It took me a while to realize why I liked her so much. I think it was because she reminded me of living with my sister Hayley. Harriet was eight, which was nearly as old as Hayley. Hayley was nine. That was the only thing similar about them, though. Hayley had yellow hair and blue eyes, and she d...
They do it at home too, only you don’t notice because there aren’t so many of them. There are rosehips in the hedges and red berries on the hawthorn bushes, a cold tang in the air and the fallen leaves to crunch through in the grass. In school one morning, a great wind blows up. We all go out and...
It starts with me at home. I’m cross and miserable. Mum’s cross too. We’re fighting. Mum’s crying. It seems as if nothing good is ever going to happen again. And then the phone rings. On the other end of the phone is Annie. S...
By Candlelight Alice falls ill next. My Alice. Father sends us out to work in the fields. “Can’t I stay?” I say, frightened. “Can’t I stay and help look after Alice?” “No!” says Father, too quickly. Then, “Isabel, please. Just go. Let me work out what we’re going to do.” We’re quiet as we wal...