Then comes a scene where the witch finds out Rapunzel has been meeting with the prince. In this version she tells her she will never ever leave, because she’s going to lock her up and throw away the key.

And I can’t help but think about Mum at the top of the house, trapped behind her bedroom door. All I want to do is unlock it and free her. All I want is for her to wake up.

The branches shine silver still, but an inky black courses through them like veins, and they look entirely alive. I reach out and they feel like the slimy skin of a frog. The witch pulls Mum to the darkest corner, and drags her into a room in the great big tower.

The memory makes it look all too real, though, and I run to the witch.

‘Stop it!’ I call, trying to pull her away from Mum.

The witch does what I say, like she’s heard me. She turns, facing me, and for one moment my heart freezes.

But then she looks upwards, beyond the wall, frowning. ‘What was that?’ she says, and she’s no longer the witch any more, and they’re no longer in the tower.

‘Just a twig,’ Rawan says dismissively.

Aminah doesn’t seem so sure. She’s staring at the wall as if she can see through the concrete. But before I can watch the end of the play the memory starts to disappear, like a great fog has clouded over it.

I’m back at Mum’s bedside again surrounded by silver branches. Right now they’re shaped like a giant hand. Its gnarled fingers wrap round Mum and me as we sit in its palm, protecting us from harm.

Chapter 24

Back in primary school our whole year acted in a musical version of Alice in Wonderland. Elle was Alice, of course. I was cast as the Gryphon, who is only in the story for a tiny bit. Still, I was terrified, and almost didn’t do it. The day before the play I cried during the rehearsal.

Mum and Dad were still together then, and they both came to watch me perform.

As I sang I remember looking out into the audience. Mum was wiping her eyes with a tissue, crying. No, she was practically sobbing.

Afterwards she hugged me tight.

‘Mum,’ I choked. ‘You’re squishing me.’

‘You were wonderful, Safiya,’ Mum said, sniffing.

I laughed, smiling my gap-toothed grin. ‘Calm down, Mum. It was only a small part.’ Secretly I was happy because Mum can be hard to please.

‘Yes, but you did it beautifully, and you were very, very brave.’

I know now that she was proud because acting was something we both had in common. It was something we could share. But also it was about her past, and her friends, and everything she once knew. It was about her memories.