There was something wrong with daddy. Grandmummy called him awful things. Daddy had a new fountain inside. It filled him. Drip. Splash. Grandmummy was a lady. Afraid to get her skirts in the water.
They left. Like a game. Have to find them. One. Two. I sneak, peek through my fingers. I've already counted to thirty. Come out, grandmummy!
I wait. She never comes. Is it my turn to hide? Does daddy want to play?
Bad. Naughty daddy. Eats the rodents. Scares grandmummy. His fountain is cold and dark. Like streets of water. I hear the pleas. He wants to be empty again. This isn't daddy.
He hides. I'm left alone! I must be a proper mummy to my little William. But I have no daddy to teach him. I have no daddy to put me to bed. No daddy to bring dinner home.
Chase. Snatch. That's all I know. They're not but dolls. Thoughts are like tears. My William brings me the young ones. Like sweets they are. Toys for mummy. Such a thoughtful boy.
Like swine they squeal. They shriek. My William hands me her throat. She smells of grass. And countryside. She thinks of her daddy like I do of mine. An orphan. Tastes of death. Of youth. William lets me drink all of her. She falls. No more cries. Only final whispers. I have a son. He does not want a sister.
I feel her dirt find my streets. My fountain is warm. My William wants a drink. Eyes of jewels. Teeth of earnest. Little boy has hunger. There is much to learn. A merry mum he will make me.