I hardly dare pick up the phone. I’m in a daze, and later I will find it hard to recall this moment, but for now I put the phone to my ear.

‘Hello?’ I say.

‘He’s back,’ says Mam, and then she starts laughing and crying at the same time. I know how she feels.

Chapter 84

‘He’s back! Mormor! Uncle Pete! He’s back – Seb’s awake!’

The next ten minutes are the happiest chaos I have ever known, with Mormor crying tears of relief and Uncle Pete running up and down the stairs, and Fit Billy ringing on the doorbell because he’s heard the commotion through the walls, then dashing over the road to tell Lynn and Tony, who come over in their dressing gowns and slippers …

And then I’m sitting in the back of Uncle Pete’s car, heading to the hospital. It’s early and Tynemouth is quiet; the Beckers’ funeral parlour looks as though nothing at all happened there last night. As we drive past, I keep my head down when I see Kez’s dad coming out of the side lane with Dennis on a lead.

‘Inte så fort, Peter!’ says Mormor who reverts to her native Swedish when she’s anxious. ‘Not so fast!’

‘Ja, ja, Mama!’ he laughs in response, and speeds up slightly, making her tut.

My phone is in my hand as we zoom up the near-empty A19 to Cramlington Hospital. I’m just about to call Susan when it buzzes in my hand, making me jump.

‘He’s back,’ I say straight away. There’s a long pause on the other end, and I wonder if she’s heard me. ‘Susan …?’

‘Yes, Malky, yes! He is! Oh, I’m so relieved. We’ve been waiting for you to call.’ Then I hear her shouting, ‘Mola! It worked! It worked!’ I can hear shrieking and whooping and I say, ‘Thank you, Susan! Thanks a lot!’ Then the line goes dead as my phone loses reception.

Wait. So they actually were in my dream? And Kenneth too?

I don’t know why any of that should surprise me, actually.

Anyway, I can’t think about it because Uncle Pete has overheard. ‘What worked? Who were you thanking?’ he says.

Should I tell him? Should I explain the whole thing again? There’s no more reason to believe me now than there was before, and any evidence is charred and melted and still hanging above my bed.

So I half lie.

‘Susan and her gran meditated in a very special way,’ I say. ‘They prayed underneath their prayer flags, and the prayers were carried on the wind.’

‘That’s nice,’ says Uncle Pete, and Mormor nods in approval.

‘Prayers can be like dreams, Malky,’ she says. ‘Sometimes prayers are answered, just like dreams can come true.’

‘You’re right, Mormor,’ I say through a grin. ‘You’re dead right.’