There the young boy sat. Alone. With a school bag by his side. His short stature made it impossible for his legs to come into contact with the ground while he was on the swing.

He grasped a diary with both his hands on the sides. A firm grip that signified his deadly persistence to never let go. Nevertheless, he made sure to leave pockets of air between his palms and the diary. In fear of leaving even the slightest scratch on his diary and picture.

Syndesi stretched out her hand slowly as she inched bit by bit. With caution. She couldn’t differentiate if this fleeting child was real or hallucinatory. And she needed to know the answer. She was close! But hesitation caused her to retract her hand abruptly.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered every fortitude she could squeeze from her tiny self. She was ready. She had never been more resolute in her 7 years of life. She closed one eye and reached out her index finger in an abysmal attempt to poke his shoulder.

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But he was intangible. Like a hologram, Syndesi’s finger phased through him. No reaction from the boy.

Syndesi tried a few more times to be sure. If we counted the number of times the boy’s shoulder was perforated, there would have been a conspicuous bruise by now.

She tried waving. Shouting. Making funny faces. To no avail. After what seemed like hours in this minute, Syndesi finally completed her examination.

She stood up, leaned forward and took a glimpse. A portrait picture laid benevolently flat on top of the diary. The smile of the young woman could brighten even the sun in all its glory.

Innocence. Tenderness. Compassion.

“Eve. The Giver of Life.” Syndesi uttered unwittingly. These words that came out of her mouth stupefied her. She had no idea how she knew or why she said it. The words popped into her mind and emerged from her mouth involuntarily.

Syndesi was deep in thought, straining her brain cells to process what had transpired. But the words that came out of the boy’s mouth jolted Syndesi from her thoughts.

"Mom...”

The little boy murmured in a barely audible voice. He resisted the intense shaking of his body and suppressed his tears.

“Where are you?”