My son, Kyle, who is now 15 years old, used to tell all kinds of stories, as little kids often do. However, Kyle's stories almost always had to do with his life before birth.

He would speak of games, events and things that happened to him before he was born. He was very clear about the fixing of the time of each of these events. What was particularly unusual was that he would always point out who was there with him at these parties, games or events. And those people were always his siblings (my other children).

Sometimes he would tell us that "Adam wasn't there that time." Adam is my oldest child and we concluded that he meant that whatever he was describing happened after Adam had already been born.

One day he said, "Mom, do you know there was another kid there with me [during whatever incident he was describing] but I can't remember his name. I keep trying and trying, but I can't remember it at all!" I had had an abortion when I was 21 years old. Could this have been the baby/soul that never had a chance to be born? Is this who he was talking about?

The other significant thing Kyle said happened one day when he was about three and a half years old. He just came up to me very casually and asked me, "Mommy, why are people afraid to die?" I told him that most of us are afraid to die because we are sad to leave our loved ones behind. He responded by saying, "Oh. Well, I am not afraid to die because you just go back to that place from before." I asked him, "You mean That Place that you always talk about?" He said, "Yeah. It's really nice there. God lives there." With that, he walked away, leaving me stunned.

My midwife friend attributes this to the fact that Kyle was born "in the caul," with the amniotic sac still intact at his birth. She says he retained memories that we all have at birth but which the vast majority of us quickly lose. According to her theory, Kyle and other people born "in the caul" retain these memories far longer, often into the age when they are able to verbalize them to others.

Suzanne Lim