How to use "her" in a sentence

I told her I was going to Utah and promised to be back for her party

I tell her how proud I am of her and send her my love and best wishes.

He called Mrs Ralston for the license-plate number of her son's truck

Aron had given it to her in a hurry and made a mistake.

This left her with another problem

Alice and her big sister sat under a tree one sunny day

Alice's sister had a book, but Alice had nothing with her

She looked at her sisters book

Suddenly, a white rabbit ran past her

She thought about her cat, Dinah

'What's Dinah doing? Will they remember her milk tonight? Oh, Dinah! Why aren't you here with me? Perhaps there's a mouse here and you can eat it!'

She put her head down and looked through the door into a beautiful garden

She felt the top of her head with her hand

Because she was very big, her tears were very big too.

She began to think about her friends

'I'm not Ada because her hair is different to mine

But this time her tears were small tears - she was small again!

She had the White Rabbit's hat in her hand.

It was the right size for her head.

She tried to put her feet on the ground but she couldn't

The water was her tears.

There, very near her, was a mouse.

She remembered some words from her schoolbook, so she spoke to the mouse in French.

The Mouse moved quickly away from her.

The Mouse looked angrily at her and swam quickly away.

When they saw her, they got out of the water too.

I haven't got any chocolates.' But then she saw a box of chocolates near her feet.

They all stood round Alice again, and the Dodo gave her the box.

'I want her with me.'

Alice loved to talk about her cat

She can catch a mouse in the morning for her breakfast and a little bird in the evening for her dinner - Oh! I'm sorry!'

Another bird called to her children, 'Come away, my dears! It's time for bed!'

Perhaps I'll never see her again!'

The White Rabbit saw her

Perhaps I'll watch mouse-holes for her!'

One of her arms was outside the window

When she could hear the Rabbit outside the window, she moved her arm up and down

Alice moved her arm again

Everything was quiet for a short time, then something hard hit her arm.

The White Rabbit saw her

He ran after her but Alice ran too fast for him

She looked all round her, but she couldn't see anything with 'EAT ME' or 'DRINK ME' on it

There were some mushrooms near her

Alice put her hands behind her back and repeated:

Then she went to the Caterpillars mushroom and broke off some of it with her right hand

She went to the brown mushroom and did the same with her left hand.

Suddenly, her head hit her foot.

She quickly ate a little from the white mushroom in her left hand

In a short time, she was her right size again.

Inside, a large, ugly woman sat with a baby in her arms

But the Duchess did not say anything to her, so Alice asked, 'Please, why is your cat smiling?'

It didn't hit her, but she left the room quickly.

She looked round her and jumped

The cat didn't answer her

'You tell her, Seven,' Five said.

'No,' said Seven,' You tell her, Two.'

She looked at Alice and shouted, 'Cut off her head! Cut-'

The King put his hand on her arm

Alice turned round and there was the White Rabbit next to her.

'They're going to cut off her head!' he said.

There was something above her head.

Ask her about it.'

She put her arm through Alice's and they walked through the garden.

'Cut off her head! Cut off his head!' she shouted, every two or three minutes.

The King looked at her

'Ask her some questions,' the White Rabbit said to the King.

'Cut off her head!' shouted the Queen

'Cut off her head!' shouted the Queen.

Then she opened her eyes...

She was under it, next to her sister

Her sister's hand was on her hair.

'Wake up, Alice dear,' her sister said

She sat up and told her sister about the White Rabbit and the rabbit-hole

When she finished her story, her sister laughed.

I went and sat with her, and she remembered me!

Next evening, Jenny arrived at our house, wearing a white dress, and with a pink flower in her hair

But when I did this, people looked at me, and Jenny got down lower and lower in her place

Once I thought she was on the floor, and I put my hand on her shoulder to pull her up

But I pulled her dress, and it came open, and she screamed.

I tried to put my hands in front of her, because there were people looking at us

I phoned Mom to tell her.

She had a big smile on her face, and she held my hand.

She wasn't angry about the cinema, and she asked me to have a drink with her!

Three or four other people were in the group with her, and they made a good sound

'I didn't learn anywhere,' I told her.

I got a letter from my Mom, and I wrote back to her that everything was OK

I also wrote a letter to Jenny Curran and asked Mom to ask her parents to send it on to her

Just before I left the hospital in Danang, I had a letter from her

Now that I was free from the army, I just wanted to go and see her

Her hair was all the way down her back, and she was wearing sun-glasses - at night! She was wearing blue jeans and a shirt with lots of colours on it

'Forrest Gump!' And she ran out of the door and threw her arms round me.

We talked together until it was time for her to sing again.

And I put my arm round her.

She sat down across my legs and put her arms round me

I started to walk towards her, but she turned and walked away

'What's wrong with her?' I asked one of the two men.

'She was there all night before we could get her out.'

Jenny was in the back of the car now, so I went over and talked to her through the window

I told her how I felt - I was sorry about the girl, and I didn't want to play in the group without her

But because my medal was a more famous medal than theirs, it was more important to Jenny and her friends.

I went up behind her and said, 'That looks like a nice apple.' She didn't look up

A minute later, I had my arms round her and we were both crying

And I told her all about that, and about Sue, the ape.

Somehow, when I was helping Miss Welch to escape from the jungle, her dress came off and I had to run into the trees to hide her

I wanted to find her again

'I don't hear from her very often,' she said

Her hair was different, and she looked a bit older, and a bit tired, but it was her all right

'What are you doing here?' I asked her.

'Perhaps he would be an idiot,' I finished for her.

'Perhaps I can put things right with Jenny,' I thought, 'now that I've found her again.' But the more I thought about it, the more I finally understood that it was better for the boy to be with Jenny and her husband, and not to have an idiot for a father.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "Unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned

Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it

He introduced me to her, explaining that she was his niece

I looked at her carefully

'She wants to know who her shadow is.'

'We are alone, you know - since Margaret died.' Miss Niner looked sad at her uncle's words

The memory of her sister was clearly still very painful to her

Miss Niner began to tell me about her uncle

She was worried about what would happen to her uncle when she died

Suddenly I interrupted her.

I walked with her to the hand-carriage before she had time to object.

I did not stay there with her for more than two minutes

Within five minutes I saw her walking up the beach with a grey-haired man

You're the man who's already killed one innocent girl for her money

I could not save her - but I promised to pursue you to the end

Mary Ann Nichols was in 'Frying Pan' pub on the corner of Brick Lane, spending her last pennies on drink

She needed the money to pay for a bed in the 'White House', her lodging house in Flower and Dean Street

Mary Ann Nichols was still walking the streets when her friend Ellen Holland saw her at 2.30 a.m

Ellen asked Polly to come with her to the lodgings in Thrawl Street

After that only one person saw her alive again - her killer.

'I think Mr Cross interrupted her killer.'

Polly Nichols died just a few days after her forty-third birthday

And her father said, 'I don't think she had any enemies

The man probably strangled Polly first, put her on the ground, and cut her throat

On the first floor Mrs Richardson and her grandson lived in three rooms, and she let out the other rooms

Her son, John, helped her in the business but he did not live in Hanbury Street

Chandler arrived at number 29 and noted down that the woman was lying on her back, with a deep cut from left to right across her throat and mutilations to her stomach

The inspector saw a piece of muslin and two small combs that the murderer had put near her feet

The killer also took some rings from her finger

Her clothes were all old and dirty: a long black jacket down to her knees, petticoats, stockings, a black skirt, and boots

Annie Chapman - or Dark Annie to her friends - was 47 years old

Annie drank a lot and her marriage broke down

The small sum of money which she received from her husband stopped when he died in 1886

Sometimes she borrowed money from her relatives

But her taste for alcohol dominated her life, and eventually she had to walk the streets as a prostitute.

Let us follow Annie's movements before the night of her murder

But the week before her murder she was not at the lodging house

When she met her friend Amelia Palmer on September 2nd and 3rd she showed her the black eye and a bruise on her face

She looked pale, so Amelia gave her two pennies to buy something to eat

on September 8th Annie was in the kitchen of her lodging house, eating potatoes and talking with the other lodgers

She told the deputy that she did not have any money, but asked him to keep her bed because she wanted to return with the money

Nobody saw her alive again; she never came back for her bed.

on her way to Spitalfields market, she noticed a man and a woman talking outside number 29

The woman wore a red flower on her jacket

Suddenly the man pulled the woman into the street and threw her down on to the pavement

Mr Diemschutz, anxious about the safety of his wife, went into the club to look for her

He found her safe with some club members and told them about the woman

He examined the dead woman and saw that she had a deep cut in her throat

He noticed a scarf round her neck

Had the killer seized the scarf from behind and pulled her to the ground, where he cut her throat?

He noted the dead woman's height - 1.57m - and guessed her age, about 42

Her stockings were white, her bonnet black, and she was wearing boots

There was one red rose on her jacket.

A man named Michael Kidney also identified her

He said she lived with him and her name was Elizabeth Stride

He had seen her for the last time on September 25th

Elizabeth sometimes stayed at a lodging house in Flower and Dean Street, where people called her Long Liz

Although we do not know what time the killer arrived there, we know what his victim did and can follow her movements on the night of September 29-30th.

