To teach or not to teach?

To teach or not to teach? 

Karen closed the classroom door, sighing with fatigue and relief. ‘I will never come back here,’ she promised herself. Long-service leave and an overseas trip lay ahead.

Paris, Rome and Barcelona revived her spirits before she headed to Kenya to build wells. The physical labour was exhausting so when she was asked to help out in the school Karen agreed to consider it.

Appalling conditions confronted her: tin shed classrooms, dirt floors, no books or pencils. But the children’s toothless grins melted her heart.

When her savings dwindled, her resolution to stay led to an email home requesting a loan.

Mini-short  story – shortlisted for January competition – Positive Words Magazine