7
I’m sitting staring at the photo when I hear a noise inside the flat. It sounds like a door sliding open. And the pad of feet across carpet.
I’m shocked to see a young girl appear in the kitchen. No more than five or six. Her jet-black hair in a bowl-shaped bob. Chubby cheeks, yet to lose their puppy fat. And big, innocent eyes like one of those Pokémon characters. She’s dressed in pink pyjamas, clutching a black and white cuddly cow toy to her chest.
The girl heads straight for the fridge, not even noticing me. She gets a bowl from a knee-high cupboard. A cereal box from another.
The girl pours herself a bowl of Cheerios and opens the fridge. Takes out an open carton of milk and splashes some over the cereal, spilling some on the worktop.
The girl returns the milk to the fridge, st
