I rolled over to see Oba silhouetted against our doorframe. My shoulder blades ached from the position I had been lying in, but I propped myself up to peer over her motionless body. I could see a thin line of orange lying still like a carpet along the hills if I looked from an angle through the trees. 'I'm going to watch it this time, for sure', I thought to myself, usually I look away and then when I look back the sun is already way up in the sky. I leaned back against our bookshelf and told myself 'Sun, sun, sun', whilst staring it down, daring it to rise without me seeing. I felt cold after less than a minute, so I used my foot to tug at my blanket until it unravelled from the rest of my bed and I could pull it over to me and keep warm.
***
"Naaadenkaaa", Oba was squatted next to me, looking at me from an angle. She frowned. "You mustn't sleep in our book case; you'll hurt your neck. I realised what had happened and sunk down even lower until only my eyes were visible over the tangle of blanket I had become. Oba leant back and let her hair dangle off the edge of the den. "Somebody told me, you have a boyfriend, who looks like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year", she sang quietly away to herself. "Oh! I brought your boots in because it rained this morning. It's afternoon now, do you know that Nadenka? You slept all morning". I turned my face so it was visible to her and allowed her a smile. "Thank you", I whispered.
YOU ARE READING
Our Den
General Fiction"We have a proper house, but it's not really where we live" 'Our Den' is written from the point of view of Nadenka; an 8 year old who moved from Poland to Yorkshire when she was 3. Her and Oba (9) wish for nothing more than to stay, forever, in thei...
