An image flashed before him He saw someone Or something In his room A sort of beast It was a little wobbly and smudged around the edges But here it was His perfect friend Well almost perfect Ack said Charles seeing now what he was missing Wings Charles stood on his bed and imagined a pair of wings for the beast But there wasn't really much room in among all the other important bits So he squashed a couple of small wings on the side and hoped for the best His mouth fell open as he stepped back to admire his work His glasses fogged up He had never seen anything so grand So perfect Where did you come from Nowhere mumbled the beast Oh said Charles Where's that The beast wanted to explain that Nowhere was a place halfway between Curiosity and Courage But he couldn't For that he would need a map the heart is a vast place where one can easily get lost The beast shifted and swayed sniffed Charles once licked him on the ear then plodded around the room inspecting his new home He poked into corners nosed through an underwear drawer 9
knocked over chairs and nibbled on an old sandwich he found in Charles's lunchbox He was a little smellier and rumblier than Charles had imagined but overall he couldn't want for more After introducing himself properly and apologising for the state of his bedroom Charles did the top button on his pajamas He wanted to look respectable having reached the most significant part of the ceremony the choosing of up a name So asked Charles What name do you like Terry George Top Deck Fang Charles was just about to suggest the name Montague when the beast thrust his snout into a vase of roses that Charles's mother had put beside his bed in the vain hope of masking the stench of his socks The beast's brow began to wrinkle The whiskers on his chin quivered Then he closed his eyes opened his jaws and Ah tish He sneezed At least he thought he did but it only got halfway out before getting stuck You know the ones those awful explosions that are finished just as soon as they begin Half a sneeze is always 10
a disappointment like coming home from a day at the beach with a dry bathing suit Tish said Charles Tish That is a good name And so it was that Tish got his name It was not a grand name He was not named after a stone castle or a lake or an opera singer Tish said the beast over and over enjoying the crunchy feeling in his mouth He let it linger on his tongue like a butterscotch ball Tish Tish Tisssshhhhhh He sloshed it around before swallowing it whole Charles passed him a handkerchief to dab his eyes and blow his trunk Then he went downstairs to get them a snack Alone in Charles's room Tish looked around He inched towards the open window staring into the black night The curtains billowed around him He pushed his head through and gazed out A city spread before him dotted with buildings like a picnic rug covered with ants His tail quivered The bristles on his neck stood up sensing for danger Then he heard a voice behind him This is your new home said Charles returning with two glasses of milk some slices of 11
