‘I was kind of joking, you know,’ the girl admits. ‘Even I’ve never been near those cats. I’ve decided what your speciality is, by the way.’

‘What?’

‘Cat herder.’

Aminah laughs. ‘That can be my nickname, but my real name is Aminah.’

‘Mine’s Rawan.’ The girl smiles. ‘Meet at the same time tomorrow, OK?’

Aminah nods.

‘And next time, bring snacks,’ Rawan orders as she climbs over the wall and heads back home. As soon as she’s gone the night falls silent, and the inky darkness covers me and Aminah like a blanket.

Chapter 12

The more I think about the dreams, the more I understand what’s going on. They’re all happening in Kuwait, in Mum’s old house. And they’re happening in the past. I know this because Mum’s my age in them. But I only have these dreams in the hospital when I visit Mum. Recently, when I’ve been going to bed at night, my brain is like a blank canvas, like it saves up all its energy for the visits. But there’s more to it, I think, because these dreams might actually be real.

The bracelet glowed, and so did the cats. And when I picked up the bracelet and followed the cats it unlocked something in the dream. It reminds me a little of a cutscene in a game, where you watch something that tells you what your next mission will be. But the thing about games is they have a bigger purpose, like saving the world. I just need to figure out what that is. And the only way to do that is to keep dreaming!

‘You sure you don’t want me to come inside?’ Dad asks, frowning. ‘You’re not . . . nervous, or lonely?’

It must be weird for Dad to see me do this alone. When I was a bit younger I used to freak out if he left the room for too long. I suppose he can’t pair that Safiya with this one. I’m not sure I can either.

I shake my head. ‘No!’ I say a little too quickly.

I don’t know how to explain that I’m not lonely at all, not when I’m exploring the house or watching Aminah.

‘I like it,’ I add. ‘Being alone with Mum.’ It’s half true. I do like it, but I’m not exactly alone.

Dad stares at me, long and hard, and then he nods. ‘I’ll just nip and do the food shop and then pick you up. OK?’

‘Perfect!’ I sing.

Dad’s a bit more worried than usual since the doctors and nurses were acting strangely when we got to the hospital today. They said words like ‘slow progress’ and ‘monitoring’ in hushed whispers to Dad.

Could that be why the house was crumbling?

I’m trying not to think about that side of things too much. I’ve got enough to focus on.