I take a moment to deep breathe again. The room is still quiet. I turn. Zaniel is kneeling next to Hitomu, whispering to him. Hitomu is staring up at me with tear-stained cheeks, even as I circle around them to get my Jibanyan puppet from my box and sit down in front of him. Zaniel tells him something in Japanese like, “now, let’s listen to the teacher,” and looks up at me. “He’s ready for you.”

I can’t help but stare back at the boy. “He’s never been this quiet,” I finally say.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Holding my breath again, I bring the puppet as close to him as I dare. Hitomu looks down and reaches out for Jibanyan, strokes the top of his head. I make Jibanyan bow and shake Hitomu’s outstretched hand. I pray Bucho is not lingering outside the door. “Konnichiwa, Hitomu-kun,” I whisper. “Genki?” Hitomu nods. So far, so good. I still don’t dare to speak at a normal volume. “Kamisawa-san, would you mind turning on the CD player?”

“Sure.”

“Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” starts to play. I gesture for Hitomu to stand and follow along, and he does so; very slowly, but at least he’s complying. Zaniel kneels at the CD player, watching all the while. We all clap at the end. I let the CD player continue with “Baby Shark” and a few more songs. Hitomu doesn’t make a peep. So far, very good. I put Jibanyan away and blow a few bubbles. Hitomu watches them float through the air, reaching up with his hands to pop one or two. Mostly he just observes them hovering over his head. After a few minutes, he seems to get tired of them, and goes back to staring at me, wide-eyed. I feel like an animal expert working with a dangerous creature. Every move and gesture I make is slow, reassuring: I put the bubbles down, cross the room to his backpack, retrieve his colouring book and crayons, and place them in front of him with caution. He doesn’t move a muscle until I flip to a blank page for him. In time, he picks up his orange and brown crayons and starts drawing wild circles all over the page of Zozo the Clown having a tea party with a rabbit, a mouse, and various other animals.

“You’re really good with him,” Zaniel murmurs.

“Thanks.” If only you’d seen him the other day, I think to myself. I watch Hitomu continue to scribble all over Zozo’s face. “What are you drawing there, big guy?”

“Akumu,” Hitomu whispers.

“Akumu?” I turn to Zaniel.

“Nightmares.”

“Oh.” I tilt my head, trying to think of something to break the even-more-awkward silence. “They look like donuts.”

Zaniel translates for me in a quiet murmur. “Arigatou,” Hitomu whispers.

We continue to watch him for another minute or two. Then Zaniel gets up and kneels beside me. “So, as I was saying before. I’m glad we finally have a chance to talk because —”