We all watched the door at the top of the stairs, waiting for it to open. But it didn’t, at least not for a long time yet. But we could smell cooking. A good smell, meat first, then later on, something sweet that made my mouth water. It must have been the evening time before anything happened. I’d fallen asleep on my bed, and so had the Mummies, I think. The noise of the door being unlocked woke me up, and I shot up, all dizzy with that sick feeling you get when you’re woken up in a fright. And Mummy Joy and Mummy Noreen were lying cuddled together, staring up at the door. I mind the red creases on Mummy Joy’s cheek, from the pillow. I don’t know why that sticks in my head.

The door opened, and I couldn’t see much through the light from upstairs, just a shape. Then she stepped down onto the stairs and I could see her and I could hardly breathe. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I thought she was an angel, I did, I believed she’d come down from heaven to take us away. She had on her the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen, a deep blue colour, not like the auld rags we had to wear. And her hair was lovely, all clean and smooth, not wild like mine. Her face, her skin, everything about her.

We all stayed there for a while, us staring up at her, her staring down at us. Then Daddy Tam steps down behind her, gives her a nudge. But she didn’t move, just stood there, her eyes all big and wide.

Says she, Who are they?

10: Sara

10: Sara

A bell over the shop door chimed as Sara entered. She paused there for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the gloom, and realised some of the lights had been switched off. Checking her watch, she saw it was close to five thirty.

“Here, now, you just caught me,” a voice called from the back of the shop.

Sara stepped around a refrigerated unit full of fruit and vegetables and saw a man behind the counter, standing at the open cash register. She guessed him to be in his mid-seventies, well past retirement age, a slight man but possessing a strong build. He wore a shirt and tie underneath his white overcoat, and she imagined him straightening the knot before he opened his door each morning.

“I was about to start redding up the place. What can I do for you?”

“Sorry, I just need a few things, is that okay?”

“Course it is,” he said, closing the drawer. “There’s no rush.”