With the help of another constable Robinson took her to Bishopsgate Street Police Station

Twenty-five minutes later the policeman took her from her cell to the office

The woman said her name was Mary Ann Kelly, but her real name was Catherine Eddowes.

He went with her to the street door and asked her to shut it when she left.

Catherine said, 'Good night.' And she went to meet her fate at the hands of Jack the Ripper.

We can imagine her singing to herself as she walked along, a small woman, about 1.52m, and thin

She looked about forty, and had dark brown hair under her black bonnet

She was wearing a red handkerchief around her neck, a black jacket, men's boots, and an old white apron

The couple were talking quietly, and the woman had her hand on the man's chest

So in less than fifteen minutes the Ripper took Catherine into Mitre square, killed her, mutilated her horribly, and escaped - right under the noses of the police! His escape was amazing

on Saturday 29th, Kelly told her to be careful about the Whitechapel killer.

Born in Limerick, Ireland, she moved to Wales with her family when she was very young

By 1886 she was living in the East End with Joe Flemming, who wanted to marry her

He frequently visited her and gave her money

He visited her around 7.30-7.45 on the evening of Thursday, November 8th to tell her he had no work and could not give her any money

After warming her hands, Mrs Cox went out again

Around two hours later she woke up suddenly because her kitten was walking over her

Mrs Lewis was going to stay with her friends at 2 Miller's Court

He noticed that Mary owed him 29 shillings in rent, so he sent his assistant Thomas Bowyer to her room to ask for the money

Mrs Darrell did not see his face, so her impression that he was a darklooking foreigner aged over forty is not certain.

On November 12th a labourer named George Hutchinson gave the police a very good description of a man he saw with Mary Kelly at about 2 o'clock on the morning of her murder

The killer's terrible mutilation of Mary Kelly's face suggests that he knew her well

In fact, Hutchinson had known Mary about three years, so he certainly knew that she had her own room

So perhaps he decided to kill his next victim indoors and chose Mary Kelly, knowing her room was safe.

It began 'Dear Boss' and there was a postscript which included the sentence 'What a pretty necklace I gave her'

The old woman opened her purse and gave him a few coins

Mme Magloire trembled, open-mouthed with fear, while Mile Baptistine rose from her seat with alarm

At that time he was looking after his sister, whose husband had died, and her seven children

Early the next morning, while the bishop was studying the flowers in his garden, Mme Magloire ran out of the house with a look of alarm on her face.

'You have two very pretty children, Madame,' a voice said from close beside her.

The woman looked round and saw a young woman with a child sleeping peacefully in her arms

She did not smile, and lines of sadness ran down the side of her pale cheeks

Her clothes were old and dirty, and she wore a tight, plain cap over her beautiful blonde hair.

'When the young woman had sat down next to her, the red-haired woman introduced herself

'I used to work in Paris, but my husband died and I lost my job.' She could not tell Mme Thenardier the truth, which was that she had been made pregnant by a young man who had then abandoned her

I had to carry her and she's fallen asleep.' As she spoke these words, she gave her daughter a loving kiss, which woke her up

The child's eyes were as wide and blue as her mother's

With a little laugh, she jumped off her mother's lap and ran to play with the two girls on the swing.

'Euphrasie - but I call her Cosette

'I can't take her with me,' Fantine continued

As soon as I find a job, I'll come and fetch her

'Then we agree to look after her for you,' he said.

The next morning, Fantine kissed her daughter goodbye and left for Montreuil, crying as if her heart would break.

The couple dressed Cosette in rags and gave her very little food, which they made her eat from a wooden bowl under the table

The dog and the cat, who ate with her, were her only companions.

Fantine, meanwhile, found work in Montreuil and asked for news of her daughter every month

At the end of the year, however, Thenardier was not happy with just seven francs a month; he demanded twelve and Fantine paid without protest, happy that her daughter was being well cared for.

They made her get up before dawn every day and do all the dirty jobs around the house, while Eponine and Azelma wore pretty clothes and played with dolls

Misery had made her ugly and only her beautiful blue eyes remained.

She forgot many of her problems, and dreamt only of Cosette and her plans for the future

But her happiness did not last long

Although she was careful to say nothing about her daughter to anyone, other women at the factory soon discovered her secret

An unmarried woman with a child was a terrible thing in those days, and Fantine lost her job

She tried to find work as a servant, but no one would employ her

By the following winter, her debts had increased

The Thenardiers wrote her a frightening letter in which they told her that Cosette had no clothes, and that they needed ten francs immediately to buy her a new dress

Fantine, who did not have ten francs, but who was afraid that her daughter would freeze to death, went to the barber's shop

She took out her comb and let her blonde hair fall down to her waist.

After selling her hair to the barber, Fantine was able to buy a woollen dress, which she sent to the Thenardiers

Forgetting her troubles for a moment, she smiled at the dentist's humorous efforts to sell the people of Montreuil false teeth.

Suddenly the dentist saw her.

'My hair will grow again,' she thought, 'but teeth would be gone forever.' But then she thought about her daughter, and her own appearance suddenly seemed unimportant

That evening, she visited the dentist at the inn where he was staying, and allowed him to remove her teeth.

She sat on her bed, cold and shivering, and looked at the two coins shining on the table

Fantine earned less and less money from her sewing, and the Thenardiers demanded more and more money to look after Cosette

What could she do? She had sold her hair and her teeth; what else could she sell? And then she decided that she had no other choice: she would have to sell herself.

One winter's evening, a toothless woman with a grey face and flowers in her hair was arrested for attacking a man in the street

She was taken to the police station, where Inspector Javert, the chief of police, sent her to prison for six months.

Javert.' The woman fell to her knees

If I don't pay, my little girl will lose her home and be thrown out on to the streets

Javert listened to her coldly, then ordered a policeman to take her away

While the policeman was trying to drag her to her feet, however, a voice from the shadows said, 'One moment please.'

And now I've just seen her spit at you, the mayor of our town

You should arrest him, not her.'

The man who had just saved her from prison was also the man who had caused all her troubles

Madeleine said to her

Madeleine with tears in her eyes

After all her pain and suffering she had, for the first time in her life, found kindness in another human being

Without a word, she fell to her knees and kissed the back of M

Months of poverty and misery had made her ill, and she soon became so weak that she was unable to leave her bed.

Madeleine when he visited her.

'Very soon,' he would reply, and her pale face would light up with joy.

She had a high fever, and was coughing badly, but she still had only one thing on her mind.

'Very soon,' he assured her.

He sat by her bed for an hour and then, having told the nurses to look after her, he returned to his home

'How is she?' he asked the nurse, who was watching her as she slept.

She's looking forward to seeing her child.'

'Then what can we say to her when she wakes up?' The nurse looked suddenly worried

'It will destroy her if she doesn't see her child now, after you promised to bring her.'

She was breathing with great difficulty, but her face looked peaceful and calm

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and saw M

Madeleine said gently, taking her hand

'You're too weak to see her at the moment

Fantine smiled, and began to talk dreamily about her future life with her daughter, and how happy they would be together

But suddenly her face froze, and she stared with horror at the door

Madeleine, who was holding her hand, turned and saw Inspector Javert

Fantine, thinking that the inspector had come for her, gripped M

Madeleine's hand tightly and begged him to protect her.

Madeleine tried to calm her

where's my little Cosette? I want to see her

'Be quiet, you dirty prostitute,' Javert interrupted her angrily

She looked as if she was going to speak, but no words came from her lips

Instead, with a small sigh, she fell back against her pillow and lay completely still.

'You've killed her!' he cried angrily, turning to Javert with a fierce look in his eyes.

He turned again to Fantine and looked for one last time at her sad, pale face and empty, blue eyes

Bending down, he closed her eyes and pressed his lips against her forehead

While guests and visitors ate and drank noisily, Cosette - now eight years old - sat in her usual place under the kitchen table

Miserably, she picked up a large, empty bucket that was almost as big as she was, and was walking with it to the door when Madame Thenardier stopped her.

Cosette took the coin, put it carefully in her pocket and left

She was cold and hungry as she dragged the bucket behind her along the crowded street, but she could not resist stopping in front of one of the stalls

It was like a palace to her, with its bright lights, shining glass and pretty objects

Cosette gazed at the doll for several minutes but, remembering her job, she sighed and continued on her way

She had soon left the colourful lights and the happy laughter of the village behind her, and was running down the hill into the frightening darkness of the wood

Finding the stream, she bent forward and began to till her bucket

She did not notice the coin that Mme Thenardier had given her for the bread fall out of her pocket into the water

When the bucket was full, she gripped the handle with her tiny, frozen hands and tried to pull it back up the hill

She was almost at the end of her strength, and she was still not out of the wood

Suddenly, an enormous hand reached down from the sky and took the bucket of water from her

Looking up, Cosette saw a huge, white-haired man standing next to her

'This is a very heavy bucket for such a small child,' he said gently, looking down at her from his great height.

