to speak. “What was your favorite part?” she asked. The children hesitated, looked around, not sure what to say.

Finally, William spoke up. “How much the sun reminded us of a beautiful flower blooming for an hour.”

The other children chimed in. “It was a penny!” said one.

“And I know what you mean by the fire in the stove, Margot. It felt like fire on our arms!” said another.

Margot listened, intently, wanting to savor every last word. Standing in the middle of her classmates, a small smile crawled slowly across her face as she listened to their stories and remembered the sun she so longed to be near.