***
I wake up. Dawn sunlight peeks in through the little gap where my curtains meet. I’m sleepy after spending all night at the Archive, so I turn over in my comfy bed to try to fall back asleep. Then I see something that doesn’t belong in my bedroom.
Two pale green glass bottles sit on my nightstand. There is a piece of rolled up paper sticking out the top of both of them. I spring out of bed and gently pull the paper from the lip of one of the bottles. As I unroll it, I recognise what is written on it in cursive handwriting, black ink.
I carefully roll the paper up and slide it back into the bottle. Then I take both bottles out into the kitchen. No one else is awake yet. I put the bottles on the kitchen counter, where my Mummy and Daddy are sure to see them.
Then, stifling my yawns, I go back to sleep.