She let him carry the bucket up the hill and, as they walked back towards the village, she told him everything about her life with the Thenardiers

The old man listened with great interest, and asked her many questions.

The old man gave her the bucket, and they entered the inn together.

He sat down and Cosette, after serving him some wine, returned to her place under the table

But before she could start her knitting, she heard Mme Thenardier's angry voice demanding, 'Where's the bread I told you to get?'

Cosette felt in her pocket and suddenly went pale

Cosette said nothing, speechless with fear as the woman raised her arm to hit her

But before she could deliver the blow the old man, who had seen everything, interrupted her.

Mme Thenardier took the coin the old man held towards her and walked away.

Cosette, who had returned to her place under the table, looked up from her knitting and watched them sadly

She turned her back on the room and began to play with it, hoping that no one could see what she was doing

'She's touched it with her dirty hands!' Then, hearing Cosette crying, she turned to the little girl and shouted, 'Stop that noise!'

'Just a minute,' her husband said

When Cosette came downstairs, the old man gave her new clothes to wear: a black woollen dress, black stockings, scarf and shoes

Valjean laid Cosette on the bed without waking her

He lit a candle and sat by the bed, watching her while she slept

He felt sad that Fantine had not lived to see her child again, but happy that he had been able to rescue her child from the terrible Thenardiers

He bent and kissed the sleeping child's forehead just as, nine months earlier, he had kissed her mother's.

The next morning, Cosette opened her eyes and immediately started to get out of bed.

Then, as her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the kind old face of Jean Valjean looking down at her, and she relaxed.

She hugged her doll and asked Valjean hundreds of questions

Now, he discovered the greatest joy he had ever known by just standing beside her bed and looking at her innocent, trusting little face

Paying her six months in advance, he told her that he was a ruined Spanish gentleman, and that the little girl was his granddaughter.

Valjean gave Cosette lessons in reading and writing, and spent hours watching her as she dressed and undressed her doll

He went back upstairs for Cosette, who was waiting for him patiently, holding her doll.

Valjean picked her up and ran with her through a confusing system of alleys until he came to a bridge

Leblanc, because of his white hair, and the girl Mile Lanoire, because of her black dress,' his friend replied.

She had soft brown hair, pale, smooth skin, deep blue eyes and a lovely smile that lit up her face like sunshine.

For the next few days he passed the bench in the Gardens without looking at her

He walked around slowly, stopping to look at the ducks on the lake, then casually approached the bench where Mile Lanoire and her father were sitting

She was talking quietly to her father, and Marius could hear the soft, exciting murmur of her voice

He returned the next morning and sat on a bench all day, pretending to read a book, not daring to go near the bench where the girl and her father were sitting

He gazed after her until she had disappeared from sight, then rose to his feet and walked around, laughing and talking to himself

Finally he left the Gardens in the mad hope of seeing her in the street, but instead he met Enjolras, who invited him to a meal.

He avoided walking directly in front of the bench, partly from shyness, partly because he did not want to attract her father's attention

Sometimes he stood for half an hour in a place where her father could not see him, looking at her and enjoying the small, secret smiles she sent him.

His desire for the girl was growing daily, and he dreamt of her every night

'I can feel her whole soul in it!' he told himself

As well as the joy of seeing her in the Gardens, he now had the pleasure of following her home

'It gave me so much happiness just to look at her, and now, through my stupidity, I've lost even that.'

She looked cold and ill, and when she spoke, Marius saw that she had lost several of her teeth

Picking up a pen that lay on the table, she wrote on a piece of paper, Be careful! The police are coming! She showed Marius her work and then, changing the subject quickly, for no reason at all, she gazed into his eyes and said shyly, 'Do you know, M

He moved away from the girl's touch and said, 'I think, Mademoiselle, that I have something belonging to you.' He handed her the parcel of letters.

She clapped her hands and cried, 'We've been looking for that everywhere! How did you know they were mine? Of course, the handwriting

Slamming the door shut behind her she cried victoriously, 'He's coming!'

She put her fist through the glass and ran to her bed, crying because her arm was covered in blood.

'Excellent,' her father smiled, tearing a piece off his shirt and using it as a bandage

'They may have to cut off her arm.'

The daughter, taking her father's words seriously, began to scream with fear

Leblanc and 'Ursula' tried to comfort her, Jondrette approached his wife and said in a whisper, 'Take a good look at that man.'

She did not reply but stood thoughtfully looking at him, seeming to have lost all her earlier confidence

Marius,' she said at last, a faint light in her sad eyes, 'you seem upset

Marius considered her offer, then had an idea

Moving closer to her, he said, 'Do you know the address of those people who've just left your room?'

'Is that what you want?' she said, a disappointed look on her face.

She left immediately, closing the door behind her.

'Why should I? I've never seen her'

But Jondrette bent down and whispered something in her ear

Straightening up, he said, 'Now do you recognize her?'

'Her?' said the woman, her voice filled with sudden hatred

'Tomorrow you'll have fur boots!' her father called out after her.

Her sister has taken her to hospital, but they'll be back soon.'

She picked up the piece of paper and handed it to her husband, who read it quickly.

Still wearing the same rags, with the same bold look in her eyes and the same rough voice, she had somehow become more beautiful

She stared at Marius with a look of pleasure on her pale face, and for some moments seemed unable to speak.

She bit her lip and hesitated, as if trying to make up her mind about something

Marius jumped up and took her by the hand.

All he had in the world was the five-franc piece he intended to give her father in prison

He pushed it into her hand, but she opened her fingers and let the coin fall to the ground

She looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and sadness in her eyes.

She listened at the window for a minute, then ran up to her bedroom, opened the window and looked out

He told her not to worry, but she noticed an anxious look in his eyes

She had never read anything like this before, and it affected her deeply.

Her heart on fire, she took the notebook upstairs to her bedroom and read every word again

As she read the notebook, she knew in her heart that he was the author of these beautiful, romantic words

Finally, she kissed the book, held it to her heart and waited for the evening, when she knew that something special was going to occur.

Cosette spent a long time in front of the mirror, making her hair look beautiful and deciding which dress to wear

She looked round and jumped to her feet.

Marius caught her and held her tightly in his arms without realizing what he was doing, lost in a mist of love

Cosette, feeling her body close to his, took his hand and pressed it against her heart

Aware of the shape of the notebook under her dress, he said, 'So, you've read my notebook

Then, as if by magic, her lips were next to his and they were kissing

When everything had been said, she laid her head on his shoulder and asked, 'What's your name?'

One beautiful, starry evening, Marius found Cosette sitting unhappily in her garden.

'What's the matter?' he asked, sitting next to her on the bench.

She looked up at him, her pale face lined with misery.

Marius turned his back to her and said, 'Then I shall have to go away.'

Marius turned and was surprised to see her smiling.

I wear a cheap hat, my jacket has lost half its buttons and there are holes in my boots.' He turned away from her and stood with his face pressed to the trunk of a tree, almost ready to faint

He fell on his knees in front of her and pressed her hand to his lips.

'Why not?' Cosette said, drying her tears

'What does her father do?'

'I love her so much

Please allow me to marry her!'

Marius told his grandfather all about Cosette and how much he loved her

Have fun with the girl, but don't marry her

Make her your lover but not your wife.'

He called her name again and again until, exhausted, he sat down on the stone steps

The second killed a deaf old woman who was trying to shut her window.

One of these children was Eponine, who had dressed like a boy so that no one would tell her to go home

Then, noticing the pool of blood on the ground behind her, cried, 'You're wounded! I'll carry you to the inn

She showed him the bullet hole in her hand.

'A soldier was going to shoot you,' she said, her voice no more than a whisper

Marius sat next to her

She rested her head on his knee and said without looking at him, 'Oh, what happiness

She pressed her hand to her chest, from which blood was pouring like dark wine

She took hold of Marius's hand with her wounded hand and, without seeming to feel the pain, guided it to her pocket, from which he took the letter.

She let her head fall back on his knees

Just as Marius thought that her sad soul had finally left her body, she slowly opened her eyes, and said in a voice so sweet that it seemed already to come from another world, 'You know, M

With those words, she closed her eyes for the last time and died.

Marius kissed her pale forehead and laid her gently on the ground

She was going with her father to England, and his grandfather had refused to give his permission for him to marry

Nothing had changed, and he decided that he had one last duty to perform: he must send Cosette a final message and tell her of his death

Cosette had brought her letter case and blotter with her, Valjean his box of child's clothing and the old National Guard uniform which all respectable men possessed, and which he had worn under a previous identity.

Cosette, however, did not leave her bedroom the next day, and Jean Valjean had dinner alone

In her unhappy state of mind, Cosette had forgotten to remove the page that she had used to blot the letter she had written to Marius

If he kept the letter in his pocket, Cosette would never know what had happened to the other man, and life with her would continue the same as before

He gave his neighbour, a pretty woman, a bunch of flowers, which greatly annoyed her husband.

Most of all, however, he thought about Cosette, and how he could find her again.

