The first face that appeared in his mind was his mumma.
He remembered her gentle hands fixing his clothes, the way she used to make sure he ate properly, the way she would pull him close whenever he was frightened, and the warmth of her voice when she called his name. Even though his memories were sometimes blurry now, the feeling she had left behind was still there.
Eli lowered his eyes.
"Mumma..."
He whispered the word so quietly that nobody heard him.
Then another face appeared.
Beautiful.
Bella.
The lady who smiled whenever he called her that, who fixed his hair every morning, packed his bag, listened to his endless stories and kissed his forehead before he went to sleep. She always made sure he had everything he needed, and she never got angry when he made mistakes. She just smiled and told him to try again.
Eli's little fingers tightened around the pencil.
He also wanted to write about her.
But then the teacher's instructions came back to him.
Parents.
