PHANTOM (noun)
1 a : something apparent to sense but with no substantial existence : APPARITION
b : something elusive or visionary
c : an object of continual dread or abhorrence
2 : something existing in appearance only
3 : a representation of something abstract, ideal, or incorporeal
She sat beneath the maple tree digging a hole. So intent was she that the rest of the playground didn’t exist for her; a perfect phantom of focus. Sitting, perfectly stable, on a wooden beam placed on the ground, she added the perfect pebble, and then some more; caught a stray maple seed as it flew down from the tree, neatly broke it into bits, shredded the wings, and emptied it into the hole. She took a pinch of the fine, light brown dirt, and sprinkled it into the hole as well. A leaf lying on the ground made the cut, as did a small fragment of bark. Plodding on, with only the words of a story running through her head, she smiled as the little hole reached three-quarters-filled.
“Stone soup.”
And then, getting up, she dusted herself off and wandered back to the tarmac; recess was over.