It was just after snack time, and I was washing out some paint cups when I noticed the room had gone oddly quiet. Too quiet for a group of 4- and 5-year-olds who usually treated volume like a sport.

I turned the corner into the play area and stopped in my tracks.

Four of them—Niko, Janelle, Izzy, and Samir—were sitting cross-legged in a perfect little circle. Hands held. Eyes shut. Heads bowed.

They were whispering something I couldn’t quite catch at first. I thought maybe it was a song or one of those rhyming games they loved. But when I leaned in, I realized they were… praying.

Like, really praying. Asking for things. Saying “Amen.” Janelle even crossed herself at the end like she’d seen in church.

Thing is, we don’t do any kind of religious activity in our classroom. It’s a public kindergarten. No nativity plays, no Bible stories, nothing. And I’d never seen any of these four talk about faith or even mimic that kind of behavior before.

I crouched down and gently asked, “Hey, what are you guys doing?”

Izzy opened one eye and whispered, “We’re asking the sky to help us.”

“Help you with what?” I asked.

Niko just said, “It’s for her mom,” and pointed at Janelle.

I looked at Janelle, who suddenly wouldn’t meet my eyes.

I didn’t push it right then. I just said okay, and let them finish. But my chest felt tight the rest of the day.

Later, during pick-up, Janelle’s usual ride didn’t show up. We waited. And waited.

By 4:30, the office was calling emergency contacts. No one was picking up.

The quiet hush of late afternoon settled over the classroom as the other children left with parents or caregivers, each one skipping off into the hallway with a bright “Bye-bye!” or “See you tomorrow!” It was unsettling to see Janelle sitting on the story-time rug, looking worried and small.

I knelt down next to her. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” I asked softly, trying not to sound too alarmed. She shrugged.

“Mommy said she’d be here…” she mumbled, twisting a lock of her curly hair around her finger.

I tried to reassure her. “We’ll figure this out, okay? We’ll get in touch with your family somehow.”

We tried her grandma’s number, and an aunt’s number too, which were both listed in the emergency contacts. No luck. I started to feel that same tightness in my chest I’d felt earlier. Something was going on, and I had no idea what.

My phone rang around 4:45. It was an unknown number. Normally, I wouldn’t pick up calls like that, but I was desperate. I swiped the screen.

“Hello?” I said.

A tentative voice replied, “Hi, this is Nadine. I’m Janelle’s neighbor. I just got a call from her mom. She asked me to come pick Janelle up. Is she still with you?”

Relief washed over me. “Oh, thank goodness. Yes, she’s here,” I said, smiling at Janelle, who tried to catch the mood on my face. “Is her mom okay?”

Nadine paused. “She was taken to the hospital, but she’s stable. Something about dizzy spells and dehydration. She didn’t want to scare Janelle but asked if I could watch her tonight.”

I felt my heart do a little flip. That explained a lot. “Alright. Thank you for letting me know. Could you come by and pick Janelle up? I’ll wait with her at the school.”

“Of course,” Nadine said. “I’m on my way.”

I hung up and looked at Janelle, who gave me this uncertain half-smile. She must have noticed the change in my demeanor because she asked, “Is Mommy okay?”

I crouched down to her eye level. “She’s not feeling well, honey, so she went to see a doctor to get help. Ms. Nadine is coming to pick you up, and we’ll make sure you get home safe.”

Janelle’s face lit up with a bit of relief. And then, as if remembering what had happened earlier, she whispered, “That’s why we prayed.”

Nadine arrived a little after five. She was a kind-eyed woman, maybe in her mid-30s, with a purse slung over her shoulder and a worried expression. She immediately knelt down and gave Janelle a warm hug, promising everything would be alright.