World in a Window
I hated moving to the new house. I left behind my friends, my childhood nooks and crannies, my special wallpaper (Superman) and my first memories.
Mum let me choose my new room to try and cheer me up. At that point, I just wanted to be miles away from her and bagged the attic bedroom before I’d even seen it.
At first, I regretted my choice. The attic was dark and poky with strange shadows. Mum and Dad were overly cheerful and didn’t complain as they heaved up the bed and set out my toys.
All I could think was how out of place everything looked and how it wasn’t really my room.
I curled under the covers that first night, unable to sleep. Odd shapes moved along the wall and unfamiliar noises rattled and gurgled. It was probably the heating pipes, but in the dead of night, your mind wonders if monsters wander.
A strange draft blew down my neck. Once I’d noticed it, I couldn’t sleep. I pushed off the duvet and tiptoed along the smooth wooden floor. A dark narrow curtain in a niche fell from ceiling to floor.
I shoved back the dust-laden curtain and sneezed. A tall window lay behind. Bizarre — I hadn’t noticed the yellow full moon earlier. It hung low in the sky. The fields stretched out behind the house, leading to a whispering forest. I didn’t realise we were near the woods, either. We…
