"I live in the attic, mother says it's so. I peer through the window, he peers back at me. The attic is dark, Cousin says it is not dark where I live. Cousin who lives under the stairs sometimes whispers secrets to me. The rats live in the walls, they chew on Cousin. Cousin who lives under the stairs doesn't mind. Cousin told me that the rats are kind, the rats understand how we live. Cousin tells me that there are others who don't understand how we live. Cousin learned that from Auntie, Auntie learned that from mother."