'You will have her,' the old man repeated

While you've been ill, she's spent her time crying and making bandages for you

I know all about her

I knew you were angry with me, and I thought, "What can I do to make him love me?" Then I thought, "I can give him Cosette." I wanted to invite her to see you, but the doctor warned me that you would probably get too excited

When can I see her?'

'You can see her tomorrow.'

'All right, I'll fetch her today

Standing beside her on the doorstep was a white-haired man with a strangely nervous smile.

Having been a mayor, he knew how to solve an awkward problem: the question of Cosette's real family He told everybody that he was not her father, but her guardian

Valjean, as her guardian, gave Cosette a large amount of money - half a million francs - but did not tell her that the money was his

He told her that the money came from a man who preferred to remain unknown

The only thing they discovered was that Mme Thenardier had died, and that her husband had escaped from prison and disappeared with his surviving daughter, Azelma.

It was the happiest night of Cosette's life, spoilt only by one thing: the fact that her guardian - whom she still thought of as her father - went home before the feast had started, saying that he felt ill

She had Marius, and she would be happy with him for the rest of her life!

He remembered the little girl he had rescued from the Thenardiers ten years earlier, and felt sad that he was no longer the most important man in her life

Another man was the centre of her universe

He was proud of having helped to bring her happiness with Marius, but another thing troubled his soul: the fact that nobody, not even Cosette, knew the truth about him

'But you must promise not to tell her!' Valjean interrupted

But I think it would be better if you stopped seeing her.'

But at the door he half-turned and said, 'Monsieur, if you will permit me, I would like to come and see her

Marius kept his promise about not telling Cosette, and Valjean visited her every evening in a small room on the ground floor

At first, Cosette could not understand why Valjean refused to meet her upstairs

When he refused to kiss her cheek, she began to feel unhappy, afraid that she had done something to offend him

She pressed his hands in hers and held them to her lips.

'You mustn't call me "father" any more,' he told her

As 'Monsieur Jean', he gradually became a different person to her, and she began not to depend on him for her happiness.

One evening in April, he called at the usual time but was told that Cosette had gone out with her husband

He persuaded Cosette, therefore, not to use any of the money her guardian had given her, and to live on the money that he had started to earn as a lawyer

She could not understand why her father, as she still thought of Valjean, had stopped visiting her

She still loved him in her heart

But she loved her husband even more, and she gradually became used to not depending on the old man for her happiness.

When Thenardier had left, unable to believe his good fortune, Marius ran to find Cosette and told her everything immediately.

Jean Valjean listened as she described the view from the room that would be his, the beauty of the garden, the singing of the birds, but he was listening more to the music of her voice than to the meaning of her words

Her mother was fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more

This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her

It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One day her mother made some cakes and said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, because she has been very ill

Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter."

Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest

He asked her where she was going

The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."

"Well," said the wolf, "and I'll go and see her too

"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, counterfeiting her voice; "who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."

The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it been more than three days since he had eaten

Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."

The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

The wolf said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed

She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

It is a woman, and even in the dark and the fog I recognise her

Her long blonde hair is beautiful, and her kind, friendly, blue eyes are perfect

Yes, I know her! And the thought is so strong that I smile despite the pain in the back of my head.

But what is her name? I pull the last item from my pocket

I am sure that I know her, but I still do not remember why

Is she my wife? My girlfriend? I think that she is, and I suddenly feel afraid for her

I remember Catherine's face, but she is not smiling like she is in the picture, and her blue eyes look scared and desperate

I try to remember the image, and I see that there is a piece of cloth in her mouth so that she cannot speak and that she is tied to a large grey stone by thick white ropes.

I only know that I must find her, that I must help her.

Is there somebody in the fog? Somebody who has Catherine? Someone who wants to hurt her, who wants to kill her?

She has a black uniform, which she always wears at work in the restaurant, and on the uniform is a badge with her name

And I remember that after I eat, I wait for her in the car park until she finishes work, and she is surprised to see me there

"I just want Catherine," I say, but I can see the hate in the man's eyes, and I know that the only thing I can do now is run to the stone where I know she is tied and try to escape into the fog with her.

"Good for her."

I hate her

What? Divorce her? That's impossible..

He tries to picture Emily: her eyes are so loving, her laugh so light and pretty

She needs to come now, he knows, but he cannot shout for her

No, it is her idea to go on a boat

I just need to wait for her like a good husband, he thinks.

He thinks that with her clothes and her coat on she will be too heavy and that the cold grey water of the loch will pull her down

All he has to do is make her hold it for a second

Perhaps, quickly wrap the straps around her hands

And in her arms she has the heavy wax coat

And the attendant ignores Oliver but returns her smile

No more listening to that awful laugh, no more looking at her boring face

And, perhaps more importantly, no more sharing his bank account with her.

"Oh yes, that would be very nice!" She smiles, but in the half-light Oliver thinks he sees something strange in her expression.

She has an oar in her hands, and she is reaching it out to him.

"Yes, closer! Help me!" he shouts, and it is then that he sees the strange expression on her face again

As she takes her coat off, Branwell watches her

"Right," he says, and tries to smile to relax her, "what's all this about, then? The officer at the front desk says you need to speak to someone."

"I do," she says, and her voice is thin and tense.

She puts her hands on the table, and he sees that her red fingernails are chipped and bitten

"Not now, no," she says, and she picks up her handbag

I can get you a tea if you like," but she shakes her head and puts the bag at her feet

Again she waits, and again Branwell thinks that he sees something in her deep-green eyes.

She pauses for a second, and he sees her hands shake

"Easily," she says, but again she pauses, and Branwell sees her turn quickly to look over her shoulder

She looks over her shoulder again quickly and automatically as if she does it a hundred times a day

He sees that expression in her eyes again

She nods and bites her red fingernails for a moment

"Oh I know," she says, and he sees that something in her deep-green eyes, and he thinks that he knows what it is now

"I know, Detective, because I am that driver." Then there is only the sound of her crying to fill the cold interview room, and Branwell sits down again and picks up his pen and notepad

"I think you should tell me everything," he says, and he can see clearly now the guilt that fills her deep-green eyes

He does not feel any sympathy for her

No, he cannot feel any sympathy for her, but maybe now she can find some rest

"Do you have her confession?" the figure says.

Sure, there are one or two bigger than her, but none of them has her romance or her luxury," Mrs Carolina Heath says as they enter the dining room.

She is a quiet young thing, and beautiful too, and Carolina likes to have beautiful things around her, so she is more than happy to talk for both of them.

"Oh, but can I trust you three to look after Eleanor? This is her first night, and her first cruise

Her long blonde hair is elegant and her face full of classical beauty

At the table Edward offers Eleanor a chair, and Michael passes her a glass of champagne.

Eleanor smiles shyly and moves the elegant white silk scarf that lies around her neck above her black dress

"What, and he kills her?"

Then she goes for her run and makes sure that many people see her."

"Normally, yes," says Eleanor, and all three men notice how her smile fades a little, "but she has a plan for that

They try to stop her, but she runs into the burning building

No one follows her

And so she goes to her husband as the flames spread over his body, and she watches

And while she watches, she lets the flames touch her, too

They reach out, and they burn her back and her neck and her hair

"My God," says Edward, "she lets the flames burn her."

She adjusts the white scarf around her neck.

And as Eleanor and Edward move away to the dance floor, Peter and Michael see her adjust the scarf around her neck one last time

And in the low, romantic light of the ballroom they both think they see something strange on her back and neck

But only sometimes, because the defendant and the rest of her family, the Lee family, are wild, and he does not want to make her, or them, angry

On Wednesday the fifth of January Mrs Dawson went to the house of her sister, the defendant, Miss Lee

Mrs Dawson was bleeding from her nose and mouth; she also had marks on her face

She says her husband, the deceased Mr Dawson, hit her there several times

You are here because when Miss Lee saw her younger sister, she took a pair of scissors from her kitchen table, said something to her sister and left the house

Both times she had the scissors with her, and both times witnesses testified that she said 'I will kill him.'

They say this is the case because Miss Lee was not in a sane state of mind when she killed Mr Dawson; they say that this crime was in defence of her sister

They say this is premeditated murder because for half an hour Miss Lee looked for Mr Dawson; they also say she made her intention clear on three different occasions

What? Oh, who cares about her? She'll probably like prison, the crazy cow: more people for her to hurt

"Jesus," Nick says before he can stop himself, and the girl sees him and closes the mobile phone in her hand.

Nick looks at her for a second and then turns and runs back to the door.

She stands near to him, and he can see the tears in her eyes and the sad expression on her face, but this time he knows it is not real.

Your own sister? You wanted her to kill your husband."

"Look," she says, her voice different now, "I saw you looking at me yesterday

For a second she is silent, but then she speaks again, though this time her voice is hard and angry

And he smiles at her because he thinks this expression suits her best

But you know that the noise was not her

You know that Sophie is sleeping in her usual position at the top of the stairs and that she never makes a noise in the night, and you wish, for the first time, that you also had a dog

Then you see Sophie, in her normal place at the top of the stairs, and you see how near the burglar is

But anyway, why think about it? Just drive; get a few more miles from the town, and from her.

