'Thusan?'

     She  looked around. Her door had been pushed open and  a  small  figure stood there, barefoot in a nightdress.

     She sighed. 'Yes, Twyla?'

     'I'm afwaid of the monster in the cellar, Thusan. It's going  to eat me up.'

     Susan shut her book firmly and raised a warning finger.

     'What  have I  told  you  about trying  to  sound  ingratiatingly cute, Twyla?' she said.

     The little girl said, 'You said I  mustn't. You  said  that exaggerated lisping is a hanging offence and I only do it to get attention.'

     'Good. Do you know what monster it is this time?'

     'It's the big hairy one wif-'

     Susan raised the finger. 'Uh?' she warned.

     '-with eight arms,' Twyla corrected herself.

     'What, again? Oh, all right.'

     She got out of bed and put  on her dressing gown, trying to stay  quite calm  while  the child watched her.  So they  were coming back.  Oh, not the monster in the cellar. That was all in a day's work. But it looked as if she was going to start remembering the future again.

     She  shook  her  head.  However  far you  ran away,  you  always caught yourself up.

     But  monsters  were easy,  at least.  She'd  learned  how to  deal with monsters. She  picked up the poker from the nursery fender and went down the back stairs, with Twyla following her.

     The  Gaiters were having  a dinner party.  Muffled voices came from the direction of the dining room.

     Then, as she crept past, a door opened and yellow light spilled out and a  voice  said,  'Ye gawds,  there's a gel in  a nightshirt out here with  a poker!'

     She saw figures silhouetted in the light and made out the  worried face of Mrs Gaiter.

     'Susan? Er ... what are you doing?'

     Susan looked at the poker and then back at the woman. 'Twyla said she's afraid of a monster in the cellar, Mrs Gaiter.'