Yes, Mrs Perkins! I remember her. She was the one who said that lovely thing about home, that ‘a house is built on money; a home is built on love’.

Mr and Mrs Perkins were good people. Angus’s mother loved Mrs Perkins because she had reminded her of her own mother, who had died just before Angus was born. They used to look after him when his mum was ill and Mrs Perkins used to help organize his birthday parties.

The birthday party, I remember that bit too. Angus’s sixth birthday party, his last in Mallison Street. All his friends came and he danced wildly to his favourite song: ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen.

Mrs Perkins was at the party. That’s right. My brain is moving faster than my feet.

He had loved the glass bird that sat on Mrs Perkins’s mantelpiece ever since he was a baby. Mrs Perkins had told him that he could play with the bird and that it was special because its eyes were blue and sparkly just like his.

And when Mrs Perkins died, her husband had given Angus the bird, telling him that his wife wanted him to have it.

Her gravestone. Yes. It’s all returning to me now.

Angus and his mum had gone to lay flowers on Mrs Perkins’s grave and Angus had brought the bird along. He sat down next to the gravestone and told Mrs Perkins that the bird was their messenger, that if she had anything to say she could tell the bird and it would pass the message on to him.

How could I have forgotten that? It was such a big part of the story. I used to dream about that bird. It was just as real to me as Angus was. I can’t believe I actually got to see it, to touch it, to hold it, to keep it for a little while.

And now I have to do the right thing and give it back.

Cecil and Tom are still there, though their stones are weatherworn and covered in moss and lichen. The third stone is gnarled and worn and sits in the shade of a large yew tree. As I stand here looking at it, I recall the opening line of the final chapter of the book where Angus has to say goodbye to his ghostly friends: ‘The girl he loved lived in a shady spot, next door to the angels. Her protectors in this life and the next.’

This stone is larger than the other two and is decorated with cherubic figures and musical notes. There are two stone vases on either side, empty of flowers. I kneel down in front of the stone, a deep sense of sadness enveloping me.