He sat up in his bed and listened. The first sound he heard was the singing of birds outside his little window. Only a few days ago at the garage, in his room at the house which was facing a busy road, the first noise to reach his ear, were the swishing of cars taking people to their daily grind. He lay and listened intently for a moment and there came another sound, more muffled this time, but unmistakeably the sound of the crying of his baby brother. He wanted to go and give him a cuddle, but decided to wait until breakfast time. He was first in the huge kitchen, and felt the top of the massive range, and it was still quite hot from the night before. As he looked by the side of the cooker, there was an old basket full of chopped wood ready for refuelling. So he opened the bottom door and gently pushed two large chunks inside. Then he filled the kettle and placed it on the hob. ‘Did I wake you?’ Louis asked as the three of them stumbled bleary eyed into the room.