"Dead? No, no it can't be her!"

He remembers buying her a drink and then another and another

God, he wishes he could remember last night: not just the girl's expression when he hit her, but everything.

Jesus, is this it? Did he really do something to that girl? More than hit her once? Did he do what they said on the radio? Was she dead?

He remembers hitting the girl, he remembers her shouting at him and he remembers telling her to get out.

"I hope you die and rot in the desert!" she shouted, blood still on her face

So she stands, and she looks around at her fellow commuters and other passengers

Twenty tired faces: some talking, but most are silent and waiting like her.

It is seven thirty-six: her train should be here in two minutes.

Sarah thinks about her cosy sofa and the Chinese takeaway she will eat while watching TV

The train speeds out of the tunnel, and she enjoys the feeling of the wind in her dark brown hair

As it stops, she sees her reflection in the mirror of the carriage.

She looks around the carriage: there are only eight other people there: a young couple holding hands and talking quietly on the seat opposite her; two businessmen a few seats to her right; an old lady two seats to her left; a mother and son at the far end of the carriage

The train starts, and she shakes her head.

You are an idiot, she tells herself and pulls a book out of her bag

The man in the corner is probably just a normal guy and not some horrible character from one of her thrillers.

For ten minutes she reads her crime novel

The old woman two seats away from her does not look happy and she moves to sit in the seat next to Sarah.

But she does not want to listen, and she takes her MP3 player from her bag and puts her headphones in.

She closes her eyes and thinks about her sofa, her Chinese take-away and her bed

But she is exhausted, and her head begins to drop, and she feels herself falling asleep

And she dreams about dark tunnels and strange men watching her.

Then she feels a sharp pain in her arm, and she almost screams.

She looks to see what the pain is and pulls her headphones from her ears.

"I'm sorry, dear," the old woman says, and Sarah sees that the woman's cloth bag is touching her arm

Sarah nods and is about to put her headphones back in her ears when she feels someone watching her, and she looks at the corner of the carriage.

The strange man, the man who looks like the evil character from her thriller; his eyes are open now.

And they are watching her.

She feels a cold shiver move over her body, and suddenly she thinks that she feels a little ill.

Is he watching her? She looks again and, yes, his hood is still covering his face, but she is sure that his eyes are focused on her.

And the next station is North Acton, her station.

No one gets off apart from her, she is sure.

Her arm hurts, so she takes her jacket off, and in the mirror she can see a small drop of blood on her skin.

And the old woman takes a long, thin knitting needle from her bag, and Sarah remembers what the kid said on the tube...

Sala and her friend Niki pushed past the people who had gathered in the rain outside the meat-growing laboratory

Sala was so busy staring that she didn't look where she was going, and stepped into water up to her ankles.

Sala shook her head

She could say with her hand on her heart that this year - her eighteenth - had been the best so far

They reached the simulator center, and Sala lifted her wrist to touch a gray screen by the door

The little chip under her skin lit up for a second, showing how many energy units she had left

When she saw him over by the taste-pot machine, her heart jumped

He smiled and kissed her, then gave her a taste-pot with a spoon: "I got your favorite

"Fantastic," said Sala, taking off her wet boots

Then, after her final spoonful, Sala reached for her bag.

One year ago, on March 15, 2087, she'd been standing in Space 29 in one of her favorite illusions

She'd turned around quickly and seen a boy: about her age but a little taller, with black hair and dark, smiling eyes..

Sala had soon found out that he lived near her, in an earth apartment

He loved the same ultranet games and story-streams as her, and the same illusions in the simulator

Best of all, he made her laugh

By the time they left the simulator, she'd fallen in love - and luckily for her, so had Cham.

Sala looked at Cham, and engaged her virtual interface.

"Go on," Cham encouraged her.

Sala looked up at her interface

Cham smiled at her

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck

She'd made her own garden on the roof of their apartment, and she was always up there

The rest of her family jokingly called it her "Real Space."

Sala and Cham stepped off the walkway near their apartment blocks, and as they did so, someone knocked Sala's elbow, then held her arm for a second.

She had a hat pulled low over her face, so it was partly hidden, but Sala could just see her green eyes.

It carried her away rapidly, and in no time at all, she'd disappeared.

"No idea." Sala stared down at the little package in her hand

Sala put her arms around him and kissed him.

Cham kissed her, and before Sala could say anything else, he turned and ran out into the rain.

She turned and ran down the street to her apartment block, and soon she was in the dry and rushing upward in the elevator

Sala walked out, and the screen on the door of her apartment recognized her, and let her in.

It had taken years for Gran to make her garden because it was so difficult to find soil or plants, but she had made some soil with rotten vegetables and fruit, and slowly found bits and pieces here and there

Sala could see from her face that it hurt her to move like that

Sala greeted her, then held out her hand

Sala nodded, giving her the small plastic package

Gran looked down at the strange gift, and to Sala's surprise, her face went deathly pale

"Gran! Are you OK?" Sala put an arm around her, and made her sit down on the little bench that looked over the city.

She broke it down the middle, and the little dried fruit fell out into her hand.

I've always believed that he died in the outside world, in the contamination." She rolled the fruit between her fingers

But..." She shook her head sadly

"Did the woman say how you could contact her?"

She got up and returned to her tomato plants, taking off the dead and dying leaves from the bottom of each one

"So, tell me about your day," she said, over her shoulder

"I know." Sala thought of Cham's face when he left her, and felt uneasy

If we're ever free of these silly things." She tapped her wrist.

Gran had a chip buried under her skin like everyone else, but she wore a bracelet to hide it as a small way of protesting about the government's tight control over everyone.

Back inside the apartment, Sala found her nine-year-old brother Apat playing games on the ultranet in his room.

Sala went to her own tiny room, and played her ultranet messages

Had he been odd with her? She wasn't sure

The conversation with Gran had gotten her thinking.

A call came in on Sala's ultranet connection, and her heart jumped.

His face on her virtual interface looked worried

He reached out for her hand

"It doesn't sound like that." Sala banged her drink down

She managed not to say anything in front of her little brother, but Gran could see at once that she was upset.

It was true, her family was very lucky, and she sometimes forgot that

That was how Sala and her family were able to live in their rooftop apartment.

unless..." She waved her hand

Sala went back down to her room and sent Cham a message.

Sala bit her lip anxiously

What if he wouldn't forgive her? She had really shouted at him, and now she felt awful

She sat on the edge of her bed, worrying

The mystery woman: Who was she? How did she know about Gran? She wondered when she would see her again...

Forgetting about the woman, she jumped to her feet and rushed out

she thinks maybe it came from her long-lost brother

"From her brother?" Cham paused for a second, then laughed

Cham had so many things to consider, far more than her.

He asked her gently, but his words still came as a shock

But then she thought of her Gran, and what she'd said about Cham's situation

"Tomorrow afternoon," Sala told her.

Sala looked at her friend

But whenever she thought about lying in a pod for months, her stomach seemed to turn over and over - in spite of what she'd told Cham.

They had almost reached Sala's exit, so she gathered her things together and said goodbye to Niki

But as she stepped off the walkway, she felt a hand touching her back.

It was the woman who had given her the fruit.

The following afternoon, as Sala walked up and down in her little room, waiting to go with Cham for their pod experience, she had a strange feeling in her stomach

"Maybe there'll be more than dolphins." Sala let her mind go wild

Sala and Cham each went into a little room and Sala put on her suit, made a neat pile of her clothes, and carried them out to Zee

You'll see her in the pod," remarked Zee.

Zee guided Sala into her pod; the door closed, and she could feel the cool metal attachments touching her face and her body suit

A gentle wave splashed her face

She licked her lips and tasted salt

Above her, the sky was a perfect, cloudless blue

Cautiously, she tried moving her arms and legs, and found that it came naturally

Wheeee! A loud, clear whistle, right by her ear

Sala turned her head, and gasped

It opened its mouth, and Sala felt sure it was greeting her.

He was swimming toward her with a dolphin on either side of him.

Sala rolled onto her back and lay floating, staring up at the sky

Then the biggest dolphin moved toward Sala and pushed her with its nose

She tried to move her arms, but they were trapped

She wanted to fight, or run, but she couldn't lift her legs.

"Hey, Sala," said Zee, her voice soft and calm

The attachments came off and she walked out of the pod, her knees trembling

A wave of shock hit her

She buried her face in her hands, and burst into tears.

Fifteen minutes later, Sala was dressed in her own clothes again, and was sitting next to Cham near the changing rooms

Cham laughed, and then looked at her anxiously

The big dolphin had only touched her gently, and looked into her eyes

They were almost home when Cham turned to her.

They'd never had to make a big decision like this before, and she wished with all her heart that he wasn't making her choose

It was a delicious dinner - Mom had brought home some top-quality meat from the laboratory, and Gran had added some vegetables from her garden

Gran said nothing more, but her eyes were shining

She had to consider Cham's future, not just her own

The questions went around and around in her head

At last, she knew she couldn't put off her decision any longer, and when she'd finished her studies on the day after the pod experience, she invited Cham to her apartment.

