Mama asked, kind of seriously I thought, “What did she look like, Mr. Jim?”

“She had long, wavy, straw-colored hair, beautiful green eyes, very fair skin. She was thin but strong, she moved like a dancer, kind of flowed really, and she seemed very serene and present but also playful and joyful. I thought it was so odd that no adults were there supervising her. She seemed to just have the run of the place.”

“Go on,” Mama said.

“And then she disappeared, and I got into the service and the music and that beautiful space.”

“Yes, yes,” Mama said.

Noticing Mama’s piercing gaze riveted on my every word, I continued. “When the service ended and the lights came up a bit, I sat in my pew and watched everyone leave the church. Everyone had to leave out the main entrance. I was sitting on the aisle so everyone walked by me on the way out. I was so taken by this girl I wanted to see her again with her parents, but she had vanished. She never walked out of the cathedral.