The Token

Chapter 31

In the early hours of Friday morning, Cheryl woke suddenly; the alarm clock beneath her pillow told her it was nearly four o’clock in the morning. She eased herself out of bed and made her way through the dark and chilly house.

The fire had gone out, of course. They never added coal after nine o’clock at night and it had always burned down to embers before she took Sheila up to bed at half past ten. At four in the morning, she couldn’t even feel a residual warmth coming from the grate.

Cheryl lifted the poker and began to move the ashes around. After several minutes, she found what she was looking for. The token, that funny round coin that had arrived with the letter, had survived.