Tom has been nervous from the second he got there. He sat on his bed with his legs hugging his chest. His mind was going too fast for him. Maybe his new guardian was mean to children? Maybe she just didn’t want him? The room that she gave him used to be her Dad’s room. He was really ill and her mum had died just two years ago. But unfortunately, he passed away a week ago so when Tom first talked to her he tried to not mention it. Her name is Miss Paige. Tom decided to look out his window and think how his day ahead of him is going to be. His new school.

His first day of school was very fast, according to Tom. He liked his new teacher (Mr Brown) and he made a friend. Hank. Hank showed him around and made him feel at home. Tom thought that they had some sort of connection. He got a new pen and a blue book for his work. It wasn’t as nerve wracking and boring as he thought it was going to be. As the day ended for him, he asked Hank for his address and waved him goodbye. Mr Brown quickly ran over to Tom to tell him how well he did for his first day. As Tom walked home, he opened the bit of paper that Hank gave him and found out they live next door!

When Tom gets home, he tells Miss Paige all about his day. This was one of the first times he had ever spoke to her properly. To his surprise, she was nice and calming! He felt a bit less nervous by the minute. He went out to the garden and helped her plant some leeks, strawberries and runner beans. Then helped to pick some fruit and vegetables for salad tonight. They sat down on the couch and ate their tea. Tom offered to wash up the bowls but she suggested he got ready for bed. So he put on his pyjamas, brushed his teeth and snuggled into bed with his book and favourite teddy: Mr Ted. Miss Paige came up 15 minutes after and put Tom to bed.

Every night, Tom promised to himself that he would look out of his window and think of his father. He’s fighting in the war and Tom dreads the thought of coming back home and he is not there. Tom has noticed from the past two days that he has lived here is that Miss Paige is going out of the house to the forest. It’s strange because she takes a basket with something inside, a lantern and she wears black clothes. What was she doing? Tom sticks his eyes to the bright light and see’s where she goes. She has been going in the exact place every night.

Tom was exhausted from today but his brain sent him to put his coat on and go into the forest. As Tom went in, he didn’t know how to find her. Until he found Miss Paige’s footsteps imprinted into the mud. He followed the footsteps till he couldn’t see them no more. What was he going to do now? The footsteps had disappeared and he had no way back out.

But in the corner of his eye, he could see that Miss Paige was still running across the woods. He went through the brambles and the thorns, jumped over logs and weaved in and out of trees. Tom was out of breath but there was no turning back now.

She suddenly stopped onto the left and sat down on a log stump. He crept closer and closer until she noticed her. She was feeding this animal with the food she had in her basket. “Hey Tom, meet Spark,” she whispered, “she’s a bob cat and I found her in the woods lost without her mum. I didn’t want her left on her own so I’ve now took care of her for a month now.” Tom was shocked.