"I thought so." He played with her fingers, matching them against his

Sala bit her lip

But then she opened her mouth and the words just came out

"I love that you're so hopeful." Cham drew her close, and kissed her

Sala closed her eyes and kissed him back

Niki shook her head

"I'm counting the weeks until I can sign up," Niki told her

All the reasons she'd given to Cham ran through her mind, but how could she explain them to Niki? It was really complicated.

Feeling warm and comfortable and sleepy, she thought of Cham, holding her in the Real Space

With the story-stream still playing, her eyes slowly began to shut.

She was asleep when her ultranet began to beep

Maybe it's part of the story, she thought sleepily - but then a light started flashing, and she opened her eyes.

Sala splashed some cold water on her face to wake herself up, and then hurried to the simulator center

Cham sent her another message while she was on her way to say that he was in Space 46, and when she went in, he'd already chosen an illusion

But I'd really miss you - and so would your family..." She bit her lip.

She sat down and hugged her knees.

Then he came and sat next to her

"Like I said, I don't know what else to do." Then he turned to her

She rested her head on her knees and let the tears flow.

As she walked home, loneliness hit her

Self-pity rose like a wave inside her.

"Shhh!" In one quick, smooth movement, the woman pushed the note between Sala's fingers, nodded at her, and then set off rapidly toward the walkway

But Sala wasn't going to let her disappear this time

She rushed after the woman and caught her arm, holding it tightly.

Then she raced up to her apartment and arrived breathless

Then she sat down and covered her face with her hands

Then realization crossed her face

"What?" said Mom, putting down her cup of tea

"No." Mom shook her head

Sala went up to her room and sent a message to Cham: "Need to talk to you

Cham's face appeared on her virtual interface almost at once

you're still going to do this?" she demanded, waving her hand toward the pod center.

Sala bit her lip

Sala shook her head

"I'd like her to come with me."

She waited there on the edge of her seat, anxious and impatient, as time passed

There was a grand ancient building on the banks of a river behind her.

The hologram was pulling at her

It was like a tunnel, swallowing her up.

Was that it? Decision made? No more discussion? Cham hadn't even looked at her

She lifted her hand

The screen was red, but as her skin touched it, it changed to orange, and then green

Then Cham would be torn away from her for two long years.

Sala couldn't believe how much her life was suddenly changing, but she didn't try to discuss it with Cham

She decided to go for a run at the energy center; maybe it would cheer her up

She arrived early and didn't have to wait in line, so in a few minutes, she was stretching her legs and then running mechanically, left-foot right-foot, on the machine.

She had been there for about thirty minutes when a woman began running on the machine next to her

Sala didn't look at her at first, but when the woman spoke, she recognized her voice at once.

Sala jumped, and began to turn her head.

Instead, she spent hours sitting on her bench in the Real Space, looking out over the city with a distant expression

Or she would suddenly tell them all one of her memories: of growing up with Eston or their suffering during the Oil Wars.

After another ten minutes, the woman stepped off her machine

Love you." He would forgive her..

Determined not to lose sight of her guide, Sala pushed her way forward

The woman wore a bright yellow bag on her back, so at least she was easy enough to follow, but she walked rapidly, and Sala was soon breathless.

Sala felt fear catch hold of her

Strange faces surrounded her; everyone looked miserable and gray

If the woman was leading her into a trap, she now had no way of contacting anyone.

Her guide was bending down, playing with her boot; and then she signaled with her fingers, inviting Sala on

Sala felt like running away, but something made her keep going

In one corner, the woman was taking the yellow hag off her back

She looked very different now that she was in her own surroundings - more friendly and unthreatening

Sala sat down on the sofa, and Wena sat next to her.

"Yes, your grandmother's brother has been trying to contact her for a long time

"Your grandmother told you how she and her brother used the fruit to play tricks on people

Sala stared at her

Wena shook her head

Sala closed her eyes

She opened her eyes, and Wena was still there, real and solid in front of her.

Sala half-wanted to rush home to tell Gran and Mom what had happened, but she didn't want to lose any of her remaining time with Cham

She was over an hour late for meeting him at the simulator center, and because her ultranet connection didn't come back on until she was almost there, she couldn't even call him or send him a message

"Sala! What happened to you?" He wrapped his arms around her

Cham kissed the top of her head

She dropped her voice

I met her again

Cham reached for her hand

Cham pulled her closer

Cham kissed her

Her secret burned fiercely inside her

To her surprise, Gran wasn't in the kitchen preparing their meal as usual

"It's been hard for her, all this business about Uncle Eston

She looked exhausted at first; but the light came back into her eyes as Sala began to talk about her meeting with Wena.

"So, Gran, what do you think?" she asked breathlessly, when she'd finished her story.

There were tears in her eyes

Gran shook her head

It took a moment for her words to have an effect.

Sala wished she could see him on her own, but she knew that time with his family was precious

Then she stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around him.

It rained constantly, but Sala didn't really care; the dark, miserable skies matched her mood

The only thing that made the time pass more quickly was her family's dream of the world outside

Sometimes she took Apat with her, though he was less enthusiastic now that Cham couldn't go with them

Apat was busy on the jumping machine, and Sala was collecting a drink from the cafe, when she heard a voice in her ear.

"Did you ask her?"

Sala raised her drink to her lips without looking at Wena

"So, you were right." Wena sounded disappointed, and Sala risked a quick look at her

"I don't think she'll change her mind."

She turned away, and before Sala could stop her, she picked up her yellow bag and disappeared through the center's doors.

Sala engaged her virtual interface and sat waiting for him.

"Sala, I don't think you should see her anymore

"But it's exciting, isn't it? I've only seen her once more

Well, please don't get involved with her."

"So soon?" Sala couldn't hide her disappointment.

and then warning her about Wena and the rebellion

It bothered her.

She brought out her paints, and, sitting in her room, started working on a picture: the green leaves of Gran's Real Space, bright and bursting with life; gray tower blocks in the background

As she worked, she wondered why Cham didn't want her to talk to Wena

Maybe he was just being protective - worried that the rebels would put her in danger

"Coming!" Sala left her room and found that Gran had just prepared some fresh juice.

She was staring out at the view with that faraway look in her eyes - that look that Sala now recognized

Gran was thinking about her brother Eston.

"Oh, yes, don't mind me." But Gran was rubbing her back, where she'd been injured years ago

Gran's words bothered her

It wasn't like Gran to make her feel uncomfortable.

The next day, Sala started to look for her

Did she dare go back to the earth apartment? What if Cham was warning her for a reason?

She set off along the busy walkway, checking her ultranet connection as she went

After an hour, her legs were aching from standing still

but curiosity was burning inside her

After looking around to check that no one was watching her, she slipped quietly down the passageway, and found the same door as before

Sala checked her ultranet connection for the millionth time

She took a deep breath and began to make her way down the stairway.

The lights had been turned off; soon she was in complete darkness, so she turned on the lights on her virtual interface to guide her

She pushed it gently and, her knees trembling, she stepped into the room

"Wena!" she called, her voice high with fear

Sala rushed into the room that she had seen on her previous visit

"So why hasn't Wena told me anything?" Sala rubbed her eyes

Mom took it and inspected it closely, turning it over and over in her hands.

But the day before her next Ultranet Talk Hour with Cham, she decided to go to the simulator center

The following morning, Sala got up early for the big event of her week: Cham's Ultranet Talk Hour.

"I met her on the walkway

"What's strange about a letter? I'm talking about the one Mom found under her bed."

Terrified, Sala rushed from her room as soon as she and Cham had finished talking.

They gave her a big welcome, and Dani made green tea

"Mmmm," said Sala, looking down at her tea.

Sala bit her lip

Completely hopeless, Sala thought as she sat finishing her green tea

Maybe his parents would be disappointed, but it was the only responsible thing to do; they'd thank her, in the end.

He didn't ask her many questions; and although his avatar was looking at her, his eyes were glassy and unseeing.

but on the other, her life with Cham had never felt more uncertain.

Dani rushed over and threw her arms around him

Even when he took her in his arms, it didn't feel quite the same.

Sala stared at her in disbelief

As Sala held her breath, his eyes slowly hardened

Sala played with the plate of food in front of her; she couldn't eat a thing.

Sala smiled at her little brother, thinking how innocent he looked

but..." Sala hung her head.

Sala shook her head

Gran held her hand and Mom put an arm around her shoulders

If he hadn't been so generous, buying her that pod experience, none of this would have happened.

Sala shook her head.

Gran put Sala's tea in front of her

Sala drank some of the hot, fruity tea, and felt her idea growing stronger

Gran gave her a long, hard stare

Cham's parents and sisters sat next to her, talking quietly, but she didn't join in

She was saving all her strength for when they saw Cham.

Then Dani's voice broke into her thoughts

Did he suspect her reasons? She desperately hoped not

"Oh! That's fantastic!" Cham got out of his chair and hugged her, burying his face in her hair

It was wonderful to feel his arms around her again

She closed her eyes, and let herself enjoy it, just for this moment

Underneath it, metal, rubber, and plastic attachments lay on the surface of her skin

Sala waited in the pod as they made the final checks, bright lights blinding her from above.

