Bella and the Wandering House by Meg McKinlay Page B

go.
    Bella didn’t think he had really let it go. Even though he didn’t stare at the photo as much as he used to, she knew he still missed those days. You didn’t love something – or someone – that much and not miss them when they were gone.
    Grandad set the periscope down on the bench, folding the elbows onto themselves so that it packed up tight. ‘Now that’s finished, I should get started on your birthday present. Any idea what you’d like this year?’
    Bella smiled and shook her head. ‘You decide.’
    She knew that no matter what she askedfor, Grandad would come up with an idea of his own. It had always been that way. The year he built her bedroom, he had given her a painting of the ocean. ‘A girl needs the ocean,’ he said. If the beach was too far away for her to see it from her window, then a painting was the next best thing.
    The next year he gave her a ship’s anchor, crusted with salt and tiny shells, and another time it was a captain’s hat with gold piping around the brim. Last year he presented her with a shiny brass compass and showed her how to find north.
    â€˜You never know,’ he always said, ‘when something like that will come in handy.’
    Bella couldn’t imagine how that might be true, but she loved Grandad’s presents all the same. Just having them in her room made her feel like she had a piece of him with her all the time.
    â€˜Are you sure?’ Grandad said now, looking down at her.
    Bella nodded. ‘Surprise me.’
    There was a knock at the door then and a voice called out, ‘Hello?’
    â€˜Your mum,’ said Grandad. ‘You’d better get going before you’re
latelatelate
.’ He grinned, making a show of looking at his watch and waving his hands about like a person – or a white rabbit – in a great hurry. Then something came over his face. He strode across to where Bella had left her bag. He unzipped it and began stuffing something inside. ‘You should borrow this.’
    Bella raised her eyebrows. ‘Your periscope? But why?’
    Grandad shrugged. ‘You never know when something like that will come in handy.’ He lowered his voice as Mum came down the hall. ‘And listen – what you told me before, about the house? It does sound strange. A little strangeness can be a good thing, but still … you should keep an eye on it.’

Three
    That night, Bella couldn’t sleep.
    It was late. Outside, the neighbourhood was quiet. Moonlight streamed in the window, throwing strange shadows across the room.
    From where she lay, Bella began to count the stars that hung in the window. It was what she always did when she had trouble sleeping, marking off each familiar pinprick of light one by one.
    But tonight some were missing. They had slipped out of view, beyond the window frame, and others had taken their place. She could only see half of Orion’s Belt now … and what were those two bright stars that had crept into the top right-hand corner?
    She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. There were stars up there, too – tiny, glow-in-the-dark stickers Grandad had stuck there a few birthdays ago. It was the only time her present hadn’t come in the post. Every year, Grandad insisted on posting his gift, even though he always came over on her birthday. ‘A girl should get a parcel in the post,’ he said, and took extra care with the package, making it look all fancy, with a big ribbon tied in a bow, and
Miss Bella Carmichael
on the front in curly writing.
    But the stars were different. That year, he did a special home delivery, sneaking in to put them up while she was at school. It took him hours because he didn’t stick them just anywhere like most people did, but in their exact right places, as if they were really in the sky.
    â€˜The stars are important,’ he said. ‘A girl should know where they