Mother always knew where he was. She would pass by, look down, catch eyes and say not again without speaking. Duke would pull back into the shadows, certain he would not be betrayed.

There is a lot to be seen and heard from the shadows. You can know without being known, see without being seen, hear without being heard. If you come out into the light, you can't see so clearly and, besides, it's not so safe.

Sometimes, Duke would hide in the cupboard all afternoon and he wouldn't come out until it was safe or until Mother said tea was ready. Sometimes, Mother would stand in the way and let Duke creep unseen from his cupboard. Sometimes, Bully would stand with his foot against the door and not let Duke out until he cried. Then he would pretend surprise and ask what was Duke doing in there. Eventually, they took to locking it whenever they noticed the door was ajar. Eventually, Duke had to come out into the open.

But they still didn't notice him.

They still didn't notice him because Hurt invented an invisible switch which hung in the air high above Duke's head. Hurt would flick the switch and Duke would flick off like a television picture. Then they could neither see nor hear him, no matter what he did, no matter what he said. They'd turn him off for hours, sometimes days. Once in a while, they'd turn him on for just long enough to check he was still there. Duke would open his mouth to speak and they'd flick the switch off again.

Mother threw a plate at the wall because Father said he wanted dinner then changed his mind.

Father woke us at three in the morning and said get dressed. At four, he said go back to bed.