She closed her eyes

With her new strength of mind, she didn't think about the tears and hugs as she'd said goodbye

This, Gran had taught her, was what she must think of.

Sala forced her mind to go still; the voices seemed to come from far away

There was a low mechanical noise as the walls of the pod began to shut softly around her.

Then, pretending to know them well, she asked her victims rude questions in her loud American voice.

I hated my life with Mrs Van Hopper, but she paid me a little money to be her companion

Mrs Van Hopper walked in front of me on her high-heeled shoes

Her fat, heavy body swayed above her short fat legs

Mrs Van Hopper sat down at her usual table and stared at everyone in the restaurant.

'There isn't one well-known person here,' she said in her loud voice

She put down her fork and stared at him hard

How an excited look come into her small eyes.

She finished her meal as quickly as possible

She turned to me, her eyes shining: 'Go upstairs and find that letter from my nephew, Billy

De Winter was sitting next to her

De Winter stood up politely as I gave Mrs Van Hopper her letter.

But I don't suppose you remember an old woman like me?' And Mrs Van Hopper gave de Winter one of her biggest smiles.

After his moment of rudeness, de Winter listened to her politely

A waiter came up to her with a message

Mrs Van Hopper's dressmaker was waiting for her upstairs.

Mrs Van Hopper was soon busy with her dressmaker

Mrs Van Hopper called me from her bedroom

I rang up her doctor and he came round at once.

'You have flu, Madame,' the doctor told her

Monte Carlo had begun to bore her

'I work for her

I talked about my mother and her great love for my father

They say he never talks about it, never says her name

Someone has told her, I thought

I waited for her to ask more questions

Everyone says he adored her.'

People could not forget her

Somehow, she and her beauty had not died.

In my bedroom was a book that Rebecca had held in her hands

I thought of all the letters Rebecca had written to her husband

I thought I could hear her voice calling him

It was her special name for him

Mrs Van Hopper had read a letter from her daughter at breakfast

'No,' I said, 'I don't think so.' I tried not to look at her.

'We ought to have gone on the earlier train.' She looked at her watch

Her daughter sails for New York on Saturday and we're going with her

I work for her, you know that

I can't afford to leave her.'

'You tell her,' I said

'I think I'll talk to her alone,' Maxim said

'I'll tell her we are getting married very soon

Was he saying, 'I love her

I want to marry her at once.'?

How could he love me, after her? I would be a companion for him

Go in and talk to her

I'm going downstairs to arrange about her train

I don't want her to come to the wedding.'

Mrs Van Hopper was smiling, but there was no kindness in her smile

Mrs Van Hopper put out her cigarette

I was like a child on her first day at school.

Leave everything to her

There was no welcome in her dark eyes

As I thanked her, Mrs Danvers looked at me with her hard, dark eyes

I dropped my gloves on the floor and Mrs Danvers picked them up with a twisted little smile on her lips

Her dark eyes watched me as I walked slowly up the stairs towards her

Mrs Danvers spoke in a strange way, as though this was somehow important to her.

There was some colour in her pale face now

And for a moment I saw a look of hatred in her eyes.

I think that some of the young servants are afraid of her.'

'My sister, Beatrice, is coming over to lunch with her husband,' Maxim told me

'Mrs de Winter always wrote her letters in the morning-room after breakfast

The mistress of the house would come in and find me, a stranger, sitting at her desk.

Here she had chosen her guests and written letters to her friends

Beatrice and her husband had arrived

I told her about Mrs Van Hopper and how surprised she had been.

We expected a very modern sort of girl.' Beatrice laughed and I laughed with her.

'I was telling her about how we met

She stopped, her face rather red

I had said her name at last

'You never met her then?' the woman asked

Everyone loved her.'

'I remember her on the night of the Ball

He never used her name.

'Couldn't anyone have helped her?' I asked.

'When did they find her?' I felt I must know everything now

'They found her two months later

The sea had carried her forty miles up the coast

People still remember her.'

Please, Maxim, you tell her

'I am afraid of her

'It's all a mistake, Mrs Danvers,' Maxim told her

As she left the room I could see the scorn and hatred in her eyes.

She saw me once, looking at her

I shall never forget the look on her face

She came nearer and I could feel her breath on my face.

'It's a lovely room, isn't it? That was her bed

This was her nightdress

These are her slippers.'

'All her evening clothes are here

Mr de Winter was always buying clothes for her, beautiful clothes.'

Mrs Danvers held my arm tightly with her long thin fingers

Mrs Danvers' hand fell back to her side.

I feel her everywhere

You feel her too, don't you?'

This time I went out to the drive to meet her.

'Have you ever heard of a man called Jack Favell, Beatrice?' I asked her.

'He was here yesterday,' I told her

She had promised to meet her husband, Giles, at the station.

'I hope you won't be so thin next time I see you,' Beatrice said as she got into her car

Her face was grey with anger and the look in her eyes frightened me

Thank God she did not know I was watching her

I saw very little of her, and I was glad.

She was holding a piece of paper in her hand

Perhaps Maxim's anger had frightened her a little.

Her name was Caroline de Winter and she had been famous for her beauty

Then suddenly, it was tea-time and Beatrice and her husband, Giles, had arrived.

'Don't ask her,' said Maxim

'You've got her to thank for it,' said Maxim, smiling at me.

I found Clarice waiting for me in my bedroom, her face full of excitement

Yes, her dress was exactly like mine and she had the same curled hair

I shall never forget the terrible look on her face

Then I ran from her, back to my room, tripping and nearly falling over my long skirt.

'Known what?' I said, turning to look at her.

I knew her well

I knew her tall, slim figure, her small face and clear white skin

If I ever heard her voice, I would know it

'He's never forgotten her

This was her triumph - hers and Rebecca's.

She turned to me and I saw that her eyes were red with crying

There were dark shadows on her white face.

She turned her head away from me.

I went up to her and shook her by the arm.

How do you think I've felt, watching you sit in her place, using the things she used? I hear the servants calling you Mrs de Winter

And all the time, the real Mrs de Winter, with her smile and her lovely face is lying cold and dead in the church.'

'I looked after her when she was a child

'When she was only twelve years old, the men could not stop looking at her

The sea got her

The sea was too strong for her in the end.'

Mrs Danvers began to cry noisily, with her mouth open and her eyes dry.

That shows you he's not forgotten her, doesn't it? Of course Mr de Winter was jealous

All the men fell in love with her, Mr de Winter, Mr Favell, Mr Crawley

It was like a game to her.'

Mrs Danvers came close to me and put her face near to mine.

I backed away from her, towards the window

He can't forget her

He wants to be alone in the house again, with her.'

'We had better go down,' she said in her usual voice

I stared at her.

She turned her back on me and went along the corridor

There were some small boats near her.

I remember her smile

I killed her

I carried her body to the cabin, took the boat out that night and sank it

'I hated her

When I married her, people told me I was the luckiest man in the world.'

'I did not kill her then,' he said

'I let her laugh

She knew that I would take her to Manderley

She knew I would never divorce her

He had never loved her, never, never.

She met her friends there

I warned her

I told her that Manderley was mine

She was always going to his house and asking him to her cottage.

When she came back, she took Giles out sailing with her

I thought Favell was with her

"This is the end," I told her

She was smiling when I killed her

The bullet went through her heart.'

I saw her smile when she died.'

I was no longer afraid of Rebecca; I did not hate her any more

I rang the bell for a maid and when she came, I spoke to her angrily

It was Mrs Danvers, holding the menu in her hand

To my surprise, Mrs Danvers was there too, with Favell beside her

He went down to the cottage and killed her there

Were you on the beach when she took her boat out for the last time?'

She knew her for years,' Favell said, with his unpleasant smile.

Then Mrs Danvers came in and shut the door behind her.

Favell stared at Mrs Danvers as though he did not understand her.

Mrs Danvers shook her head

Mrs Danvers took the note, read it and then shook her head again.

'I've got her diary in my room,' Mrs Danvers replied

'I kept all her things

Mrs Danvers came back with a small book in her hand.

Only one thing worried her

That was the thought of illness, of dying slowly in her bed.'

'There must have been something wrong with her after all.'

I remember her words exactly

"If I'm really ill, I want to know." So I told her.'

I told her that

But that was nothing to do with her illness.'

Colonel Julyan's sister lived in London and he asked Maxim to take him to her house.

She wanted me to kill her

There was a long-distance call for her at six

'Favell phoned her, of course

I saw the staircase at Manderley and Mrs Danvers standing there in her long, black dress

But Brad, you can see Natalie, and you're waiting for her...'

'Why do you want to do your stunts, Natalie?' Brad Poole asks her

'Because I need the money,' Nathan tells her.

Nathan runs after her

Nathan sees her

'Wow! Look at her!' he thinks.

The Cat sees her, too

'How can I get away from her?' he thinks.

He cannot get away from her.

Who can do her stunts?'

'She can do her stunts!'

