"Do you have secrets?"
Judy held his gaze for some minutes trying to understand what he meant before shrugging.
"Everyone has secrets Sean".
The eight-year-old turned back to his drawing book and persistently dragged a red color from the mouth of the matchstick lady he had drawn.
Source
"Is she bleeding?" Judy had a concerned look on her face which caused Sean to smile.
"Profusely," he said it without so much as a grimace.
Sean was the weirdest kid Judy had taught since she applied as a homeschool teacher. He preferred to be locked away, drawing, than to associate with other people.
His mom was really worried about the fact that he couldn't associate with other kids so she decided it was best to have him homeschooled and contacted Judy who came in highly recommended.
Judy had a way with kids but this particular one, it seemed she was getting nowhere with him. Judy wanted to believe something awful was going on in the house because the paintings he did contained three matchstick people each time she peeked into it. A big matchstick man with zigzag lines spread across his head most times, a matchstick lady with either blue crayon dragged down her eyes or red across her mouth, and a smaller matchstick person. It was difficult to tell if it was a boy or girl because there was no hair to differentiate from the man or woman.
Sean never let her see his drawings, they were the part of his life he never shared, what she wanted to believe were his secrets, possibly what inspired him to ask if she had some secrets of her own.
Whenever Sean finished drawing, he took his drawing book and crayons to his room and shut them up. Judy wondered if he hung them on the walls or attached them to a diary, but whichever it was, she was certain they held the answers to many of the questions lingering in her mind about Sean's family.
It was exactly three days after Sean had asked her if she had secrets when she received a distress call from Sean's mom.
"Hi Miss Judy, I'm so sorry, I know you don't get to work today but could you come over? Sean's missing".
Judy threw a pair of jean trousers on and grabbed the nearest jacket she could find then jumped on her motorbike and sped all the 50 kilometers to Sean's house.
She met Sean's frantic mom and a police officer taking down her statement. Sean's father was nowhere to be found in the middle of the chaos. The police officer began interrogating Judy but her mind was on something else.
"I want to ask some questions" she blurted out. The police officer and his mother exchanged confused looks. "Did Sean leave any clue? Anything at all, maybe a drawing?"
Sean's mother sniffed then shook her head.
"Nothing Miss Judy"
"Can I see his room?" It didn't make any sense to anyone but Sean's mom simply nodded and led the way.
Sean's room was not different from every normal kid's room. There was a big bed with Spiderman imprinted on the sheet, there was a toy box with some toys sticking out, and Judy could make out a soldier and a football. She knew there had to be somewhere he kept those drawings, she knew there was a lead in them.
"Do you know where Sean keeps his drawings?" She turned her eyes to his confused mother. She bit her lower lip and then bent to look under the bed. After a few minutes, she dragged a crayon box from underneath the bed.
"I don't know but he doesn't let anyone look in here"
"I know this sounds really weird but I think Sean has been trying to pass a message through his drawings. He doesn't let anyone see them but he's definitely trying to say something. I think if we can find it, we may find him".
The officer heaved the box after asking Sean's mom if he could take it. True to Judy's words, there were almost 50 drawings in the box. Sean's mom went through the diagrams and covered her mouth with her palms.
"He's been trying to write the story of our family" Tears came to her eyes. The officer turned alarmed eyes from the drawings to the woman.
"Have you been by any means abused? Does your husband hit you?" He asked again when Sean's mom looked at him blankly and then broke down into intense tears.
"It's just that it happens anytime we have a misunderstanding. I don't want to sue him or anything" It was then Judy understood the drawings. Sean must have seen his parents fight and was probably traumatized.
"Let's look for something in the drawings that could give us a clue as to where he is now". They spent almost thirty minutes before the officer found a drawing where a small matchstick person was holding hands with a large matchstick woman. She had a walking stick in the other hand.
"That should be my mom. I'll phone her immediately"
Five minutes later, Sean's mom emerged, crying.
"She says he's there, that he stopped by on his bike from church and he's currently sleeping."
Judy held her shoulders and rubbed them gently.
"You should get help if your marriage is abusive. You don't deserve all of that" With that, she walked out to wait for them by the car so they could all recover Sean.
