His siblings have all gone back to school, but he won’t start for another ten days. And it’s is the last year that he will endure this strange limbo – the quiet ghost of summer that must be faced without playmates. And you’ve got lots to do today, but you see him alone and stop short. And you grab a stool, and set it beside him, and spend the morning talking about clownfish.

And you regret that this is the last year you’ll get to experience this quiet ghost of summer.