All day I had a lot of attention from passers-by, and some of it came with gifts of chocolate or biscuits or crisps, all of which I accepted gratefully and quickly snaffled up. Children came and sat beside me for a while, patted me and talked to me. I liked that. But all the while I didn’t take my eyes off the entrance to the hospital, watching everyone come and go, looking all the time for Becky, waiting for her to come out. She had gone in, so she had to come out. I would stay until she did.

As dark came down there were fewer and fewer people about, and no children at all. I missed them. Ambulances came and went. I did see the lady who’d carried Becky into the ambulance, the one who hadn’t let me go with her. She didn’t see me though. She was too busy driving her ambulance. I tried again and again to sneak in through the door and find Becky, but I got chased out every time. I was getting tired, and I was so, so cold. I felt like going off and finding myself somewhere to shelter out of the wind, somewhere I could curl myself up tight and sleep. But I knew I mustn’t. I knew Becky could come out at any moment. I had to stay where I was and stay awake.

I’m not sure which came first, the thought that I was hungry or the smell of food. Suddenly I found there was an old man sitting down beside me. He didn’t smell like anyone else I had ever met. In fact he didn’t smell like a man at all. He just smelled of food, and it was the kind of food I liked a lot. He put something down in front of me on the grass. “Baked tatty, with my best cheese filling,” he said. “I thought you could do with it, warm you up. You’re shaking like a leaf. Go on, help yourself.” I was hungry all right, but I still hesitated. “Oh I see,” the old man went on, “so you’re the shy sort, just like Paddywack. He’d never eat with anyone looking either. I won’t look, promise.”

The potato was full of melted cheese. It was delicious and gone all too soon. I licked the grass until there was no trace of it left.

“Glad you liked it,” he said. “You’ve made quite a stir round here. Everyone’s been talking about you all day. Lynn told me about you when she came for her tatty at lunchtime – one of my best customers she is. She told me how you followed her ambulance with that girl in it all the way here, going like the clappers she said. Turbo-charged. But I’ve been watching you. You’ve been sitting right here all day long, haven’t you? You’ve been waiting for that girl to come out. Lynn told me her name. But I forget. I forget a lot these days, specially names. She won’t be out for a while you know. Lost a lot of blood apparently. But she’ll be all right, don’t you worry. Lynn says she’s a real survivor that one. Like you, I reckon. But you can’t sit out here all night. Big frost tonight, minus four they said on the radio. There’s no point you sitting here. They won’t let her out now, not at night-time. They’ll keep her in for another day or two at least, I should think.”