A little girl was sitting on a source. She was waiting for her mother, who was supposed to come pick her up but was taking longer than usual. Suddenly, a man with a restless look stopped in front of her.

“Your mother will be late,” he told her in a voice that was a little too friendly. “She’ order ed me to come pick you up and take you home.”

The girl furrowed her brow. She didn't like that status ; her mother would never send a stranger to take her place. She began to feel a little scared, but then she remembered the agreement she had come to with her.

–If you're really here on his behalf, tell me my name.

The man looked uncertain, and his eyes swept across the nearly empty place before returning to the girl's eyes. He had stopped smiling.

“Sweetheart, your mother is waiting for us. Don’t make this hard,” he warned her, trying to convince her.

But she didn't move.

At that moment, they heard an authoritative voice:

“The girl asked you a question; answer it.” “It was another man who, upon seeing what was happening, had approached them without hesitation.”

The first stranger ran off. Then Ari—that was the girl's name—felt relieved, believing the danger had passed. But her savior turned and looked at her, this time with a different intent.

“You were very brave not to tell that subject your name,” he acknowledged in a neutral tone. “The problem, Ari, is that I don’t need to know it, because I know who you are.”

Ari got scared again. That coincidence was just too strange. She looked down the road, hoping to see her mother’s car pull up, but she had no luck. Then the neighbor pulled out a bouquet of flowers—they were her mother’s favorites—and just at that moment, her mother appeared in the park.

“No way!” she cried out before covering her face with her hands.

He ran toward them and lunged at that stranger.

Ari closed her eyes, afraid, so she wouldn't have to watch the fight that was about to break out. But she didn't hear any blows or shouting. Then, when she opened them again, she saw that her mother had burst into tears. She was hugging the man.

“Ari,” she said in a whisper, “your father is back from the war. Come meet him.”