At six minutes past midnight, Tuesday morning, on the way home from a late rehearsal of her new stage show, Tina Evans saw her son, Danny, in a stranger's car

Two blocks from her house, intending to buy a quart of milk and a loaf of whole-wheat bread, Tina stopped at a twenty-four-hour market and parked in the dry yellow drizzle of a sodium-vapor light, beside a gleaming, cream-colored Chevrolet station wagon

She whispered her son's name, as if she would frighten off this beloved apparition if she spoke any louder.

Suddenly Tina's mouth went dry and sour, and her heart thudded

She still had not adjusted to the loss of her only child, because she'd never wanted - or tried - to adjust to it

Seizing on this boy's resemblance to her Danny, she was too easily able to fantasize that there had been no loss in the first place.

The police and the morticians had advised her that Danny was so badly torn up, so horribly mangled, that she was better off not looking at him

And now here he was sitting in the cream-colored Chevrolet wagon, brought to her by fate and by-

The boy became conscious of her gaze and turned toward her

She held her breath as his face came slowly around

But then, inevitably, her fantasy burst, for he wasn't Danny.

Pulling her gaze away from his, she studied her hands, which were gripping the steering wheel so fiercely that they ached.

She thought of herself as a tough, competent, levelheaded woman who was able to deal with anything life threw at her, and she was disturbed by her continuing inability to accept Danny's death.

Gradually, day by day, week by week, she had put Danny behind her, with sorrow, with guilt, with tears and much bitterness, but also with firmness and determination

She had taken several steps up in her career during the past year, and she had relied on hard work as a sort of morphine, using it to dull her pain until the wound fully healed.

Again, she was possessed by the haunting feeling that her child was alive

Time should have put even more distance between her and the anguish, but instead the passing days were bringing her around full circle in her grief

This boy in the station wagon was not the first that she had imagined was Danny; in recent weeks, she had seen her lost son in other cars, in schoolyards past which she had been driving, on public streets, in a movie theater.

She half convinced herself that the dream was a premonition of Danny's eventual return to her, that somehow he had survived and would be coming back into her arms one day soon.

She glanced at the station wagon and saw that the boy was still staring at her

She glared at her tightly clenched hands again and found the strength to break her grip on the steering wheel.

But she wasn't going to allow such a thing to happen to her

She had loved Danny with all her heart, but he was gone

The boy in the Chevy had lost interest in her

Tina got out of her Honda

She took a deep breath and went into the market, where the air was so cold that it pierced her bones, and where the harsh fluorescent lighting was too bright and too bleak to encourage fantasies.

Closing her eyes now, chewing the toast, Tina could still see him - three years old, peanut butter smeared all over his lips and chin - as he grinned and said, More neenut putter toast, please.

She opened her eyes with a start because her mental image of him was too vivid, less like a memory than like a vision

Her heart knotted in her chest, and her lower lip began to quiver again, and she put her head down on the table

And he needed her.

Danny was calling her name

Danny's cries and her response became increasingly shrill and desperate, for they knew that they must reach each other before nightfall or be lost forever; in the oncoming night, something waited for Danny, something fearsome that would seize him if he was alone after dark

Gradually doubt crept over her

As her heartbeat slowed, she eased back onto her pillow.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself lying beside him, reaching for him in the dark, touching, touching, moving against him, into the shelter of his arms

He would comfort and reassure her, and in time, she would sleep again.

He'd resist her affection, turn her away by picking a fight

He would begin the battle over a triviality and goad her until the bickering escalated into marital warfare

He had been seething with hostility, always seeking an excuse to vent his anger on her.

She had lost her child and her husband in the same year, the man first, and then the boy, the son to the grave and the husband to the winds of change

Although Michael was still living in town, less than a mile from her, he was, in some respects, as far away and as unreachable as Danny.

She sighed with resignation and opened her eyes.

Tomorrow was one of the most important days of her life: December 30

But for better or worse, this December 30 was the hinge, upon which her entire future would swing.

She began her career as a dancer - not a showgirl but an actual dancer - in the Lido de Paris, a gigantic stage show at the Stardust Hotel

She managed to be both a fine dancer and a good mother, although that was not always easy; she loved Danny, and she enjoyed her work and she thrived on double duty.

Five years ago, however, on her twenty-eighth birthday, she began to realize that she had, if she was lucky, ten years left as a show dancer, and she decided to establish herself in the business in another capacity, to avoid being washed up at thirty-eight

At first, it had seemed terribly wrong that such a wonderful opportunity should come her way before she'd even had time to mourn her boy, as if the Fates were so shallow and insensitive as to think that they could balance the scales and offset Danny's death merely by presenting her with a chance at her dream job

The tricky spelling of the title was not Tina's idea, but most of the rest of the program was her creation, and she remained pleased with what she had wrought

A month ago, for the first time, she'd thought that at last she had begun to overcome her grief

She would never forget him, that sweet child who had been such a large part of her, but she would no longer have to live her life around the gaping hole that he had left in it

Perhaps her anxiety about the public's reaction to Magyck! Was causing her to recall the greater anxiety she had felt about Danny

If audience reaction was as strong and as positive as Tina hoped, her financial future was assured, for her contract gave her two and one-half percent of the gross receipts, minus liquor sales, after the first five million

Of course, if the production was a flop, if it failed to please the audience, she might be back working the small lounges again, on her way down

Her obsessive fear of intruders in the house, her disquieting dreams about Danny, her renewed grief - all of those things might grow from her concern about Magyck! If that were the case, then those symptoms would disappear as soon as the fate of the show was evident

She fluffed her pillows, rearranged the covers, and tugged at the short nightgown in which she slept

She tried to relax by closing her eyes and envisioning a gentle night tide lapping at a silvery beach.

It must have been a large object because, though muffled by the intervening walls, the sound was loud enough to rouse her.

She cocked her head, listening closely

In the brittle silence of the desert night, she imagined that she could sense an intruder listening too, listening for her.

She got out of bed and stepped into her slippers

Holding the gun in her right hand, she went quietly to the bedroom door.

She was proud, unable to bear the thought of appearing to be hysterical to a couple of macho cops who would grin at her and, later over doughnuts and coffee, make jokes about her

She certainly couldn't share with him her appraisal of the situation: Danny, sweetheart, don't worry about anything you might have heard through the wall

And that was another reason she didn't attempt to explain her and Michael's problems to Danny - she thought that their estrangement was only temporary

She loved her husband, and she was sure that the sheer power of her love would restore the luster to their marriage

Now, anxious to complete her search for the burglar - who was beginning to look as imaginary as all the other burglars she had stalked on other nights - she opened the door to Danny's bedroom

Holding the pistol in front of her, she approached the closet, hesitated, then slid the door back

As she stared at the contents of the musky closet - the boy's shoes, his jeans, dress slacks, shirts, sweaters, his blue Dodgers' baseball cap, the small blue suit he had worn on special occasions - a lump rose in her throat

She quickly slid the door shut and put her back against it.

Gazing at the dead boy's toys and pathetic treasures, Tina realized, not for the first time, that it wasn't healthy for her to maintain this place as if it were a museum

Her inability to clean out his room suddenly frightened her; for the first time it seemed like more than just a weakness of spirit but an indication of serious mental illness

If she was ever to stop dreaming about the boy, if she were to get control of her grief, she must begin her recovery here, in this room, by conquering her irrational need to preserve his possessions in situ.

Both the VIP premiere and the opening night of Magyck! Would be behind her by then

As soon as she made that decision, most of her nervous energy dissipated

She put her gun down, went around the foot of the bed, and stood the easel on its legs, as it belonged

Belatedly, as she pressed her fingertips to the words on the chalkboard, the possible meaning of them struck her

In one of her terrible seizures of grief, in a moment of crazy dark despair, had she come into this room and unknowingly printed those words on Danny's chalkboard?

Or she was walking in her sleep

Her hands were icy; they chilled her sides even through her nightgown.

Shivering, she thoroughly erased the words on the chalkboard, retrieved her handgun, and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

In bed, again she snuggled in the covers and closed her eyes and tried not to think about the chalkboard

But an image of it appeared behind her eyes

But in her mind's eye, the seven letters reappeared on the chalkboard: NOT DEAD

Tina sat in one of the third-tier booths, nervously sipping ice water as she watched her show.

"We did it!" Joel shouted as he approached her

Tina slid out of her booth to meet him.

"We got a hit, kid!" Joel said, and he hugged her fiercely, planting a wet kiss on her cheek.

He had seen Tina's work in some lounges around town, and he had surprised her when he'd offered her the chance to co-produce Magyck! At first, she hadn't been sure if she should take the job

Working with that kind of money wasn't merely a step up for her; it was a giant leap.

Joel had convinced her that she'd have no difficulty matching his pace or meeting his standards, and that she was equal to the challenge

He helped her to discover new reserves of energy, new areas of competence in herself

As Tina stood in this beautiful theater, glancing down at the colorfully costumed people milling about on the stage, then looking at Joel's rubbery face, listening as her co-producer unblushingly raved about their handiwork, she was happier than she had been in a long time