What's your favourite colour?

I just have back from a holiday. We went to Bangkok. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand in case you didn’t know. It’s where the King lives, but we didn’t see him. He’s very old now and quite sick, so I don’t expect mum wanted to disturb him.

     It was his birthday and I didn’t have a present for him so it was probably just as well that we didn’t see him. Not that he would have minded us not having a present. He’s really rich and I don’t think anything made of purple colour plastic would have impressed him much.

     Everything mum buys seems to be made of purple colour plastic. Dad used to hate it when she came back from market and said, “Look what I’ve bought.” He used to wait until she wasn’t looking and give it to me saying, “Get your teeth into that.” That was even before I had teeth. I got loads now but am grown out of putting things in my mouth.

     Funny, now that dad isn’t here anymore, she’s stopped buying purple plastic stuff. She bought loads of things when we were in Bangkok but nothing made of plastic, and nothing purple colour. I wonder if...no, that’s a silly thought.

     I think she misses him too. I sometimes hear her crying when she thinks I’m asleep. I roll over, pretending to be still asleep, and cuddle her. She cuddles me back and sings a song. Not she santies like dad used to sing, but soft love songs that I don’t understand.

     It doesn’t matter that I don’t understand the words, it is the sound of her voice, all soft and sweet without being sticky, that makes me happy. We’re like two abandoned sister princesses finding comfort in each other’s arms, waiting together on our mattress of dry leaves in the woods for the day our prince returns. He will find us, barely alive, and take us home to make our house a castle again, and us all to be a family.