I can hear the footsteps on the creaking floorboards. Softly, slowly, as though they don’t want to be heard. Careful through the night. We all heard him though, Mr. Tiddles, me, and Buzz. We all know he is in the house.

He may have been quiet but I had been stargazing through the gap in my curtain with Mr. Tiddles when I saw him jump our fence.

Step after step I can hear his every movement. On the stairs now. The corridor. Past the bathroom. Outside my room. Silence. I hug Mr. Tiddles closer. Pull the duvet over my head. I’m in another world, away from the stranger who jumped my fence.

The doorknob, as softly as the footsteps, turns and I sink deeper into my bed. The door is opening, left to swing by itself. I don’t hear any more footsteps approaching but I do feel the weight on my bed causing it to lurch.

“Hello, my darling.”