I sniffed. “I’m worried. She’s so much like Yonah, it’s scary”

We were sitting there  when it started to drizzle.

“I want to go home,” Lali said. “I don’t like rain.”

“Me neither,” I said. “Let’s go find a roof to sit under.”

We got up, and Lali started walking purposefully. She looked like she knew where she was going, so I just followed her, annoyed at the dripping skies. The road was so long, and I was getting wet. What was Lali doing?

Suddenly I noticed a commotion near a building at the end of the road. There were women, men, police officers, and children milling about. I recalled someone telling me once that there’s some kind of school for special needs children there. Could it be Lali’s school?

Lali noticed the jumble ahead of us and her eyes lit up.

“School!” she shrieked, and started running toward the building. I ran after her. Everyone on the road stared, but I didn’t care.

Someone ahead of me shrieked “Lali!” and scooped the delighted girl into her arms, crying without shame.

A police officer approached me from among the jumble of people, tears, and umbrellas.

“Where did you find her?” he asked me.

“I found her in Green Lane Park,” I said. The police officer thanked me and left after taking down my contact information. It seemed like the whole school had been on wheels the entire morning, worried about Lali. I watched as the teachers slowly gathered the children into their classrooms. When the garden cleared, I saw a tall woman with a colorful bandana approach me, her eyes a little red.

“You found Lali?” she asked me.

I nodded. “She’s adorable,” I said. “Didn’t stop talking for a second.”

The woman looked at me strangely.