After taking charge as principal, Miss Andrews shifted from the small room to the principal’s residence
Miss Andrews was the principal of St. Thomas High School. She lived alone in the school campus. Her two Alsatian dogs were her only companions. She had employed a maidservant Massey, who looked after the household chores for her. She was an old lady of sixty-fiver years now. But when she had joined school thirty-eight years ago she was a young girl of twenty seven.
One day watchman brought two small Alsatian puppies, saying that the mother had deserted the two children. Kind as she was Miss. Andrew took great care of them and the two dogs remained with her. Her daily routine was to be in the school from early morning till mid afternoon. Then she came back to her cottage. She ate lunch and rested for some time. Her evening tea was sharp at four, when Massey brought her a tray of tea and biscuits. In the late evenings, Miss Andrew took a walk to the market. Spoke to the local residents and nine she had finished her dinner and was ready for bed. During the vacations Miss Andrews tented to her garden, took walks and read books and journals. She hardly ever went out.
Once she had planned a trip England to meet her sister. But she did not enjoy much. Since then she had avoided going anywhere. The school and her residence was the only place she knew of.
Life, for Miss. Andrews, was going on at convenient, gradual pace, when one incident shook her out of her stupor. It so happened, that one day during the board meeting, the president of the school management committee did not agree with her on certain points. `You are growing old Miss Andrews, I think you need some rest,’ he casually remarked. Before she could retaliate the topic was changed, but she could sense a certain degree of uneasiness in the room the topic was changed, but she could sense a certain degree of uneasiness in the room. She excused herself and came out of the room.
Miss Andrews now started realizing and admitting the fact to herself that she was too old to stay on as a principal. The school needed a fresh face with fresh, new ideas. She submitted her resignation before the summer vacations. There was a flicker of hope that management would not accept her resignation. But, it seems that everybody was expecting it.
A new principal was appointed and Miss Andrews was given a tearful farewell. The worst thing for Miss Andrews was parting from her students. She shifted her belongings top a small room allotted to her inside the school campus. She was still living in the school campus but was no longer a part of it.
One day the district Magistrate of the state happened to pass through that way. He had been a student of St. Thomas High school and was taught by Miss Andrews when he was in class four. Being informed that she had retired and was staying close by, he walked into her room. He stopped short at the sight of an old frail woman in front of him. He bent down and introduced himself. He narrated one or two incidents and immediately the old lady’s eyes lit up. She recognized him. They had tea together. Massey was still with her. Before leaving the old lady tapped her student’s shoulder and said quietly, `Please come again. It gets quite lonely over here.’ The sadness in her eyes did not need any more words to express her emotions.