May 1. 2pm. Button had nudged me awake at an unearthly hour.

It must have been around 4 in the morning. In my groggy state, this is what I remembered him telling me:

“I’m scared.”

“Scared! But why, Button?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hop into bed beside me and go to sleep. Make sure you don’t wake up Dost.”

Button climbed under my quilt and was fast asleep in no time. When I woke up at around 6, I found his left arm flung carelessly across Dost’s chest!

May 1. 10pm.

“What was that all about, Button? Why were you scared?’

“I have no idea.”

“This reminds me of my elder daughter who used to do exactly the same thing. She was 7 or 8 then. Around 4 or 5 every morning, she’d creep into our room, call out to me saying that she was feeling scared and I’d be so groggy with sleep I’d shift and ask her to climb into bed with us and she would promptly fall asleep.”

“Really? What a coincidence.”