The birds looked as if they might swoop down at any moment and swipe your eye out. On he toiled after Rosheen, up into the dark again. He didn’t like the dark and he didn’t like the height. He felt as if he might go rolling back down the stairs at any minute. But he kept going, just concentrating on keeping his eyes on Rosheen’s heels as they flashed from step to step ahead of him. Next came the second floor, where the other half of the family slept, high up, looking down on the treetops. Then one more flight, narrower this time, and darker, and unbroken by a half-landing. This must be the top now, the very top. There were two rooms up here in the attic, way up at the top of the house, hunching secretly under the roof, where no-one much slept, except extras like himself. Rosheen turned when they reached the attic floor. ‘Well done, Ricky, you made it!’ She opened a door into one of the under-eaves rooms. Like every space and every available surface in this house, it was full of things.
