“And then we heard Aled scream. It wasn’t really a scream. It was more of a long wail. I’d never heard anyone sound like that in real life before. I pelted to our front door and opened it, just as Aled opened his and stumbled out of it. I ran to meet him and he was staggering and for a minute I thought he was injured, but I couldn’t see anything physically wrong with him except the fact that his face was contorted because he was sobbing uncontrollably, and I caught him in my arms just as he sank to the ground on the kerb, making the most painful noises I’d ever heard, like he’d been shot, like he was dying … Then he started to cry out, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no …” the tears falling continuously from his eyes, and I started to ask him frantically what it was, what had happened, what had she done, but he just shook his head over and over and choked like he couldn’t form any words even if he wanted to, and then I heard it … “Sh-she killed him— Sh-she killed him.” I felt like I was going to be sick. “Who? What happened, tell me …” “My … my dog … my dog Brian …” And then he started to sob again, so loudly, like he’d never cried before in his whole life. I stayed very still. “She … killed … your dog …?” “She s-said … she couldn’t look after him … because I was gone, and he— He was getting old, s-so She— She just— She went and … had him put down.” “No …” He let out another wail and pressed his face into my jumper. I didn’t want to believe anyone was capable of doing something like that. But we were sitting under the streetlamps and Aled was shaking in my arms and this was real, this was happening. She was taking everything Aled had and burning it. She was burning him, slowly, until he died.”